VISTA Telescope with HEIDENHAIN Technology Now in Operation

A new, groundbreaking telescope has begun operations at the ESO’s Paranal Observatory in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile. VISTA – the name stands for “Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy” – is the world’s largest telescope dedicated to surveying the sky.

Encoders from HEIDENHAIN also contribute to the new telescope’s outstanding performance. Four ERA 880 exposed angle encoders serve as feedback systems for the position of the azimuth, elevation and Cassegrain axes.