 The sun sets behind Saroparanal in the Chilean Atacama Desert. While astronomers get ready to observe with ESO's very large telescope, nature prepares for her own ground display. As night falls over the desert, the southern sky reveals its nocturnal beauty, leaving the spectator in silent amazement. Some people, however, don't just stare at the spectacle. With great skill, they record these unique moments for everyone to see. They are the photographers of the night. This is the ESOcast, cutting-edge science and life behind the scenes of ESO, the European Southern Observatory, exploring the ultimate frontier with our host Dr. J, aka Dr. Joe Liske. Anyone who has been up at night in a remote, high place such as one of ESO's observatories in Chile may have been lucky enough to experience the splendid view of the myriad of stars shining brightly from the heavens. It is both a dream and a challenge for a photographer to capture an image of this incredible view. Today, we will focus on three ESO staff members who, during their free time, produce outstanding astrophotography. By publishing their results on the internet, they share the enthusiasm for the astonishing wonders of the southern skies with a wider audience. Yuri Biletsky is an ESO fellow and astronomer at the Paranau Observatory. When not observing with the world's most advanced telescope, the VLT, he actively lives out his passion for taking pictures of the southern sky. I like the night sky, I like stars, and the night sky is so beautiful, you can see millions of stars, and astrophotography is the best way to show the people what stars are. So taking this picture, I'm sharing my passion with the people and I'm showing the sky to them. Over time, Yuri has produced many spectacular images of Paranau against the wonderful backdrop of the night sky. A laser beam shooting out of one of the VLT's unit telescopes. The bright constellation of the Southern Cross. The pipe nebula with its picturesque dust lane crossing the Milky Way. Sunlight, reflected by small particles of dust lying in between the planets, causes the faint zodiacal light. Paranau is an ideal site for astrophotographers as it offers crystal clear, extremely dark skies with perfect weather conditions on about 320 nights per year. Gerhard Hüdepol, an electronic engineer Paranau, knows about the photographic benefits of the VLT's site. Gerhard, who is also a renowned photographer of Chile's landscape, combines the beauty of the Atacama Desert with a shining Milky Way in a unique way. My favorite type of photography is landscape, and in particular landscape at night, showing the Milky Way, the night sky here of the Atacama Desert. And here in Paranau, then I have the possibility to have the telescopes as a nice foreground and the stars and the night sky as a background. The bright plane of our Milky Way as it arches above the VLT. An image like this can only be obtained under top-notch stargazing conditions, such as those offered at Paranau. Like Yuri, Gerhard has also produced a spectacular series of images, showing the VLT with its laser beam and the night sky. I'm always trying to show Paranau from new, fresh points of view, different angles, different times of the day, so I'm always thinking about new ideas, so that is my plan for the future. Astrophotography is very demanding. The photographer has to stay out in the dark and in the chill of the night for many hours. Sometimes it can take several nights of painstaking work in these tough conditions to obtain just one image, and the equipment must always function flawlessly. Stefan Guisard is the head of the optical group at Paranau. His astrophotography benefits from his professional expertise as an optical engineer specializing in telescopes. Stefan's images have been used in several projects for the International Year of Astronomy, as well as in previous ESOcasts. I take pictures of the galaxy and Nebula with a telescope, but I also like to take white-filled images of the sky with a terrestrial foreground. I like to share with people the beauty of the sky and the universe. This photographic mosaic of the central parts of our galactic home is just one example of Stefan's work. Taken with an amateur telescope coupled to a CCD camera, the image combines about 1,200 photos for a total exposure time of around 250 hours. Stefan has also produced a spectacular series of time-lapse sequences at the Paranal site. Producing such sequences is quite a challenge, as the images must be taken at regular intervals and all the parameters must match perfectly to obtain the sensation of the moving firmament. I want to continue imaging the galaxy and objects that I've not done yet. And also I'm trying to widen my field by doing 3D pictures, 3D night time-lapse movie and also big mosaic images of the sky. There's no doubt that Yuri, Gerhard and Stefan will continue to produce stunning images of the starry skies above Paranal. The wonderful quality of the images is a testament to the splendor of the night sky at ESO's Paranal Observatory. By sharing their work, these three astrophotographers have brought their magnificent view of the southern sky to a wider audience. This is Dr. Jay, signing off for the ESOcast. Join me again next time for another cosmic adventure.