Cerro Pachón Pastels

The whimsical pastels of the Chilean sky contrast with the rigid metallic structures in the foreground. In the distance is Cerro Pachón with three white telescopes jutting out of the mountain. At the left is the SOAR Telescope, its speck-like appearance in this image belying the fact that it houses a 4.1-meter primary mirror inside its dome. To the right of the SOAR Telescope is the 8.1-meter Gemini South telescope, half of the International Gemini Observatory which is a Program of NSF's NOIRLab. Finally, farther to the right is the Vera C. Rubin Observatory which, once constructed, will revolutionize our understanding of the dynamic night sky.