Annonces 2016

10 octobre 2016: Evans & Sutherland (E&S) has signed a three-year partnership agreement with ESO as a Constellation Partner in the ESO Supernova Planetarium & Visitor Centre. Having developed advanced computer graphical technologies for over forty years, E&S was the world’s first computer graphics company, and now specialises in a world-leading digital planetarium system, Digistar. The ESO Supernova Planetarium & Visitor Centre is a cooperation between the European Southern Observatory (ESO) and the Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies (HITS). The building is a donation from the Klaus Tschira Stiftung (KTS), a German foundation, and ESO runs the facility. Through their collaboration with ESO, E&S will be providing this cutting-edge planetarium technology for use in the forthcoming ESO Supernova, and will be the first to receive daily astronomy news and data directly from research carried out in observatories around the world through the Data2Dome project. Data2Dome, which ESO is spearheading with support from the ...

29 septembre 2016: The winners have been announced of the 28th European Union Contest for Young Scientists (EUCYS). Between 15 and 20 September 2016, close to 140 young scientists aged between 14 and 21 presented a total of 80 projects from 37 countries to a panel of international judges at the Tour & Taxis Sheds in Brussels, Belgium. The three first prizes of €7000 each were awarded to: Ane Espeseth and Torstein Vik from Norway for their Mathematics project on “Motivic Symbols and Classical Multiplicative Functions”; Valerio Pagliarino from Italy for his Computing project “LaserWAN: laser broadband internet connection”; and River Grace from the USA for his Biology project “Shining a Light on the Blind: Evolutionary Regression and Adaptive Progression in the Micro-vertebrate Ramphotyphlops braminus, a Model for Understanding Brain Organization and Complex Neurological Disorders”. The second prizes went to teams from Germany and Canada and the third prizes were awarded to projects ...

28 septembre 2016: On Saturday 22 October 2016 the European Southern Observatory (ESO) will open its doors to the public between 11:00 and 18:00 CEST at its headquarters in Garching bei München, Germany. This event is one of the Open House Day activities taking place across the whole Garching research campus, where several other institutes will also open their doors to the public. ESO can be found at location number 39 on this map of the campus. Some of the highlights of the 2016 programme are: See the ESO Headquarters buildings — join guided tours through the innovatively styled office building and technical building. Learn how ESO creates artificial stars, see what mirror prototypes for the European Extremely Large Telescope look like, and more. Find out more about the ESO Supernova Planetarium & Visitor Centre, currently under construction — planned to open in 2017, it will be the largest tilted planetarium in Germany, ...

23 septembre 2016: ESO and Enel Green Power are proud to announce the entry into service of the La Silla solar photovoltaic plant in northern Chile. To mark the event, an inauguration ceremony was held at the La Silla Gymnasium, overlooking the new La Silla plant. The ceremony was opened by ESO’s Representative in Chile, Fernando Comerón, followed by Enel’s Head of Renewable Energies Latin America, Salvatore Bernabei. His excellency Máximo Pacheco Matte, the Chilean Minister of Energy, gave the closing address. ESO’s Director General, Tim de Zeeuw, underlined the importance of this facility to ESO: “This new plant will contribute significantly to ESO’s determined efforts to maximise the sustainable use of resources at its facilities. It seems particularly fitting that an astronomical observatory should take its power directly from the light of the Sun, and I am delighted to thank all involved for bringing this project to completion.” Named after ESO’s La ...

21 septembre 2016: 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: Gender Systematics in Telescope Time Allocation at ESO SEPIA — A New Instrument for the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX) Telescope Connecting the Dots: MUSE Unveils the Destructive Effect of Massive Stars Ultra-deep K-band Imaging of the Hubble Frontier Fields Report on the ESO/MPA/MPE/Excellence Cluster/LMU and TUM Munich Joint Conference “Discs in Galaxies” Download The Messenger in PDF format or visit The Messenger website to subscribe and receive a free printed copy. The printed version will be distributed from 1 October 2016. This product is also available in the ESOshop.

16 septembre 2016: Media representatives are invited to attend a ceremony at ESO’s La Silla Observatory in northern Chile on 23 September 2016 to mark the inauguration of the La Silla solar photovoltaic plant. The plant will supply power to ESO’s observatory facilities at La Silla. The event will start at 14:00 local time and is expected to finish around 16:00 — it will be held in the La Silla Gymnasium, which will provide a fine view of the plant itself. The plant has been built by Enel Green Power (EGP) [1] His Excellency Máximo Pacheco Matte, the Chilean Minister of Energy, will deliver the inaugural address. Salvatore Bernabei, Head of Renewable Energies Latin America of EGP will also speak at the event. ESO will be represented by Andreas Kaufer, Director of La Silla-Paranal Observatory, Roberto Tamai, E-ELT Project Manager, Fernando Comerón, ESO Representative in Chile and Ivo Saviane, La Silla Observatory Site ...

