Announcements

21 July 2022: ESO’s Director General, Xavier Barcons, is one of the confirmed speakers at the Starmus VI festival, joining a star-studded line-up that includes no less than eight Nobel Prize laureates, five astronauts, and prominent artists and thinkers. The Starmus Festival is an artistic and scientific celebration of the wonders of the Universe and science communication. Conferences, speeches, presentations, the Stephen Hawking Science Medal award and other events are a part of the programme. The sixth edition of the Starmus festival will take place from 5 to 10 September 2022 in Yerevan, Armenia. This edition is set to be the biggest yet and the theme is a dedication to the planet Mars. Speakers at Starmus VI will include world-renowned astronauts, including Chris Hadfield and former NASA Administrator, Charles Bolden Jr. In addition, Starmus will feature a wide selection of Nobel Laureate scientists such as Kip Thorne, Emmanuelle Charpentier and Donna Strickland, as ...

14 July 2022: The ESO Annual Report 2021 is now available. It presents a summary of ESO’s many activities throughout the year. The contents include: The restart of operations at the La Silla Paranal Observatory, which reached close to full operation by the end of the year. The remote commissioning of CRIRES+ (the upgraded CRyogenic high-resolution InfraRed Echelle Spectrograph) and IRLOS (the InfraRed Low Order Sensor), and the assembly, integration and verification of ERIS (the Enhanced Resolution Imager and Spectrograph), at Paranal. The installation of the CONCERTO (CarbON CII line in post-rEionisation and ReionisaTiOn epoch) instrument at APEX, and progress on the installation of NIRPS (the Near Infra Red Planet Searcher) at La Silla. The restart of operations at ALMA, as well as continuing ALMA Development activities: the start of Band 1 observatory integration, Band 2 pre-production, and the approval of a new Band 6 prototype. Significant progress on the ELT, both in ...

12 July 2022: After nine months of work, ESO and the Saesa Group inaugurated the Paranal-Armazones photovoltaic plant, which will supply renewable energy to ESO's Paranal Observatory and, soon, to the construction and operation of ESO's Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), the largest optical telescope in the world. After its inauguration, the plant became the largest solar complex in Chile supplying renewable energy to an astronomical observatory. With 18 565 panels, distributed over 7.2 hectares of land, it will harvest 9 megawatts of electric power. This will make it possible to cover 100% of the energy needed to operate ESO’s facilities, such as the Very Large Telescope and the ELT, during a day, the period with the greatest energy demand due to the telescopes’ cooling systems. “This milestone is a dream that becomes reality! Today we are closing an endeavour that started more than ten years ago, when the Chilean Ministry of Energy together ...

27 June 2022: The Near InfraRed Planet Searcher (NIRPS) instrument, mounted on ESO’s 3.6-m telescope at the La Silla Observatory in Chile, has successfully performed its first observations. Its mission is to search for new exoplanets around the Milky Way’s coolest stars. “NIRPS has been a long time in the making, and I’m thrilled with how this mission has come together!” says René Doyon, Director of the Institute for Research on Exoplanets, Université de Montréal, and co-Principal Investigator of NIRPS. “This incredible infrared instrument will help us find the closest habitable worlds to our own Solar System.” The instrument will focus its search on rocky worlds, which are key targets for understanding how planets form and evolve, and are the most likely planets where life may develop. NIRPS will search for these rocky exoplanets around small, cool red dwarf stars — the most common type of stars in our Milky Way galaxy, which ...

24 June 2022: On 23 June, ESO had the pleasure to welcome four ambassadors to Chile to its Paranal Observatory, in the north of the country. The group included the ambassadors Eija Rotinen, Carmen Gonsalves and Carlos Sousa Amaro from ESO Member States Finland, Netherlands and Portugal, respectively. The group was also joined by Florice Mocanu, ambassador of Romania. During their visit, the representatives met with Andreas Kaufer, Director of the observatory. The group, which represents four EU countries, visited ESO’s Paranal Observatory following the UExtodoChile initiative in Antofagasta, whose objective is to promote the role of the EU as a global actor and strengthen relations with the regions of Chile. Given the proximity, the ambassadors took the opportunity to visit some of ESO’s advanced astronomical facilities. ESO’s Paranal Observatory is located in the remote Chilean Atacama Desert, at 2635 metres above sea level. Due to its remote location, the site offers some ...

