Announcements 2020

16 December 2020: On Friday 11 December, ESO Director General Xavier Barcons received the Order of Bernardo O’Higgins Grand Cross, at a ceremony chaired by Carolina Valdivia, the Chilean Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs. The Order Bernardo O’Higgins is a recognition by the Chilean State for foreign citizens’ outstanding work in the fields of art, science, education, industry, commerce or humanitarian or social cooperation. During the ceremony, held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Barcons received the award for paving new ways towards a deeper understanding between Chile and ESO. “On behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I would like to extend our sincere thanks for your collaboration and for helping us boost the establishment of a new astronomical paradigm in our country that is based on a regional, fair, inclusive and citizen-oriented approach. This includes cutting edge cooperation agreements, through which Chile –with its National Research and Development Agency– and ESO can ...

8 December 2020: Linda Tacconi, a senior astronomer at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE) in Garching, Germany, has been elected as the next president of ESO’s main governing body, the Council. “I am honoured to have been chosen as president of the ESO Council,” Tacconi says. “The coming years represent a very exciting time for the organisation, as the first light of ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope approaches and current facilities, such as ESO’s Very Large Telescope, continue at the forefront of astronomical research. The various ESO observatories will work in synergy, furthering our knowledge of the Universe and strengthening ESO’s position as a world-leader in ground-based astronomy. I look forward to sharing in this experience and working with Council to support ESO in maintaining this leadership role.” Tacconi completed her PhD at the University of Massachusetts, USA, in 1988 and later worked at the Netherlands Foundation for Research in Astronomy, ...

4 December 2020: The Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), ESO’s new flagship telescope being built to answer the biggest questions about our Universe, has received a 10% increase to its budget. The funding boost approved by the ESO Council — the organisation’s main governing body — brings the total cost of the project to €1.3 billion. The 39-metre telescope, being erected in Cerro Armazones near ESO’s Paranal Observatory in northern Chile, will start operating later this decade. “Council’s decision means ESO has the funds to build an ambitious and extremely powerful science machine, fully integrated with ESO’s Paranal Observatory, that meets the longer-term aspirations of the astronomy community,” says ESO Director General Xavier Barcons. Overall, 80% of the ELT’s budget is being invested in contracts with industry in ESO member states and in Chile. The funding boost will strengthen the scientific capabilities of the under-construction telescope, bringing them in line with those envisioned in ...

3 December 2020: To strengthen its cooperation with Chile, ESO provides and manages an annual fund that awards projects dedicated to the development of science research, technology and education in astronomy. The Joint Committee ESO–Chile 2020 has now selected 15 projects fitting these criteria, awarding a total of 460 million Chilean pesos (about €500 000). The funds will support postdoctoral programmes in astronomy at Chilean academic institutions, scientific visits for researchers, academic faculty positions, the construction of technological systems for astronomy, as well as educational programmes for the teaching and dissemination of astronomy. Created in 1996, the Joint Committee ESO–Chile brings together representatives of ESO and the Chilean Government, through the Energy, Science and Technology & Innovation Division (DECYTI) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MINREL), and with the participation of the Chilean National Agency for Research and Development (ANID), and the Chilean Astronomical Society (SOCHIAS). The Joint Committee ESO–Chile has made a ...

24 November 2020: M1, the main mirror of ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), is moving closer to completion with the approval of the final design for its edge sensors, with its positions actuators also nearing this key milestone. The sensors and actuators are crucial to the optical quality and functionality of the giant 39-metre mirror. The ELT is planned to start operating later this decade in the Chilean Atacama Desert. The primary mirror on the ELT, M1, is composed of 798 hexagonal segments, made of a thin glass-ceramic material. To ensure the optical quality of the mirror, its segments have to work together to maintain the mirror’s shape, despite changes in the telescope's position and in external conditions, such as temperature, pressure and wind. Movable supports and sensors for the mirror, namely the M1 position actuators and edge sensors, allow each mirror segment to move independently and with nanometric (1 millionth of a ...

19 November 2020: While the construction of ESO's Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) in Chile's Atacama Desert is on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic, important progress on the project is being made elsewhere. In the past few months, design activities for the telescope’s dome have been completed (in a process called final design review) and manufacturing of the dome components is currently ongoing. The extensive design review solved several complex problems inherent to building a top-performing science machine, with strict scientific requirements, in the extreme environment of the Atacama Desert. Engineers also had to ensure the operational requirements were met: high reliability, low maintenance, and resistance to earthquake and strong winds, for example. The latest renderings show what the dome will look like, and how subtle but important changes were made from the older designs. The ELT dome and telescope structure contract was placed with the Italian consortium ACe (Cimolai, Astaldi). It covers ...

17 November 2020: A newly and better processed version of data on planet Venus, collected with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile, has now been made publicly available via the ALMA science archive. The observations of our sister planet with ALMA, in which ESO is a partner, were done in 2019 at the request of a team of astronomers led by Jane Greaves of Cardiff University in the UK. The team used the ALMA data to confirm whether the rare molecule phosphine was present in the clouds of Venus, after spotting signs of this element in observations from the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT), operated by the East Asian Observatory in Hawaiʻi. The finding drew international attention due to phosphine’s significance as a possible biomarker. It also generated healthy scientific discussion, with teams around the world scrutinising the study and its associated data. As a result of the scrutiny, ALMA staff ...

