'Underground Tunnels' Observe the Universe | European Southern Observatory

'Underground Tunnels' Observe the Universe | European Southern Observatory

Larger telescopes allow us to see smaller details, and thanks to interferometry we can link multiple telescopes into a single “virtual” one that can make very sharp observations. How does this actually work? 

Follow us on an exclusive tour of the underground tunnels beneath the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) in Chile, and learn about the technology that has allowed us to see details on the surface of distant stars, and track the orbits of stars around the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy.

0:00 - Introduction

0:59 - Arranging the telescopes

3:50 - Radio vs infrared interferometry

5:09 - Synchronizing the light beams

7:09 - From fringes to images

9:43 - What has the VLTI found?

Video Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)
Duration: 11 minutes
Release Date: May 21, 2026

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