Aankondigingen

12 juni 2017: Up to now ESO’s giant telescope project has been referred to as the European Extremely Large Telescope or E-ELT, but this name, which was always intended to be interim and not final, is becoming less appropriate. To address this as the project moves rapidly forward into the construction phase, the organisation has decided on a shorter name. Instead of the European Extremely Large Telescope, the world’s biggest eye on the sky will now be known simply as the Extremely Large Telescope, the ELT. The new name, as well as being shorter and easier to say, reflects the growing number of ESO’s international partners, both at national level and as regards the commercial companies involved in the project, and also the fact that the telescope is located in Chile. Whilst older material may continue to refer to the telescope by its original name, ESO will be using the new name from ...

6 juni 2017: ESO and its Science Outreach Network are collaborating with the science education event organiser Sterrenlab and the Astronomical Observatory of the Autonomous Region of the Aosta Valley (OAVdA) to arrange the fifth ESO Astronomy Camp on the topic of Distances in the Universe. The camp will take place from Tuesday 26 December 2017 to Monday 1 January 2018 in the Aosta Valley, Italy. The camp will explore the theme of Distances in the Universe through several astronomical sessions, including lectures, hands-on activities, and night-time observations with the telescopes and instruments at the observatory. Social activities, winter sports and excursions will contribute to making the camp a memorable experience for the participants. ESO and OAVdA will be responsible for the scientific programme of the ESO Astronomy Camp, and will provide lecturers and material together with several other partners. The registration fee of €500 covers full-board accommodation at the hostel in Saint ...

5 juni 2017: The Big Science Business Forum 2018 (BSBF2018) aims to be the first one-stop-shop for European businesses and other stakeholders to learn about the future investments and procurements coming from Europe’s Big Science organisations. The event is organised by the Danish Ministry for Science and Higher Education in Copenhagen, Denmark, together with ESO and other European Big Science organisations. It is hosted by bigscience.dk and takes place on 26–28 February 2018. 1000 participants are expected to participate, mainly from European businesses and organisations planning to engage in the Big Science market. Dedicated parallel sessions, one-on-one meetings and an exhibition will give participants an opportunity to: Learn about business opportunities in the coming years, within a wide range of business areas. Meet representatives from Europe’s Big Science organisations and their key suppliers. Partake in discussions related to the opportunities and challenges of the Big Science market. Network and establish partnerships via business-to-business ...

30 mei 2017: To enhance its programme of scientific cooperation with its host country, 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 (working through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs), evaluates and selects the programmes to be supported by this fund. These fall into five areas: ESO grant funding to postdoctoral programmes in astronomy at Chilean 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 educational programmes for the teaching and dissemination of astronomy in Chile. Funding to support development programmes and the construction of technological systems for astronomy. Funding to support the development of astronomy in areas not covered by the above four categories. The Joint Committee of ESO and Government of ...

22 mei 2017: ESO has awarded a multi-million euro contract to the international company Teledyne e2v to design and produce a set of Large Visible Sensor Modules for use on the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT). Scheduled to see first light in 2024, the ELT is at the forefront of telescope technology. In order for the telescope to capture the Universe in exquisite detail, the ELT will use highly sophisticated adaptive optics systems which will enable it to adjust for changes in the atmosphere above it. These systems will require sensors of the highest quality. Each sensor, with a size of 800 x 800 pixels, will employ Teledyne e2v’s renowned CMOS technology. Their extreme sensitivity and fast response will permit the ELT’s adaptive optics systems to make tiny adjustments around 700 times a second to compensate for variations in Earth’s atmosphere. This will ensure that the resulting astronomical images — of exoplanets, distant galaxies ...

12 mei 2017: An extension of the agreement between the partners of the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX) has been signed, ensuring that this very productive collaboration will continue until the end of 2022. The 12-metre APEX telescope saw first light in 2005 and has provided astronomers with detailed views of the coldest objects and processes in the Universe. APEX is a collaborative effort between the Max-Planck-Institute for Radio Astronomy (MPIfR) in Bonn, Germany, ESO and the Onsala Space Observatory (OSO) in Onsala, Sweden, and the agreement was signed by ESO’s Director General, Tim de Zeeuw, Karl Menten, Director at the Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie and John Conway, Director of the Onsala Space Observatory. The ceremony took place at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden. Under the APEX extension agreement, the telescope will be upgraded to significantly improve the overall observing efficiency, and the suite of instruments will be upgraded to a new generation. ...

11 mei 2017: CNRS Images, in partnership with ESO, has produced a documentary about MUSE, the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer. Directed by Christophe Gombert and Claude Delhaye, MUSE, The Cosmic Time Machine takes a detailed look at one of the latest — and in fact, the biggest — second-generation instruments installed on Yepun (UT4), the fourth Unit Telescope of ESO’s Very Large Telescope at the Paranal Observatory in Chile. The 35-minute documentary explores the inspiration and the story behind MUSE, why it was needed, and how it came into life over a nine year development phase. It highlights the international European cooperation necessary to realise the project, as well as the participation of many of the hundreds of researchers, technicians and engineers involved. The innovative technology of MUSE and the front-line science performed with it are also discussed, braided with a gripping storyline of the delicate installation process leading up to the moment ...

