ESO is the foremost intergovernmental astronomy organisation in Europe and the world's most productive astronomical observatory. It operates three sites in Chile — La Silla, Paranal and Chajnantor — on behalf of its fourteen member states. It builds ALMA together with international partners, and designs the European Extremely Large Telescope.
ESO, the European Southern Observatory, builds and operates a suite of the world's most advanced ground-based astronomical telescopes.
Latest News Stories
Shedding Light on the Cosmic Skeleton
Astronomers have tracked down a gigantic, previously unknown assembly of galaxies located almost seven billion light-years away from us. The discovery, made possible by combining two of the most powerful ground-based telescopes in the world, is the first observation of such a prominent galaxy structure in the distant Universe, providing further insight into the cosmic web and how it formed.
Announcements
- ESO Director General visits Vatican City (5/11/2009)
- Santiago Museum of Science and Technology inaugurates renovated Astronomy Hall, in partnership with ESO in Chile (27/10/2009)
- Opening of 3D Movie Featuring ESO's Paranal Observatory (26/10/2009)
- The ESO web site is now available in twelve languages (18/9/2009)














