Web Updates
Cassegrain U-Band Efficient Spectrograph
Page about CUBES (Cassegrain U-Band Efficient Spectrograph).
Multi-conjugate-adaptive-optics-Assisted Visible Imager and Spectrograph
Page about MAVIS (Multi-conjugate-adaptive-optics-Assisted Visible Imager and Spectrograph).
New page for GRAVITY+
GRAVITY+ is an upgrade to VLTI and its GRAVITY instrument. It will enable the imaging of fainter and more remote astronomical objects than previously possible, while also improving the high contrast precision on bright objects.
ESO Virtual Tours Information
The virtual visits programme aims to bring ESO's work closer to all people interested in astronomy and who, for different reasons, cannot visit the observatories in person.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at ESO
The mission of ESO is to design, build and operate the most advanced observatories on the ground, and to foster international collaboration for astronomy. This work leads to invaluable scientific and technological progress and contributes to social sustainability, in line with the United Nations’ (UN’s) Sustainable Development Goals.
ESO and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development
The aims of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) are to eradicate poverty, improve human lives, protect the environment, and ensure peace and justice, leading to a more sustainable future for all. These goals require all countries and stakeholders to work together to implement strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, address climate change and spur economic growth.
Dark and quiet skies preservation
Dark and quiet skies preservation page updated.
How ESO benefits its Member States
This page introduces some of ESO’s contributions to its Member States across five areas: science and engineering, economy and innovation, talent development, education and outreach, and international collaboration and policy.
New APOD: Two Hemisphere Night Sky
Two Hemisphere Night Sky is today's NASA Astronomy picture of the day
New APOD: The Changing Surface of Fading Betelgeuse
The Changing Surface of Fading Betelgeuse is today's NASA Astronomy picture of the day
New APOD: Carina Nebula Close Up
Carina Nebula Close Up is today's NASA Astronomy picture of the day
New APOD: Betelgeuse Imagined
Betelgeuse Imagined is today's NASA Astronomy picture of the day
Environmental sustainability web page updated
The page Green ESO — Environmental Sustainability at ESO has been updated.
New APOD: BHB2007: A Baby Binary Star in Formation
BHB2007: A Baby Binary Star in Formation is today's NASA Astronomy picture of the day
New APOD: Little Planet to Exoplanets
Little Planet to Exoplanets is today's NASA Astronomy picture of the day
New APOD: Messier 61 Close Up
Messier 61 Close Up is today's NASA Astronomy picture of the day
New APOD: M95: Spiral Galaxy with an Inner Ring
M95: Spiral Galaxy with an Inner Ring is today's NASA Astronomy picture of the day
New APOD: Zooming in on Star Cluster Terzan 5
Zooming in on Star Cluster Terzan 5 is today's NASA Astronomy picture of the day
New APOD: M106: A Spiral Galaxy with a Strange Center
M106: A Spiral Galaxy with a Strange Center is today's NASA Astronomy picture of the day
New APOD: Magnetic Orion
Magnetic Orion is today's NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day
New APOD: A Laser Strike at the Galactic Center
A Laser Strike at the Galactic Center is today's NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day
New APOD: M100: A Grand Design Spiral Galaxy
M100: A Grand Design Spiral Galaxy is today's NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day.
New APOD: Arp 188 and the Tadpole's Tail
Arp 188 and the Tadpole's Tail is today's NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day.
New APOD: Hyperion: Largest Known Galaxy Proto-Supercluster
Hyperion: Largest Known Galaxy Proto-Supercluster is today's NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day.
New APOD: The Lonely Neutron Star in Supernova Remnant E0102-72.3
The Lonely Neutron Star in Supernova Remnant E0102-72.3 is today's NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day.
Infrared Photometer/Spectrophotometer
The Infrared Photometer/Spectrophotometer was mounted at the f/35 focus of the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope.
New APOD: Journey to the Center of the Galaxy
Journey to the Center of the Galaxy is today's NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day.
Fiber Dual Echelle Optical Spectrograph
Information about the Fiber Dual Echelle Optical Spectrograph on the ESO 1-metre telescope at the La Silla Observatory, Chile.