10 mei 2017: Astronomers from around the world have submitted a record 1712 proposals to observe with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) during its next observing cycle (Cycle 5). Cycle 5 runs between October 2017 and September 2018. The deadline for submitting a proposal was 15:00 UT on 20 April 2017. A preliminary filtering process showed that 48 proposals were duplications, reducing the number of unique ones to 1665. All complete proposals will be evaluated and ranked at a meeting in Antwerp, Belgium, to be held between 18 and 23 June 2017. During Cycle 5, it is expected that 56 ALMA antennas will be available at any one time for observations (46 12-metre antennas and 10 7-metre antennas). All ALMA receiver bands from 3 to 10 will also be available. The maximum baseline — distance between the antennas — will be 16 kilometres, giving ALMA, at its highest operating frequencies, an angular ...

9 mei 2017: The Australian Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science, Senator the Hon Arthur Sinodinos, has announced his Government’s intention to open negotiations with ESO on a strategic partnership that would see Australia participate in all activities related to the La Silla Paranal Observatory. This announcement follows many years of informal discussions between Australia and ESO about potential collaborations. While the partnership arrangement is subject to the approval of ESO Council, it raises the possibility of many exciting opportunities for both Australia and ESO. The Australian government’s announcement was given impetus by the 2015 release of the Australian Academy of Science’s Decadal Plan for Australian Astronomy, 2016–2025. This notes the need for long-term partnerships with eight-metre-class optical/infrared telescopes in order for Australia to continue to have the scientific expertise and technical capacity to conduct world-leading science with the next generation of large telescopes and to maintain the nation’s leadership in optical-infrared instrumentation. ...

5 mei 2017: High up on the mountaintop of Paranal in Chile, ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) has a view of some of the clearest and darkest skies in the world. But even in the Atacama desert, turbulence in the atmosphere still poses a problem for astronomers. Cue a technological stroke of genius: adaptive optics. This ESOcast takes you on a soaring journey over Paranal and the Atacama desert. It introduces the powerful lasers of the VLT’s cutting-edge 4 Laser Guide Star Facility and explores their crucial role in the operations of the VLT — and in astronomy as a whole. You can subscribe to the ESOcasts on iTunes, receive future episodes on YouTube or follow us on Vimeo. Many other ESOcast episodes are also available. Find out how to view and contribute subtitles to the ESOcast in multiple languages, or translate this video on dotSUB.

3 mei 2017: The 2017 Olivier Chesneau Prize has been awarded to Rachael Roettenbacher, for her doctoral thesis entitled “Shifting the Starspot Paradigm through Imaging Magnetic Structures and Evolution”. She is currently a postdoctoral researcher at Stockholm University, having obtained her PhD at the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, USA) in 2016. Established by ESO and the Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur (OCA), the Olivier Chesneau Prize commemorates the astronomer Olivier Chesneau [1] and is awarded for the best PhD thesis in High Angular Resolution Astronomy. Rachael Roettenbacher is the second recipient of the prize, after Julien Milli in 2015. Rachael impressed the board with her study of the magnetically active star, Zeta Andromedae. The star is located about 190 light-years from Earth and has a radius approximately 15 times larger than the Sun’s. Making use of the power of interferometry, combining six different telescopes to produce images of extraordinarily high resolution, Rachael ...

27 april 2017: Planetariums around the world can now share the latest discoveries in astronomy with their visitors on the very day they are announced. The European Southern Observatory (ESO), in partnership with Evans & Sutherland and the International Planetarium Society, is proud to launch the cutting-edge Data2Dome project, which will bring the Universe into planetariums around the world at the click of a mouse — and all for free. ESOcast 104 shows you how this exciting new system works and what it can deliver — from information about events in the sky, to stunning fulldome images and videos, to the latest press releases about our complex and extraordinary Universe. You can subscribe to the ESOcasts on iTunes, receive future episodes on YouTube or follow us on Vimeo. Many other ESOcast episodes are also available. Find out how to view and contribute subtitles to the ESOcast in multiple languages, or translate this video ...

27 april 2017: ESO is proud to publicly launch a running version of the cutting-edge Data2Dome project in partnership with Evans & Sutherland and the International Planetarium Society . This exciting new free system for planetariums delivers the complete collection of images and videos from ESO's frontline telescopes at La Silla and Paranal, as well as from ALMA, ESA/Hubble — and through NASA’s and IPAC’s Astropix project: NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope, Chandra X-Ray Observatory, GALEX, WISE, and NuStar, as well as example images from ESA’s Planck and Herschel space telescopes. Data2Dome also delivers stunning fulldome images and videos, 3D models and music, as well as the latest press releases and blogs from all astronomy and space organisations worldwide, all at the click of a mouse — and for free! Data2Dome’s AstroCalendar module provides daily feeds of significant astronomical events such as spacecraft launches, planetary alignments, historical anniversaries and more. Astronomy is a dynamic ...