16 June 2022: The Joint Committee of ESO and the Government of Chile has opened its funding opportunities for 2022. It will consider all proposals that contribute to the development of astronomy in Chile and will allocate funding of approximately 450 million Chilean pesos in 2022. The criteria for the allocation of funding will take into account the merit of the projects, the strategic priorities determined by the Committee, the match between the requested amount and the scope of the projects, and the applicants’ records. The programmes to be supported by this fund belong to the following areas: Funding of postdoctoral programmes and extended scientific visits for a duration of one to three months for postdocs, researchers or senior faculty of academic institutions. Academic faculty positions for periods of up to two years at Chilean academic institutions. Development and presentation of educational programmes for the teaching and dissemination of astronomy in Chile. Development ...

20 May 2022: ESO’s observatory sites in Chile are once again opening their doors to the public, after two years of pandemic-related closures. From 28 May, visitors will be able to take free tours of the sites in Paranal and La Silla. “We hope to once again amaze people with ESO's impressive telescopes, immersed in the most incredible landscapes of the Atacama Desert,'' says Luis Chavarría, ESO Representative in Chile. “The reopening of our sites to the public marks a small but significant step for ESO.” Tours of the ESO sites provide a unique opportunity for anybody to experience what it is like at the forefront of astronomy research. Visitors can explore inside the ESO telescopes, learn about their technology, and even witness where astronomers and engineers find a much-needed oasis in the desert. Public tours will run every Saturday at 10:00 and 14:00 in Spanish and English. Each tour will be limited ...

4 May 2022: On April 29, Josep Borrell Fontelles, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, visited ESO’s Paranal Observatory. Borrell is the Commission Vice-President in charge of coordinating the external action of the European Union (EU), which involves strengthening the EU’s ties with other countries around the globe. During his visit, Josep Borrell met with Luis Chavarría, ESO Representative in Chile, Bárbara Nuñez, ESO’s Regional Relations Officer and Maxime Boccas, Head of Paranal Observatory's Maintenance, Support and Engineering Department. Borrell was accompanied by León de la Torre, EU ambassador in Chile and a committee of the EU. His visit to Chile aims to support economic and scientific collaboration between Chile and the Member states of the European Union. ESO is an illustration of this cooperation, for example, the Observatory and Chile signed an agreement on scientific and technological cooperation for the construction and operation of ESO’s ...

28 April 2022: The European Southern Observatory (ESO) and the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) project will hold a press conference to present new Milky Way results from the EHT. When: On 12 May at 15:00 CEST Where: Eridanus Auditorium, ESO Headquarters, Garching bei München, Germany and online What: A press conference to present groundbreaking Milky Way results from the EHT Who: The ESO Director General will deliver the opening words. EHT Project Director Huib Jan van Langevelde and EHT Collaboration Board Founding Chair Anton Zensus will also deliver remarks. A panel of EHT researchers will explain the result and answer questions. This panel is composed of: Thomas Krichbaum, Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy, Germany Sara Issaoun, Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, US and Radboud University, the Netherlands José L. Gómez, Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (CSIC), Spain Christian Fromm, Würzburg University, Germany Mariafelicia de Laurentis, University of Naples “Federico II” ...

11 March 2022: Due to the war in Ukraine, to support our colleagues in the scientific community and their families, ESO is announcing a Special Visitor Programme for Scientists working in the country to visit one of the ESO premises (Garching, Germany or Vitacura, Chile) to conduct scientific or technical projects. Grants will be provided in support of these scientific visits, and travel and accommodation will be covered for the full duration of the project. More information can be found on the ESO science pages. All ESO Member States have condemned the military invasion of Ukraine ordered by the Russian leadership, which blatantly violates the most fundamental human rights and is entirely incompatible with our values at ESO. ESO does not have and does not intend to have any official relationship with institutions and companies from Russia and Belarus under the current circumstances.