Danish 1.54-metre Four-Channel Photometer
Danish 1.54-metre Hβ Photometer
Danish 1.54-metre Six-Channel uvby-Hβ Photometer
Danish 1.54-metre Two-Channel Photometer
ESO 0.5-metre Double-Channel Photometer
ESO 0.5-metre Single-Channel Photometer
Danish 1.54-metre CCD camera
New APOD: In the Heart of the Tarantula Nebula
In the Heart of the Tarantula Nebula is today's NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day.
New APOD: Attack of the Laser Guide Stars
Attack of the Laser Guide Stars is today's NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day.
New APOD: Horsehead: A Wider View
Horsehead: A Wider View is today's NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day.
The Danish Six-Channel uvby–Hβ Photometer
The Danish Four-Channel uvby Photometer
The Danish Two-Channel Hβ Photometer
The 3.6-m Infrared Photometer/Spectrophotometer
The 3.6-m Standard Photometer
CAPjournal Issue 23 Now Available
Updated collaborations in Chile
Updated information about ESO collaborations in Chile.
The decommissioned Walraven Photometer
Info about the Walraven Photometer (decommissioned).
New APOD: Ribbons and Pearls of Spiral Galaxy NGC 1398
Ribbons and Pearls of Spiral Galaxy NGC 1398 is today's NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day.
Biography of Prof. Lodewijk Woltjer
Biography of Prof. Lodewijk Woltjer, former ESO Director General (1975–1987).
New APOD: 'Oumuamua: Interstellar Asteroid
Oumuamua: Interstellar Asteroid is today's NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day.
New Virtual Reality Virtual Tours online
New Virtual Reality Virtual Tours online.
Info about PISCO, the Polarimeter with Instrumental and Sky COmpensation
Info about PISCO, the Polarimeter with Instrumental and Sky COmpensation.
Updated info about the Coudé Spectrograph
Updated info about the Coudé Spectrograph.
Info about ECHELEC
Info about ECHELEC (ECHelle + ELECtronic camera spectrograph)
New APOD: NGC 1055 Close-up
NGC 1055 is today's NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day
New page dedicated to Prof. Otto Heckmann
Info page about MOSAIC (Phase A)
Info page about MOSAIC (Phase A), the Multi-Object Spectrograph.
New APOD: Dark Molecular Cloud Barnard 68
"Dark Molecular Cloud Barnard 68" is today's NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day.
New APOD: Ice Ring around Nearby Star Fomalhaut
"Ice Ring around Nearby Star Fomalhaut" is today's NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day.
Open House Day 2017 at ESO Headquarters
Open House Day 2017 at ESO Headquarters.
Danish Faint Object Spectrograph and Camera
Information about the Danish Faint Object Spectrograph and Camera.
Challenges in Obtaining an Image of a Supermassive Black Hole
Enhanced Resolution Imager and Spectrograph
Coudé Echelle Spectrometer
Swedish-ESO PI receiver for APEX
The Fiber-fed Extended Range Optical Spectrograph
What is Sagittarius A*?
How to build an Earth-sized radio telescope
How do Radio Telescopes work?
New APOD: Wolf-Lundmark-Melotte
Wolf-Lundmark-Melotte is today's NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day.
New webpage for "Exoplanets in Transits and their Atmospheres"
What’s so interesting about the event horizon?
What is a black hole?
What is a black hole? -- 2nd blog post from the "Taking the First Picture of a Black Hole"
New APOD: Galaxy Cluster Gas Creates Hole in Microwave Background
Galaxy Cluster Gas Creates Hole in Microwave Background is today's NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day.
New ESO presentation template available for download
A supplementary ESO presentation template is here available for use. Featuring a wide selection of images, videos, charts and diagrams, this template focuses on key messages about ESO and is more visually appealing than the existing ESO template.
New APOD: NGC 6357: The Lobster Nebula
NGC 6357: The Lobster Nebula is today's NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day.
New APOD: Milky Way with Airglow Australis
Milky Way with Airglow Australis is today's NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day.
New APOD: The Matter of the Bullet Cluster
The Matter of the Bullet Cluster is today's NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day.
