CERRO TOLOLO INTER-AMERICAN OBSERVATORY

(CTIO) astronomical observatory founded in 1965 in Chile as the southern branch of the Kitt Peak National Observatory. It is located on top of a 7,200-foot- (2,200-metre-) high mountain, about 285 miles (460 km) north of Santiago and 50 miles (80 km) inland from the coastal city of La Serena. It is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy and funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation. The CTIO houses several telescopes and auxiliary instruments, the most significant of which is a reflecting telescope with a 4-metre (157-inch) mirror. The observatory is best noted for its research on the central region of the Milky Way Galaxy, the Magellanic Clouds, and high-energy cosmic radio and X-ray sources.