Announcements

31 March 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: The Growth of the User Community of the La Silla Paranal Observatory Science Archive New Eyes on the Sun — Solar Science with ALMA The Central Role of FORS1/2 Spectropolarimetric Observations for the Progress of Stellar Magnetism Studies The KMOS AGN Survey at High Redshift (KASHz) Light Phenomena over the ESO Observatories I: Airglow 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.

29 March 2016: An agreement has been signed between ESO and the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique [1], acting on behalf of the Institut de Planétologie et d’Astrophysique de Grenoble, to build a new adaptive optics system for the auxiliary telescopes that form part of ESO’s Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) array [2] at the Paranal Observatory in Chile. The new system, called the New Adaptive Optics Module for Interferometry (NAOMI) will make a big improvement to the imaging capability of the VLTI. The VLTI is already a remarkable astronomical facility that has made significant contributions to the study of various objects, like young pre-main sequence stars and their protoplanetary discs, post-main sequence mass-losing stars, and active galactic nuclei. A NAOMI module will be installed on each of ESO’s 1.8-metre Auxiliary Telescopes (AT), bringing a more advanced adaptive optics system to the ATs that will allow them, and the VLTI array, to ...

29 March 2016: A survey of peer-reviewed scientific papers published in 2015 and using data from ESO’s telescopes and instruments has shown that ESO remains the world’s most productive ground-based observatory. Astronomers used observational data from ESO facilities to produce 860 refereed papers last year. There were 550 papers credited to ESO in 2015 that used data acquired with either the Very Large Telescope (VLT) or the VLT Interferometer facilities on Cerro Paranal. The three most productive VLT instruments in terms of papers are UVES, FORS2 and X-shooter, which featured in 144, 91 and 78 papers, respectively. Data from the VISTA survey telescope on Cerro Paranal led to 73 papers. Facilities located at La Silla provided data for more than 200 papers in total. HARPS remains La Silla’s most productive instrument, with 81 papers to its name, an increase of ten over last year. The number of papers based on European observing time ...

24 March 2016: The 19th issue of the Communicating Astronomy with the Public journal is out now! This special issue includes an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the outreach activities surrounding ESA’s dramatic Rosetta mission. The creators of the communications storm that stoked Rosetta’s success tell all and share their experiences of the process. This, and much more, is featured in this free, peer-reviewed journal for astronomy communicators — now available for download. This product is available for preorder in the ESOshop. Confirmation of print subscription In this issue and the next we are running a campaign to update our list of subscribers to the print version of the Journal. If you are receiving the CAPjournal in hard copy, please follow these instructions. On the label of the envelope in which your receive this issue of the journal you will find a unique web link, written in the format http://eso.org/capj/MMMM. Please do the following: ...

23 March 2016: Scientists and engineers have begun mapping out the detailed specifications of two new instruments that will be part of the instrument suite on ESO’s forthcoming European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT). MOS (the Multi-Object Spectrograph) and HIRES (the High Resolution Spectrograph) will be world-leading workhorse instruments on what will be the world’s largest telescope. The contract to begin design studies for MOS was signed on 18 March 2016 by ESO and the CNRS-INSU, the leading institution in the MOSAIC consortium [1]. The instrument will combine high spectral and spatial resolution and will carry out wide-field surveys in the visible and infrared parts of the spectrum. It will allow astronomers to probe some of the deepest mysteries of the Universe: when did the first galaxies form and how did they aggregate into large structures like the Milky Way; how are ordinary matter and dark matter distributed throughout the Universe; and how do ...

21 March 2016: On 26 April 2016 an event will be held at the Paranal Observatory in Chile to mark the first light of a new laser unit on ESO’s Very Large Telescope. Members of the press are invited to attend the event (at their own cost), and those who wish to do so are asked complete this RSVP form. The event will include an optional visit to Cerro Armazones, the future home of the European Extremely Large Telescope. Known as the Four Laser Guide Stars Facility (4LGSF), the new system will use four lasers to create artificial guide stars anywhere in the sky, permitting the adaptive optics systems to compensate for the blurring caused by the Earth’s atmosphere. ESO and industry partners have together built the brightest laser guide stars used on any telescope. They will extend the VLT’s ability to produce some of the sharpest images of celestial objects available from ...

16 March 2016: On 15 February ESO announced its first social media gathering, launching a call to keen social media users from ESON countries interested in visiting its observatory sites in Chile. In all, more than 250 entries were received. After much deliberation, eight entrants were chosen to join the #MeetESO gathering, which is timed to coincide with the 2016 transit of Mercury. The eight participants selected to join the inaugural #MeetESO social media gathering are: Lorna Aguilar, Chile, http://www.twitter.com/lornibaby, http://www.facebook.com/lornibaby Loïc Bommersbach, France, https://twitter.com/Leauickque, https://www.facebook.com/leauickque Anne Grudzien, Germany, https://twitter.com/cpamoa/, https://www.facebook.com/blogcpamoa Jane MacArthur, UK, https://twitter.com/Jane_MacArthur, https://www.facebook.com/jane.macarthur.10 Ian O'Neill, USA, http://www.twitter.com/astroengine, https://www.facebook.com/astroengine Sergio Sancevero, Brazil, http://twitter.com/spacetoday1, http://facebook.com/spacetoday Remco Timmermans, The Netherlands, https://twitter.com/timmermansr, https://www.facebook.com/rtimmermans Cristian Westphal, Brazil, https://twitter.com/C_e_Astronomia, https://www.facebook.com/cristianreis1995 The selected participants will travel to Chile to visit some of the world’s most exciting astronomical facilities: the Very Large Telescope (VLT) — the world's most advanced visible-light astronomical observatory — and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter ...