6 November 2020: A major component of ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), its first prefocal station or PFS-A, is now close to completing its final design review. With this milestone nearly reached, ESO has signed a contract with Spanish company IDOM for a second prefocal station, PFS-B. The two ELT prefocal stations, which are designed and manufactured by IDOM, are large structures measuring over 9 metres tall and each standing on supporting platforms, located on opposite sides of the telescope main structure. Working at the interface between the telescope’s five-mirror system and its instruments, they have a triple function: control the telescope mirror alignment (including the precise pointing on-sky of the telescope structure), ensure the segmented main mirror continues to act as one, and distribute light to the telescope instruments. Sensing starlight to check alignment The ELT is extremely sensitive to very small changes in environmental conditions, which will shift the mirrors out ...

14 October 2020: The latest edition of ESO's quarterly journal, The Messenger, is now available online. Find out the latest news from ESO on topics ranging from new instruments to the latest science discoveries. This edition includes: Leibundgut, B. et al.: ESPRESSO Science Verification Lundgren, A. et al.: An Era Comes to an End: The Legacy of LABOCA at APEX Evans, C. et al.: The VLT-FLAMES Tarantula Survey Bayliss, D. et al.: NGTS — Uncovering New Worlds with Ultra-Precise Photometry Download The Messenger in PDF format or visit The Messenger website to subscribe and receive a free printed copy. This product is also available in the ESOshop. The printed issue will be available at the sites when the situation allows its distribution.

14 October 2020: How do astronomers explore the Universe beyond the human senses? A new show from Evans & Sutherland, made in association with ESO and the Houston Museum of Natural Science offers an insight into the greatest revolution in astronomy since the invention of the telescope. Unseen Universe invites you to step into the wondrous new age of exploration and understanding. For millions of years, our view of the heavens was limited by our eyes, allowing us to see only a narrow band of electromagnetic radiation we call visible light. Now, we have the technology that allows us to look at the sky with superhuman sight and accuracy. The planetarium show Unseen Universe presents an exciting look at cutting-edge astronomy. Learn more about the supercomputers that link clusters of telescopes, continents apart. Follow the fleet of spaceborne observatories that extend our senses across space and time. Find out how the new detectors ...

23 September 2020: The 2021 edition of one of our most popular products, the ESO Calendar, is now available and can be purchased from the online ESOshop and in the ESO Supernova Planetarium & Visitor Centre. The calendar’s cover features a spectacular starscape around the relatively unknown central object, Gum 15, a nebula in which stars are being born. The image also features one of the closest supernova remnants to Earth, which exploded between 11 000 and 12 300 years ago and is located 800 light-years away from our cosmic home. For the month of March, the bright band of the Milky Way arcs above the ALMA antennas on the Chajnantor plateau. One of the closest stellar nurseries to Earth, the Orion Nebula, is the chosen image for July and the massive 3-tonne blank for the Extremely Large Telescope’s (ELT) secondary mirror is the star of September. Finally, in December the viewer will ...

18 September 2020: The exceptional circumstances imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic led ESO to suspend science operations at its observatories in late March. We are now pleased to announce that minimal science operations have restarted at ESO’s Paranal Observatory, in Chile’s Atacama Desert, under strict health and safety measures. After carefully assessing the pandemic development and the logistic, technical and safety constraints associated with it, ESO started to ramp-up operations at Paranal, home to ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) in early September. Ramping up has been gradual, with observations restarting on only two of the four VLT 8.2-metre Unit Telescopes (UTs). The two instruments now in operation are FORS2 on UT1, our most in-demand instrument, and UVES, a high-resolution spectrograph on UT2. While this is an important and exciting step, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic the safety of our staff remains paramount. As such, a comprehensive set of health measures has been ...

11 September 2020: The Royal Observatory Greenwich has announced the results of its hugely popular, global photographic competition, a yearly contest to find the most beautiful and spectacular visions of the cosmos. The winners of Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2020 will be showcased in the Insight Investment Astronomy Photographer of the Year exhibition at the National Maritime Museum, opening to the public on 23 October 2020. ESO joined the competition in 2016 by contributing a judge and further spreading the word about the competition among its community. French photographer Nicolas Lefaudeux has outcompeted thousands of amateur and professional photographers from around the globe to win the Royal Observatory Greenwich’s title of Insight Investment Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2020. Winning images in the other categories and special prizes include the breath-taking Aurora Borealis above Hamn i Senja, Skaland, in Norway by Nicholas Roemmelt (Germany); the image taken by Łukasz Sujka (Poland) ...