9 March 2022: Today, Leo Varadkar, Ireland’s Tánaiste (Deputy Prime Minister) and Minister for Enterprise, Trade & Employment, visited the ESO office in Vitacura, Santiago, Chile. Minister Varakdar is responsible for Ireland’s membership of ESO and took the opportunity to tour the Vitacura offices as part of a visit to participate in the inauguration events for Chilean President–Elect, Gabriel Boric. During his visit, the Tánaiste met with ESO’s Director General Xavier Barcons, as well as Luis Chavarría, ESO Representative in Chile, Gautier Mathys, Science Advisor to the ESO Representative, and Bárbara Nuñez, ESO’s Regional Relations Officer. He was accompanied by six other officials from Ireland including Paul Gleeson, the first ambassador of Ireland resident in Chile. Ireland formalised its ESO membership in 2018, cementing the country’s long-standing position at the forefront of the world’s astronomy community. The country has a rich heritage in astronomy at Dunsink, Armagh and Birr, hosting the world’s largest ...

24 February 2022: Last year proved to be a record-breaking year for research based on observations conducted at ESO observatories. A recent report by the ESO Library and Information Centre shows that, in 2021 alone, over 1100 papers including ESO data were released, the highest annual number of publications from ESO telescope data to date. The most significant contribution to these publications comes from ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), and the VLT Interferometer (VLTI), which yielded data included in over 600 studies. The Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) continues to be one of the most productive VLT instruments, providing data for over 160 articles in 2021. There has also been a steep increase in papers using data from the VLTI instrument GRAVITY this year. Highlights from these facilities include the discovery, using MUSE, of the closest pair of supermassive black holes to date and investigations into the causes of Betelgeuse’s great dimming, which ...

11 February 2022: Today marks the United Nations’ International Day of Women and Girls in Science. The day aims to promote equal access to science for women and girls, serving as a reminder that they play a critical role in science and technology communities, and that their participation in them should be promoted. ESO has taken important steps towards diversity and inclusion of all genders, including over the past year, and will be hosting a week of activities to celebrate this day. In October 2021, as part of the agreement between ESO and UN Women signed in 2020, ESO started participating in the Second Chance programme (Tu Oportunidad) in Chile. In partnership with UN Women, ESO began to train seven Chile-based women in key astronomical technical skills, such as the coating of large telescope mirrors, which will allow them to expand their job opportunities and gain the skills to work in top astronomical ...

10 February 2022: On 9 February, ESO and Australia signed an amendment to broaden the scope of their strategic partnership. By virtue of this expanded agreement, Australia will join ESO’s Technology Development Programme, meaning Australian companies and institutions will be eligible to work with ESO in developing future technologies for ground-based telescopes. Australia has been a Strategic Partner of ESO since 2017. The partnership has granted Australian astronomers and industry access to ESO’s state-of-the-art research infrastructure at the La Silla and Paranal observatories, including telescopes such as ESO’s Very Large Telescope or ESO’s 3.6m Telescope [1]. They also have the opportunity to collaborate with ESO Member State institutions on developing instruments for these observatories. The amendment signed today will further strengthen this partnership by allowing Australia to participate in ESO’s Technology Development Programme. Launched in 2014, this programme brings ESO’s engineers and industry together to develop future technologies for ground-based astronomy in areas ...

7 February 2022: An international collaboration involving ESO has submitted a new paper to the United Nations Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) seeking better protections for the Earth’s dark and quiet skies. The paper was accepted for discussion today at the ongoing session of the COPUOS Scientific and Technical Subcommittee, marking the first time the dark and quiet skies have ever been tabled as a formal agenda item by the United Nations. The paper, which has been endorsed by Chile, Spain and Slovakia, encourages the international community to protect global astronomical observing capabilities from disruptive and harmful artificial interference. The night sky offers a rich tapestry of stars to the fortunate viewer, but over the last few decades, its quality has been diminished as a result of encroaching ground-based light pollution. A new threat is now emerging: the large number of satellites being introduced into low Earth orbits. As many ...

