The Global Reach of Las Cumbres Observatory

The Milky Way dominates the sky as it stretches over U.S. National Science Foundation Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO), a Program of NSF NOIRLab, which is located high in the mountains of Chile, at an altitude of 2200 meters (7200 feet). CTIO is a complex of astronomical telescopes and instruments that has long served as the principal platform for American astronomical investigation of the southern skies. In addition to the many telescopes it operates, CTIO provides space for others to access the southern sky — almost a dozen tenant observatories are hosted at the site. Pictured here are telescopes operated by Las Cumbres Observatory (LCO). LCO operates a network of telescopes spread out longitudinally across the northern and southern hemispheres. The strategic positioning of its telescopes means that LCO always has a telescope in darkness and it can coordinate its telescopes to quickly collect data that would be missed by a telescope at a single location. This is designed with one strategic goal in mind: uninterrupted monitoring of sudden, unpredictable transient events such as supernovae and variable stars. 

This photo was taken as part of the NOIRLab 2022 Photo Expedition to all the NOIRLab sites. Petr Horálek, the photographer, is a NOIRLab Audiovisual Ambassador.