The images in this time lapse video are breath taking – they show nature with clarity and perfection. If your computer can manage it, this video is best watched by selecting the higher P rating in YouTube (down in the bottom menu bar, just along from the timestamp) and flipping to full screen.

At times you see an orange laser shooting out of the very large telescope (VLT). This is an optic device used to excite sodium atoms in the atmosphere, which can be measured and then used to undo distortion elsewhere in the image.

The music is “We Happy Few” by The Calm Blue Sea.

In Pure Spirit

What did you make of these images? Doesn’t it look as if the European Southern Observatory is built on a ledge in nowhere? No clouds, no green nor even traffic. It’s actually in the Atacama Desert region of Chile, not in Europe at all.