Login to the ESO Operations Helpdesk via the ESO User Portal has been enabled for all users since Jan 27^th, 2022. The login button is located in the top-right corner of the user interface and will take you to the ESO User Portal login screen. After logging in, you can submit a ticket using the "Submit Helpdesk Ticket" button, this ticket will be pre-filled with your contact information. Use the "My tickets" entry in the user menu available from the top-right corner of the interface to access your tickets. On that page, you can see the status of your requests and you can also interact with us directly from the site. Email interactions remain of course possible, this new feature does not supersede the communication channel that you are already used to. ESO welcomes feedback from the users’ community about this tool and will continue improving it.

Are you an author on an upcoming scientific study based on ESO data that could be relevant to journalists or the wider public? Or are you a Principal Investigator on ESO observations with potential to become stunning images like that above? If so, please consider sending your paper and/or a preview of the image(s) obtained with ESO telescopes to ESO's Media Manager Barbara Ferreira at press@eso.org. 

During the EAS2022 annual meeting in Valencia, Spain (27.06 – 01.07) the S14 symposium titled "ESO@60: a stairway to the Universe" will be held to celebrate the scientific achievements with the ESO facilities over the last 60 years. The scientific program will consist of six blocks of 1.5 hrs each, with each block covering a broad theme, starting from Extrasolar planets, Astrochemistry and Nucleo-synthesis, Stellar populations, Black holes, Cosmology & Galaxy evolution and then onto the ELT and the future. The registration and abstract submission are now opened, with abstract submission deadline on 01.03.2022. More information on sessions, keynote speakers, scientific organising committee and co-Chairs can be found on the S14 web page.

Dear colleagues

Another unusual year has passed, although with a very positive balance for ESO and its community. Despite all difficulties associated with the pandemic, a lot was achieved. The observatories remained open for most or all of the year, with a focus on maximising the delivery of scientific data. Work on the ELT continued at a very good pace, new instruments are at various stages of development, CTA is taking shape, and a variety of scientific activities keep the link between ESO and its community as strong as ever. The special effort that we are all making through these difficult times is warmly appreciated by ESO’s governing bodies, whose unfailing support is a clear tribute to the impact that the ESO community has on worldwide astronomical research.

With the release of the La Silla Paranal telescope schedule, the preparation of Service Mode (SM) observations (Phase 2) starts. The deadline for the submission of the Phase 2 material for Period 109 observations is 3 February 2022.

The 109^th Observing Programmes Committee (OPC) met online during November 2021. Based on the committee's recommendations to the ESO Director General, a total of 2093 (10-hour equivalent) nights of Designated Visitor Mode and Service Mode observations were allocated on the VLT/VLTI, VISTA, the 3.6-metre and NTT, and APEX telescopes. The submission deadline for Phase 2 Service Mode observations is Thursday 3 February 2022; see the separate announcement for further details.

The Joint ALMA Observatory (JAO) will start Cycle 9 observations in October 2022. A Call for Proposals (CfP) with detailed information on Cycle 9 is anticipated to be issued in March 2022 and the deadline for proposal submission will be in April 2022.  A pre-announcement has been issued highlighting aspects of the CfP to assist with early planning. More information on the Proposal Review Process, and full details on the offered capabilities can be found on the ALMA Science Portal. For additional questions regarding the Cycle 9 Call for Proposals, please visit the pre-announcement, the Q&A page or contact the ALMA Helpdesk.

The next Science Operations workshop, SciOps 2022, will be dedicated to Artificial Intelligence (AI) for science and operations in Astronomy and will take place on 16-22 May 2022 at the ESO Headquarters in Garching bei München. Building on the success of the previous series of similar events, this ESO/ESA workshop aims to facilitate the exchange of current developments and applications of AI-enabled technologies in science operations for space- and ground-based astronomical facilities.

The ESO Office for Science is pleased to announce the beginning of the Hypatia Colloquium Series 2022, where early career scientists will have the opportunity of describing their research to a very broad audience. The seminars were selected after a very competitive process. The detailed programme of the seminars, which are scheduled to take place online on Tuesdays at 3pm (Central European Time), is already available.

At the most recent meeting, in December 2021, ESO Council approved a new Guaranteed Time Observations (GTO) policy for ALMA. In exchange for contributions to the ALMA development programme, the new policy allows institutes to access the European regional share of ALMA time. The policy thus aims to incentivise R&D institutes in the ESO member states to contribute to the ALMA development programme, leading to increased investment in the ALMA facility, which will in turn provide significant improvements in bandwidth, sensitivity, etc., for all users. In other words, the policy seeks to replicate for ALMA the model that has been so successful for the development and upgrade of instrumentation on ESO's optical and infrared telescopes.