The project in the Atacama Desert could increase light pollution by up to 50%, making it much harder to observe the cosmos near the Paranal Observatory.

JOHN BARTLETT, BYLINE: When night falls over the Paranal Observatory, which operates one of the world's most powerful telescopes, the skies above are dusted with brilliant constellations and nebulae.

BARTLETT: The Very Large Telescope, or VLT, at Paranal began operations in 1998 and has taken readings which have won three Nobel prizes. It is operated by the European Southern Observatory, led ...