X "Marks the Spot" above Cerro Tololo, Chile | NOIRLab

X "Marks the Spot" above Cerro Tololo, Chile | NOIRLab

Celestial beams of light formed from the Milky Way galaxy and zodiacal light crisscrossing above the telescopes of the U.S. National Science Foundation Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO), a Program of National Science Foundation (NSF) NOIRLab. The US Naval Observatory Deep South Telescope sits on the far left of this image. Moving towards the right, there is also the DIMM1 Seeing Monitor, the CHilean Automatic Supernova sEarch dome (CHASE), the UBC Southern Observatory, and the Planetary Defense 1.0-meter Telescope. These represent only a subset of the nearly 40 telescopes at CTIO, so this celestial X truly marks the spot of a treasure trove of discovery!

The zodiacal light is a faint, diffuse band of light in the night sky, reaching up from the horizon. It follows the direction of the ecliptic—the plane of Earth's orbit around the Sun. This plane is rich in tiny particles of dust. It scatters sunlight and creates this phenomenon. The glow is so faint that light pollution or even moonlight can outshine it.

Many of the telescopes pictured here have specialized purposes on behalf of their sponsors. For example, the UBC Southern Observatory 0.35-meter (1.15-foot) telescope was made specifically for the site-testing campaign of the Thirty Meter Telescope. Today, it is used by the University of British Columbia in Canada for research on transiting exoplanets and space debris. Another specialized telescope at CTIO is the Planetary Defense 1.0-meter Telescope, operated by the University of North Carolina and the Astronomical Research Institute. This telescope conducts southern-sky astrometric follow-up observations of Near-Earth Asteroids (NEAs).

Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory

https://noirlab.edu/science/programs/ctio

Credit: CTIO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/P. Horálek (Institute of Physics in Opava)
Release Date: Aug. 6, 2025

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