The Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Garching near Munich directs the construction of the novel near-infrared instrument GRAVITY which will be installed at the Very Large Telescope (VLT) of the European Southern Observatory (ESO) on the 2,635 m high summit of the mountain Cerro Paranal in northern Chile. As a partner in this project, STÖHR ARMATUREN from Augsburg/Germany was commissioned for detailed design, manufacturing, integration and test.
The astronomical Paranal Observatory which will host the GRAVITY instrument lies in the Atacama Desert. There, the atmosphere above the summit of Cerro Paranal is quite dry and has exceptionally quiet air flow conditions which make it an ideal place for astronomical observation.
More informations about gravity cryostats you will find here.