16 septembre 2016: The winners of Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2016 were announced at an award ceremony at the Royal Observatory Greenwich on 15 September 2016. The winning photographs will be exhibited at the Observatory’s Astronomy Centre from 17 September 2016 until 28 June 2017. ESO joined the 2016 competition as a partner, by contributing a judge from its education and Public Outreach Department (ePOD). The overall winner of the Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2016 competition is Chinese photographer Yu Jun who takes home a prize of £10 000. His winning photograph depicts the phenomenon of Baily’s Beads of the total solar eclipse on 9 March 2016 from Luwuk, Indonesia, captured in a matter of mere minutes. The winners of all the categories are: Our Sun Yu Jun (China) with Baily’s Beads (Winner and Overall Winner) Catalin Beldea and Alson Wong (Romania; USA) with Sun Flower Corona (Runner Up) ...

13 septembre 2016: 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 inspiring articles and hands-on activities for students in every issue. 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: Galaxies: genesis and evolution; Self-healing aircraft wings: a dream or a possibility?; What stars are made of; and Measuring the explosiveness of a volcanic eruption. Science in School is published by EIROforum, a collaboration between eight European intergovernmental scientific research organisations, of which ESO is a member. The journal addresses science teaching both across Europe and across disciplines, highlighting the best in teaching and cutting-edge research. Numerous articles, as well as their translated versions in many European languages, can be found online. If you would like to ...

12 septembre 2016: Seven ESO staff are amongst the group of individuals awarded third place in the prestigious Berthold Leibinger Innovationspreis. The group receiving the award includes staff from the companies Toptica and MPB Communications, in addition to those from ESO. These researchers and developers worked together on the Laser Source of the Four Laser Guide Star Facility (4LGSF), now operating on ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT). An important part of the laser technology involved was initially developed at ESO and then brought to industrial engineering levels by Toptica and MPB. The advancement and acknowledgement of outstanding development and scientific work on the application or generation of laser light is one of the objectives of the Berthold Leibinger Stiftung. Since 2000 this prize, which the Berthold Leibinger Stiftung awards every two years, has recognised scientists and technicians who make exceptional advances in the field of laser technology. The ESO staff, both former and ...

9 septembre 2016: The design for the new Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) Residencia, currently under construction in the harsh environment of Chile’s Atacama desert, features in the 15th International Architecture Exhibition. The world renowned International Architecture Exhibition has been held every two years since 1980 in the historic city of Venice, Italy, and has celebrated some of the most fascinating and groundbreaking architecture from around the world. This year’s event is running between 28 May and 27 November 2016 and features designs on the theme of “Reporting From The Front”, showcasing architecture that overcomes the odds to provide a better place to live for all. The ALMA Residencia was designed by Finnish Architects Kouvu and Partanen. Once completed, it will host astronomers, engineers and support staff from all over the world, providing an oasis in the desert that will encourage both deep thinking and relaxation in the harsh but breathtaking environment. More ...

1 septembre 2016: As the construction of the ESO Supernova Planetarium & Visitor Centre here in Garching continues apace, ready for its opening in late 2017, ESO continues to make an unprecedented range of high-quality materials available for use in planetariums, produced by world-renowned astrophotographers, artists, technicians and musicians. Both the mission and vision of the ESO Supernova emphasise the creation of connections and learning experiences for both scientists and the general public; in keeping with this, and with ESO’s ethos in general, all of these planetarium products are available for free. Quality comes before quantity, but thanks to the dedicated work of both our team and the planetarium community at large, we are able to offer both. The full range of free material for planetariums is available on the ESO Supernova website. This comprises: Almost 400 fulldome clips in ESO’s and ESA/Hubble’s archives. These include more than 100 Ultrafast Time-lapse videos by ...

24 août 2016: On 24 August 2016 at 13:00 CEST, ESO will host a press conference at its Headquarters in Garching, near Munich, Germany. ESO’s Director General, Tim de Zeeuw, will open the event, and after the initial presentations, journalists will have the opportunity to ask questions. The press conference will also be broadcast over the internet, and journalists who have registered will receive login details and information about how to ask questions of the participants. To participate in the conference, bona fide members of the media must first register by completing this online form. Please indicate whether you wish to come in person to the press conference or if you will participate online only. By registering for the conference, journalists agree to honour an embargo, details of which will be provided after registration, and undertake not to publish or discuss the material presented before that time. Slots for individual interviews can be ...

24 août 2016: This is the ESOcast that no viewer will want to miss. We discuss the result of the quest to find a planet around the closest star to the Solar System. The Pale Red Dot campaign aimed to find a planet orbiting our nearest stellar neighbour, Proxima Centauri. Incredibly, the quest succeeded and the team did indeed find a planet. Even more excitingly, the planet, Proxima b, falls within the habitable zone of its host star. The newly discovered Proxima b is by far the closest potential abode for alien life. In this ESOcast, the results of this groundbreaking research are explained in detail, providing insights into the following points: The extensive verification process the team went through to ensure this result was accurate. The factors for and against the possibility of life on Proxima b. The nature of a “habitable zone” around a star. The discovery of Proxima b is ...