3 September 2020: The latest edition of ESO's quarterly journal, The Messenger, is now available online. Find out the latest news from ESO on topics ranging from new instruments to the latest science discoveries. This edition includes: The Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory Comes of Age: Ferrini & Wild MOONS: The New Multi-Object Spectrograph for the VLT & its Surveys: Cirasuolo et al., Gonzalez et al., and Maiolino et al. The ALPINE–ALMA [CII] Survey: Exploring the Dark Side of Normal Galaxies at the End of Reionisation: Bethermin et al. Download The Messenger in PDF format or visit The Messenger website to subscribe and receive a free printed copy. This product is also available in the ESOshop. The printed issue will be available at the sites when the situation allows its distribution. Confirm your ESO Messenger subscription to the print edition by 15 October 2020 (deadline extended). Please hold on to your envelope when it ...

25 August 2020: An international team of experts, including ESO staff, has produced a new report that explores practical ways to address the impact of large satellite constellations on astronomy. The report concludes that large constellations of bright satellites in low Earth orbit will fundamentally change ground-based optical and infrared astronomy and could impact the appearance of the night sky for stargazers worldwide. It also offers a roadmap for observatories and satellite operators to work together to lessen these impacts. The report offers two main findings. First, low-Earth-orbiting satellites disproportionately affect science programmes that require twilight observations, such as searches for Earth-threatening asteroids or for the visible-light counterparts of fleeting gravitational-wave sources. Satellites orbiting below 600 kilometres have limited interference with astronomical observations during the night’s darkest hours. But satellites at higher altitudes, such as the 1,200-km-high constellation planned by OneWeb, can be illuminated all night long during summer and for much of ...

21 July 2020: ESO and the Centre for Astrophysics of the University of Porto (CAUP) are delighted to announce that Finnish student Meri Teeriaho is the winner of the summer AstroCamp 2020 prize offered by ESO. The camp received about 50 applications from 12 countries, most of these applications being from ESO member states. The ESO-supported summer AstroCamp is an academic programme devoted to astronomy and physics, organised by the Centre for Astrophysics of the University of Porto (CAUP). The camp will take place from 9 to 23 August 2020. This year, the camp is organised under special circumstances due to the global context. A total of sixteen students will participate in the camp, with those living abroad participating remotely and those living in Portugal attending the camp in person, at the Centre for Environmental Education and Interpretation of the Corno de Bico Protected Landscape, under special safety conditions agreed with the local ...

15 July 2020: From Saturday 18 July, ESO will start a weekly programme of English virtual guided tours to its Paranal and La Silla observatories. Without leaving your home, you will be able to visit these emblematic places and explore ESO’s telescopes in Chile with our specialised guides. As with the ESO on-site public tours, these new virtual experiences will be free and open to everyone, and will include iconic spots of the observatories, such as the Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Paranal or the ESO 3.6-metre telescope in La Silla. Visitors will also be able to enjoy a guided tour of the night sky above the observatories and enter restricted access locations, such as the VLT interferometric tunnels. Based on the ESO Virtual Tours on eso.org, these visits will be led by specialised guides to recreate the experience of walking around the observatories. Each tour takes approximately 30 minutes and will be ...

6 July 2020: To enhance its programme of scientific cooperation with its host country Chile, ESO provides and manages an annual fund devoted to the development of disciplines related to astronomy and technology in Chile. The board, which consists of representatives of ESO and the Chilean Government, through the Energy, Science and Technology & Innovation Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and with the participation of the Chilean National Agency for Research and Development, the Chilean Astronomical Society, evaluates and selects the programmes to be supported by this fund, which fall into the areas below: ESO grant funding to postdoctoral programmes in astronomy at Chilean academic institutions. Funding for extended scientific visits of one up to three months of post docs, researchers or senior faculty of academic institutions. Funding for academic faculty positions for periods of up to two years at Chilean academic institutions. Funding to support the development and presentation of ...

25 June 2020: Astronomers use telescopes to peer into far away planetary systems, seeking to uncover the mysteries of their formation and evolution and reveal how they compare to our own. Occasionally though, astronomers are able to study these distant systems much closer to home, when interstellar visitors pass through our own Solar System. 1I/‘Oumuamua and 2I/Borisov made headlines as the first recorded interstellar objects to enter our Solar System. Telescopes around the world, including ESO’s Very Large Telescope in Chile, tracked these interstellar visitors, seeking to discover where they came from and answer questions about their nature. In this ESOcast, we explore some of the many questions these interstellar visitors have raised including: what are they made of? How did they form? Are they like the comets or asteroids in our Solar System? And finally, what can they reveal about other planetary systems? You can subscribe to the ESOcasts on iTunes or ...

18 June 2020: The ESO Annual Report 2019 is now available. It presents a summary of ESO’s many activities throughout the year. The contents include: Research highlights from ESO facilities, including the first image of the shadow of a supermassive black hole, groundbreaking investigations of exoplanets and how the shapes and characteristics of asteroids are being uncovered in unprecedented detail from the ground. A summary of activities at ESO’s front-line observatories in Chile: 2019 was a very special year for the La Silla Observatory, marking 50 years since its inauguration. The celebrations of this anniversary were further distinguished by the opportunity to witness a rare total solar eclipse at the observatory. The latest news from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and ESO's Extremely Large Telescope (ELT). News about ESO staff and infrastructure, and recommendations from the ESO Visiting Committee. This product is available to download for free and will soon be available ...