Paranal before the daybreak

In the Chilean Atacama desert, 2635 metres high above the sea level, there is ESO’s Paranal observatory – one of the most spectacular observatory in the world. When you stay there and watch the pure beauty of the Universe on the technically perfect platform of the observatory with one of the world’s biggest telescopes, you just feel that you travel in the future. This moment I had on 26th January 2015 as I was enjoying one of the last night at ESO observatories at all and I witnessed by Milky Way and the bright zodiacal light on the east, which was as intensive as it’s shine was reflected by the domes itselves. In the Milky way, there were numerous of emission nebulae. Especially the largest one “Gum nebula” was incredible for me, because from the Czech Republic is not possible to capture it at all. Center of the Milky Way in Scorpius was just rising on the image in the brightest part of the zodiacal light. Just left from the closest dome is bright planet Jupiter surrounded by faint Gegenschein. If you take a closer look, you can count up to three meteors. And faint orange airglow created numerous “flames” from the horizon, where are also both of the Magellanic clouds. Just priceless view… Used Canon 6D Baader IR modified, Samyang 24 mm, f2.8, ISO 8000, 47×15 sec. panorama; tripod.