Focus on the universe: Astronomical images not only look beautiful, they also provide a wealth of information. What's behind it and what distinguishes four prominent telescopes? An overview.

• One telescope, one purpose: The Hubble and James Webb space telescopes focus on detailed observations of individual objects, while the Euclid space telescope and the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile capture large sections of the sky in the shortest possible time. The latter are therefore considered survey telescopes.
• Highly complex observatories: Modern telescopes are highly complex and benefit from sensitive camera systems in combination with sophisticated optics and telescopes. The Max Planck Society has been involved in the development of many observatories, some of which took decades to complete.
• The universe in three dimensions: A two-dimensional image from a telescope often contains different astronomical objects, such as galaxies, which are at different distances from Earth. This allows computer models of the three-dimensional universe to be compared with real observational data.
• The explosive universe: Speed is of the essence at the Vera C. Rubin Survey Telescope. By photographing the entire southern sky and all the objects it contains very frequently in succession, it also captures explosive and fast-moving events in the universe.