La Silla, Chile
One of the first big observatory mountains in the southern sky.
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Make this model
The Standard resolution model is free as STL, 3MF, Colored 3MF, OBJ and a 16-bit heightmap. High resolution samples the place about ten times more finely.
- Region
- Chile
- Position
- -29.2563, -70.7380
- Area
- 5 × 5 km
- Real elevation
- 1,530 to 2,409 m (879 m of relief)
- Printed size
- 150 mm (5.9 in) wide, about 1:33,300
- Heights
- 1.5× exaggeration
- Elevation data
- Open satellite data (SRTM and others), about 30 m per point
- Suggested color
- Desert
- Group
- Mountains
About La Silla, Chile
La Silla Observatory is an astronomical observatory in Chile with three telescopes built and operated by the European Southern Observatory (ESO). Several other telescopes are also located at the site and are partly maintained by ESO. The observatory is one of the largest in the Southern Hemisphere and was the first in Chile to be used by ESO. The La Silla telescopes and instruments are located in the North of the Coquimbo region, 150 km northeast of La Serena, on the outskirts of the Atacama Desert, one of the driest and most remote areas in the world. Like other observatories in this region, La Silla is far from sources of light pollution and, like the Paranal Observatory—home to the Very Large Telescope—it has some of the darkest night skies on Earth.
From Wikipedia: La Silla Observatory, text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. The article’s history lists its authors.
Questions about La Silla, Chile
Where is La Silla?
La Silla is in Chile at -29.2563, -70.7380. The model covers a 5 by 5 kilometer square around that point.
How high is the terrain in the La Silla model?
The land in this model runs from 1,530 to 2,409 m (879 m of relief). These are the measured heights, printed 1.5 times taller so the shape is easy to see.
Can I 3D print La Silla?
Yes. Download the free Standard resolution STL and print it on any FDM or resin printer. It is 150 mm wide and about 44.5 mm tall, on a solid 5 mm base, at a scale of about 1:33,300. It also works for CNC carving. Use Customize to change the width, base thickness or height exaggeration, make it round or add a name plate.
How accurate is the La Silla model?
It is built from real elevation measurements, not an artist's guess: open satellite and survey data (NASA SRTM, Copernicus and national surveys), about 30 meters per point. The shaded picture on this page is made from the same data.
Is the La Silla model free?
The Standard resolution model is free as STL, 3MF, Colored 3MF, OBJ and a 16-bit heightmap. High resolution samples the place about ten times more finely and is a paid upgrade.
What is a La Silla terrain model good for?
People use it as a memento of a climb, a gift for a mountaineer or a ski-trip souvenir.
About this terrain model
Embossify Terra builds La Silla, Chile from real measured elevation, not an artist's guess. Outside the United States the heights come from open satellite and survey data (NASA SRTM, Copernicus and national surveys), about 30 meters per point.
The model covers a 5 by 5 kilometer square centered on -29.2563, -70.7380. It prints 150 mm (5.9 in) wide on a solid base, a scale of about 1:33,300. The heights are exaggerated 1.5× so the shape is easy to see and feel; you can change that when you customize the model. The sea is flattened to zero, so land stands on a clean base.
New to terrain printing? Read how Terra works. The shaded picture on this page is made by Embossify from the same elevation data.