6 april 2017: ESO is delighted to announce that this year’s Tycho Brahe Prize has been awarded to Bernard Delabre, one of ESO’s optical engineers. The prize is awarded “in recognition of the development or exploitation of European instruments or major discoveries based largely on such instruments”. Bernard Delabre has been involved in the design of the optics of nearly all the instruments built by ESO over the past 35 years, including HARPS at La Silla, and UVES, MUSE, ERIS, HAWK-I, and CRIRES at the Very Large Telescope. He has been the chief optical designer of a number of telescopes including the Extremely Large Telescope, for which he invented the beautiful five-mirror solution. Delabre was awarded this prestigious prize in recognition of his leading role in the optical design of astronomical telescopes, cameras and spectrographs over the past 40 years. Throughout his career at ESO, he has exemplified the tradition of working at ...

5 april 2017: Media representatives are invited to attend the first stone ceremony of the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) on Friday 26 May 2017 on Cerro Armazones, a 3046-metre peak in northern Chile about 20 kilometres from ESO’s Paranal Observatory. The ceremony will begin at 13:30 local time and is expected to finish around 15:30, and will also mark the connection of the observatory to the power grid. The first stone will be laid by the President of the Republic of Chile, Her Excellency Michelle Bachelet Jeria. Media will have the opportunity not only to visit the spectacular site, but also to arrange interviews with senior figures both from the Chilean authorities and industrial contractors and with the scientists and engineers involved in building the giant telescope. The ELT is a revolutionary new ground-based telescope that will have a 39-metre main mirror — making it the largest optical-near-infrared telescope in the world. It ...

4 april 2017: Applications are now open for the ESO-supported Summer AstroCamp 2017. AstroCamp is an academic programme in the field of astronomy and physics, stimulating curiosity and critical thinking, organised by the Centre for Astrophysics of the University of Porto (CAUP). The camp takes place from 6 to 20 August 2017, in a secluded and tranquil setting away from the stresses of urban centres. The program is intended for secondary school students from European Union countries, in one of their final three years of education before university. Students of all backgrounds will come together and take two courses consisting of daily lessons, assignments, and a final exam. Some highlights include: Observing the dark night skies with the naked eye and telescopes (including the Perseids meteor shower); Skyping with astronomers and physicists from different countries; A computational project, working with data from the world’s best telescopes; Social activities like hiking, sports, and film ...

31 maart 2017: As part of an ambitious experiment involving telescopes around the world, the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) is about to attempt to image something never-before-seen: a black hole. For the first time, ALMA is joining the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) and the Global mm-VLBI Array (GMVA), which are Earth-sized virtual observatories made possible by an international collaboration of radio telescopes. Their main goal is to study the supermassive black hole at the centre of the Milky Way in detail. The EHT will attempt to image, for the very first time, the shadow of the black hole’s event horizon, while the GMVA will investigate the properties of the accretion and outflow around the Galactic Centre. The impressive line up of participating telescopes stretches across the globe, from the South Pole to Europe to Hawaii — and, of course, Chile. ALMA’s 66 antennas, state-of-the-art receivers, and superb site in its southern location ...

31 maart 2017: The latest issue of the free magazine Science in School is now available online and in printed form. This European journal for science teachers offers up-to-date information on cutting-edge science, teaching materials and projects in science education, interviews with inspiring scientists and teachers, reviews of books and other resources, and many other useful resources for science teachers. It aims to promote science teaching by encouraging communication between teachers, scientists and everyone else involved in European science education. Some of the highlights of this issue include: an article on the topic of gender identity and sexuality in science; a report on the teacher event “Bringing structures to life - new ways of teaching biology” and an article highlighting the role of our oceans in climate change. Practical teaching activities for the classroom include: an activity which uses the astronomical concept of parallax as a context for teaching geometry; microscale chemistry in ...

30 maart 2017: The success of the Pale Red Dot campaign [1] was recognised in style last night when Queen Mary University of London, the institution that led the campaign [2], won the Research Impact category of the Guardian University Awards 2017. The Pale Red Dot campaign was an outreach [3] project set up to provide the public with a unique real-time view of how science is carried out. The scientific programme was aimed at identifying an Earth-like planet around Proxima Centauri, the closest star to the Solar System. The award marked the significant contribution made by the campaign to bringing cutting-edge science to a general audience. The campaign was launched in January 2016, when observations of Proxima Centauri began, using ESO telescopes such as the HARPS spectrograph at La Silla in Chile, amongst others [4]. Their search lasted until April 2016, and was accompanied by blog posts and social media updates via ...

28 maart 2017: 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. Highlights of this edition include: The ALMA Science Archive ALMA Band 5 Science Verification The Nearby Evolved Star L2 Puppis as a Portrait of the Future Solar System Supernova 1987A at 30 Highlights from the CERN/ESO/NordForsk “Gender in Physics Day” 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.