The southern Milky Way above the Cerro Paranal Observatory, Atacama Desert, Chile. At 2,635 metres (8,645 ft) from sea level and at an extremely dry condition, with its dark and transparent sky, Paranal is home to some of the world's leading telescopes. On top is the Very Large Telescope (VLT), operated by the European Southern Observatory (ESO). It is composed of four 8-metre telescopes. Along the Milky Way are two bright stars Alpha and Beta Centauri (top), the Southern Cross (Crux) next to the Coalsack dark nebula, and the Carina Nebula above the mountain. On the Lower left the Large Magellanic Cloud is visible at the horizon.