This striking view of the central parts of the Milky Way has been obtained using the VISTA survey telescope at ESO’s Paranal Observatory in Chile. It’s part of a huge picture (108,200 x 81,500 pixels) which contains nearly nearly nine billion pixels.

You can access the zoomable version by clicking the image below.

Credit: ESO/VVV Survey/D. Minniti (Click image for zoomable version)

To create this unprecedented view of the Milky Way, ESO combined thousands of individual images from VISTA, taken through three different infrared filters, into a single monumental mosaic.

These data form part of the VVV public survey and have been used to study a much larger number of individual stars in the central parts of the Milky Way than ever before.

Because VISTA has a camera sensitive to infrared light it can see through much of the dust blocking the view for optical telescopes.

The results are truly mesmerizing!