15 December 2021: Today, ESO and the Government of Chile, through its National Research and Development Agency (ANID), signed an agreement on scientific and technological cooperation for the construction and operation of ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope (ESO’s ELT), which will be the biggest optical/infrared telescope in the world. The agreement, signed at ESO offices in Santiago by Xavier Barcons, ESO Director General, and Aisén Etcheverry, National Director of ANID, will fund ELT-related projects in engineering, computing, and other areas proposed by Chilean academic institutes. These projects will allow the training, for at least a decade, of highly specialised engineers, technicians and scientists in Chile. “With the signature of this agreement with ANID, we are breaking new ground in our long-standing cooperation with Chile. We will now jointly fund projects of interest to both Chile and ESO around the largest optical telescope ever built. Through this programme we will further the engagement between ESO ...

1 December 2021: The European Southern Observatory (ESO) has partnered with UN Women to train seven Chile-based women in key astronomical technical skills, which will allow them to expand their job opportunities and gain skills to work in top astronomical observatories under the Second Chance programme (Tu Oportunidad) in Chile. This programme, a UN Women initiative, is being implemented at ESO’s Paranal Observatory in the Northern Chile’s Antofagasta Region in collaboration with ESO. It aims to prepare a group of women, six from the city of Antofagasta and one from Viña del Mar, to expand their knowledge and improve their job opportunities and technical skills through astronomy. The training programme is provided under the framework of the agreement between ESO and UN Women signed in 2020, and will give the women technical training in coating techniques for telescopes that are used in professional astronomical observatories. The coating of large telescopes, a process that ...

19 November 2021: As part of its long-standing cooperation agreement with Chile, ESO provides and manages an annual fund that awards projects dedicated to the development of scientific, technological and educational research and cooperation in astronomy throughout the country. Following two calls for proposals, the Joint Committee ESO–Government of Chile 2021 has now selected 22 national and regional projects fitting these criteria, awarding a total of 600 million Chilean pesos (about €650 000). The 2021 national call had 19 winning projects. The funds will support postdoctoral programmes and academic positions in astronomy in Chilean institutions, scientific visits by national and foreign researchers, the construction of technology for astronomy and related disciplines, as well as educational programmes for the teaching and dissemination of this science in Chile. Among this year’s winners, is a project to promote astronomy engagement amongst underrepresented and lower income communities in Cerro Navia, a municipality in the Santiago Metropolitan Region. ...

18 November 2021: Today, the Bavarian Minister of Science and Arts Bernd Sibler visited the ESO Headquarters in Garching bei München, Germany. Minister Sibler was accompanied by Rolf-Dieter Jungk, Head of Office in the Bavarian State Ministry for Science and Art and a small delegation, in line with current COVID-19 restrictions. The visit provided an opportunity for the Minister and his delegation to learn more about ESO and its cutting-edge science and technology. The visitors met with ESO’s Director General Xavier Barcons, ESO’s Council President Linda Tacconi, the ESO Director of Administration Claudia Burger, the ESO Director for Science Rob Ivison, and the ESO Deputy Head of the Office of the Director General Nikolaj Gube. After a presentation about ESO and its activities by the Director General, Minister Sibler and his delegation were given a tour of the facilities at the Garching site, including a stop at the visitor window of ESO’s integration ...

12 November 2021: As one of the world’s leading astronomy organisations, the European Southern Observatory (ESO) is fully committed to fighting climate change by reducing the environmental impact of its activities. The ESO Directors Team has now approved a new set of measures to gradually decrease the organisation’s carbon footprint over the coming years. The measures are inspired by the United Nations guidelines and build upon the actions ESO had already adopted in the past. ESO carries out the design, construction and operation of powerful ground-based observing facilities, providing astronomers worldwide with some of the best tools for their research and discoveries. This work leads to invaluable scientific and technological progress and other societal benefits, but also unavoidably places demands on resources, energy and the environment. In a carbon audit conducted in 2019, ESO’s 2018 footprint budget was estimated to be around 28 000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year (tCO2e/yr) [1], with ...