23 août 2016: ESO has signed an agreement with a consortium led by the Leibniz-Institut für Astrophysik Potsdam (AIP) [1] to build 4MOST, a unique, next-generation spectroscopic instrument which will be mounted on the Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA) at ESO’s Paranal Observatory in northern Chile. The agreement was signed in Potsdam, by ESO Director General Tim de Zeeuw, and by Matthias Steinmetz and Matthias Winker on behalf of AIP. HE Johanna Wanka, German Federal Minister of Education and Research, and Martina Münch, State Minister of Science, Research and Culture for the Land of Brandenburg, were present at the signing. 4MOST, the 4-metre Multi-Object Spectroscopic Telescope, will be installed on the VISTA telescope in the position occupied by the VISTA Infrared Camera, the current workhorse instrument on VISTA, where it will provide the telescope with unique new capabilities. The instrument is expected to begin operation in 2022, when it will ...

23 août 2016: A record amount of observing time was requested by the international astronomy community under the call for proposals as part of Cycle 4 at the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). The high demand for this revolutionary telescope was reflected in 50% more requested hours compared to the previous ALMA cycle. Over 400 astronomers were granted observing time with ALMA, the most powerful radio telescope on Earth. The selection process took almost five months, with specialists from around the world meeting in Vienna, Austria, last June to evaluate the 1571 proposals for observing time. The 145 science advisors of the ALMA Proposal Review Committee met for a week to establish the criteria and a ranking to make the selection of proposals as objective as possible. This involved considering the many different aspects that determine the scientific importance and technical feasibility of a project, as well as its likelihood of success. The ...

5 août 2016: The 20th issue of the Communicating Astronomy with the Public journal is out now! In this issue astronomy communication practitioners share with us new sonification software designed to bring the Universe to the visually impaired; they reflect on the impact of social-media-driven competitions; they discuss projects that engage with the people behind the science and counter traditional views of science; and they explain and explore licensing of astronomy assets. All of this, and more, is featured in this free, peer-reviewed journal for astronomy communicators — now available for download. This product will be available from the ESOshop, from 12 August 2016.

3 août 2016: One of our most popular products, the ESO Calendar, is now available in its 2017 incarnation, and can be ordered from the ESO online shop from 5 August. The calendar’s cover features a pink-tinged picture of ALMA’s majestic high-precision antennas, spread over the Chajnantor plateau at an altitude of 5000 metres in the Chilean Andes. Inside, the calendar is packed with spectacular images of the cosmos as well as photographs of ESO’s telescopes against the striking Chilean landscapes. For the month of May, an artist’s impression shows the forthcoming European Extremely Large Telescope that will be the world’s largest optical and infrared telescope, set to tackle the biggest scientific questions in cosmology. The mysterious cometary globule CG4 glows menacingly in March, and one of the sharpest images ever taken of the entire star formation region of Messier 17 has been chosen for October. In September, our home galaxy, the Milky ...

2 août 2016: Brand new 360-degree virtual tours of all of ESO’s facilities are now available on the ESO website. This new release has been enriched with new viewpoint features and many panoramas and videos capturing places never seen before. You can switch from one panorama to another just by clicking on the blue spots dotted around the images — just follow these blue spots to enjoy this immersive experience of ESO’s world! You can begin your tour at ESO’s Headquarters in Garching, just outside Munich, Germany. Inaugurated in 1981, the modernist buildings are the scientific, technical and administrative centre of ESO. As the number of ESO Member States, and its staff, grew, an extension to the initial design was added in December 2013. The subject of worldwide appreciation in architectural circles, ESO’s facilities in Garching can now be enjoyed in this virtual tour — architectural pearls indeed! From the suburban calm of ...

19 juillet 2016: Recent observations have confirmed that ALMA’s excellent sensitivity and calibration accuracy make it a top-class instrument for performing polarimetric measurements at millimetre wavelengths. Even though ALMA (the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array) has been operating since 2011, observations are continuing to verify key aspects of its performance. ALMA was designed to perform sensitive polarimetry — measuring the polarisation of radio waves to reveal the properties of magnetic fields — and astronomers have recently reported the first full-polarisation observations with ALMA, confirming that it is excellently suited to this task. To do this, astronomers observed the bright source 3C 286. A quasar lying some 7.3 billion light-years from us, 3C 286 is a very powerful source of radio waves and has been observed by many other telescopes. The radio emission from this object is known to be highly polarised, making it an ideal candidate to test ALMA’s capabilities in this area. The ...

19 juillet 2016: ESO is host to a diverse range of talents. Find out how the ESO community works across so many fields to remain at the cutting-edge of astronomy. Astronomy has long since moved beyond star gazing. The European Southern Observatory (ESO) has been operating for over 50 years, and is involved in some of the most innovative telescope projects both on and off the Earth. It takes a battalion of scientists and technicians, as well as teams devoted to public outreach, human resources and administration, to maintain this level of success. Professors, fellows and PhD students together forge the future of research. ESO’s flagship project, the European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT), one of the most ambitious astronomical engineering projects ever undertaken, is pushing this diverse ESO community towards achieving even greater heights. By following the career path of Dr. J. as he progresses from Dr. to Professor, this ESO podcast highlights ...