ESOcast 90 Light – Orion’s Cloudy Secrets 4K UHD
CAPjounal 21 is online
New APOD: The Lagoon Nebula in High Definition
The Lagoon Nebula in High Definition is NASAs Astronomy Picture of the Day.
Webcams updated!
Art at ESO
Our use of Cookies
We use cookies that are essential for accessing our websites and using our services. We also use cookies to analyse, measure and improve our websites’ performance, to enable content sharing via social media and to display media content hosted on third-party platforms.
ESO Cookies Policy
The European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere (ESO) is the pre-eminent intergovernmental science and technology organisation in astronomy. It carries out an ambitious programme focused on the design, construction and operation of powerful ground-based observing facilities for astronomy.
This Cookies Policy is intended to provide clarity by outlining the cookies used on the ESO public websites, their functions, the options you have for controlling them, and the ways you can contact us for additional details.
What are cookies?
Cookies are small pieces of data stored on your device by websites you visit. They serve various purposes, such as remembering login credentials and preferences and enhance your browsing experience.
Categories of cookies we use
Essential cookies (always active): These cookies are strictly necessary for the proper functioning of our website. Without these cookies, the website cannot operate correctly, and certain services, such as logging in or accessing secure areas, may not be available; because they are essential for the website’s operation, they cannot be disabled.
Functional Cookies: These cookies enhance your browsing experience by enabling additional features and personalization, such as remembering your preferences and settings. While not strictly necessary for the website to function, they improve usability and convenience; these cookies are only placed if you provide your consent.
Analytics cookies: These cookies collect information about how visitors interact with our website, such as which pages are visited most often and how users navigate the site. This data helps us improve website performance, optimize content, and enhance the user experience; these cookies are only placed if you provide your consent. We use the following analytics cookies.
Matomo Cookies:
This website uses Matomo (formerly Piwik), an open source software which enables the statistical analysis of website visits. Matomo uses cookies (text files) which are saved on your computer and which allow us to analyze how you use our website. The website user information generated by the cookies will only be saved on the servers of our IT Department. We use this information to analyze www.eso.org visits and to prepare reports on website activities. These data will not be disclosed to third parties.
On behalf of ESO, Matomo will use this information for the purpose of evaluating your use of the website, compiling reports on website activity and providing other services relating to website activity and internet usage.
Matomo cookies settings:
Additional Third-party cookies on ESO websites: some of our pages display content from external providers, e.g. YouTube.
Such third-party services are outside of ESO control and may, at any time, change their terms of service, use of cookies, etc.
YouTube: Some videos on the ESO website are embedded from ESO’s official YouTube channel. We have enabled YouTube’s privacy-enhanced mode, meaning that no cookies are set unless the user actively clicks on the video to play it. Additionally, in this mode, YouTube does not store any personally identifiable cookie data for embedded video playbacks. For more details, please refer to YouTube’s embedding videos information page.
Cookies can also be classified based on the following elements.
Regarding the domain, there are:
- First-party cookies, set by the website you are currently visiting. They are stored by the same domain that you are browsing and are used to enhance your experience on that site;
- Third-party cookies, set by a domain other than the one you are currently visiting.
As for their duration, cookies can be:
- Browser-session cookies, which are deleted when the user closes the browser;
- Stored cookies, which stay on the user's device for a predetermined period of time.
How to manage cookies
Cookie settings: You can modify your cookie choices for the ESO webpages at any time by clicking on the link Cookie settings at the bottom of any page.
In your browser: If you wish to delete cookies or instruct your browser to delete or block cookies by default, please visit the help pages of your browser:
Please be aware that if you delete or decline cookies, certain functionalities of our website may be not be available and your browsing experience may be affected.
You can set most browsers to prevent any cookies being placed on your device, but you may then have to manually adjust some preferences every time you visit a site/page. And some services and functionalities may not work properly at all (e.g. profile logging-in, shop check out).
Updates to the ESO Cookies Policy
The ESO Cookies Policy may be subject to future updates, which will be made available on this page.
Additional information
For any queries related to cookies, please contact: pdprATesoDOTorg.
As ESO public webpages are managed by our Department of Communication, your questions will be dealt with the support of the said Department.