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Aerial of CTIO in Chile
An aerial image of the Cerro Tololo Interamerican Observatory (CTIO) in Chile, taken after the dome of the Blanco 4 meter telescope was silvered early in 2001.
CTIO is located about 500 kilometers north of Santiago, Chile, and about 70 kilometers east of La Serena, at an altitude of 2200 meters. CTIO operates the 4-meter Blanco Telescope on Cerro Tololo, and the 4.1-meter SOAR Telescope on Cerro Pachon, next to the 8-meter Gemini Telescope.
CTIO is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy Inc. (AURA), under a cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation (NSF) as part of the National Optical Astronomy Observatories. To learn more about the radio, optical and solar telescopes supported by NSF, see the NSF Special Report, Eyes on the Sky.
Credit: NOAO/AURA/NSF
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