15 March 2016: The winners of the 2015 art&science@ESO Residency Award are Quadrature, a group of artists from Berlin, Germany. The group consists of Jan Bernstein, Sebastian Neitsch and Juliane Götz. Together they describe themselves as “an atelier for arts, robotics and light”, and, unsurprisingly, they all share a love for machines and outer space. Part of the European Digital Art & Science Network, this award is the result of the ongoing cooperation between ESO and Ars Electronica. The winners were selected from a total of 322 entrants from 55 countries who responded to the 2015 Open Call. Quadrature will take up a residency at one of ESO’s observatories in Chile, followed by a month at the Ars Electronica Futurelab in Linz, Austria where they will develop and create new work inspired by the visit to ESO. ESO congratulates Quadrature on their receipt of this award and looks forward to an inspiring and ...

14 March 2016: In 2014, Dutch astronomer Frans Snik designed a model of ESO’s European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT) using LEGO® components. Following on from the success of that design (more than ten models have been built by enthusiastic individuals worldwide since it was published), Snik has now dedicated some of his spare time to designing a LEGO® model of one of the Unit Telescopes that make up ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT). For almost 20 years now, the VLT has been amazing astronomers with its extraordinary capabilities. One of the largest telescope facilities in the world, the VLT consists of four independent telescopes that can be operated together to make a very powerful facility. Now ESO is building its big brother, the ELT, that will extend our reach even further into the heavens. You may not be able to build your own full-size versions of these telescopes, but the models are a ...

10 March 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, fun games and hands-on activities for schools in every issue. This issue marks ten years since Science in School was first published. Accordingly, it includes a few reminiscences about the scientific advances of the last decade, as well as a look back at some of the most popular articles in Science in School. Some other highlights of this issue are: Sports in a spin; Analysing art in the Louvre; Sunspots on a rotating Sun; and “Eggsperiments” for Easter. 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 across Europe and across disciplines, highlighting the best in teaching and cutting-edge research. Numerous articles, as well as ...

4 March 2016: ESO’s observatories in Chile are located at such incredibly dark sites that normally the only thing illuminating them on a moonless night is the faint light from the billions of stars in the Milky Way. But even the darkest sky is not completely dark. This ESOcast describes the magnificent natural light phenomenon known as Zodiacal light, that sometimes casts a ghostly glow in the skies above ESO’s telescopes. It is the glow of sunlight as it is reflected towards us by dust in the plane of the Solar System, dust that is created by collisions between asteroids and the evaporation of comets. Yet another of the natural wonders that astronomers at ESO’s observatories are lucky enough to witness for themselves; we hope that you too will enjoy the Zodiacal light show! You can subscribe to the ESOcasts in iTunes, receive future episodes on YouTube or follow us on Vimeo. Many ...

15 February 2016: ESO is organising its first social media gathering at its sites in Chile to coincide with the 2016 transit of Mercury. #MeetESO will be a meeting dedicated exclusively to keen social media users from ESON countries who enjoy sharing information about astronomy. Selected participants should travel to Chile between 7 and 12 May 2016. #MeetESO will take participants to the Very Large Telescope (VLT) — the world's most advanced visible-light astronomical observatory, and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), the largest ground-based astronomical project in existence. Participants will travel to the most arid desert in the world and climb to 5000 metres above sea level. They will be accommodated at ESO’s Residencia, the astronomers’ hotel and the building apparently blown up in one of the James Bond movies. The programme also includes: night-time observations from one of the best spots on Earth, day-time observations of the transit of Mercury, a ...

12 February 2016: ESO invites you to take part in the third Photo Nightscape Awards (PNA) — an international competition for astrophotographers. As a partner in the competition, which is organised by Ciel et Espace Photos, ESO will arrange for the winner of the Nightscape category to visit the Paranal Observatory in northern Chile, home of the Very Large Telescope (VLT). The competition categories for adult entrants are: Nightscape, Timelapse, and In Town, and they are open to photographers from all countries. The PNA Junior category, for entrants under 18 years old, is reserved for French nationals only. Anyone wishing to take part in the competition should submit a registration form, their photo or timelapse sequence and, if they are under 18 years of age, a parental consent form, to the following email address by 30 September 2016: pna@photonightscapeawards.com. For more detailed information, please refer to the competition rules on the dedicated web ...

10 February 2016: A celebration was held at the APEX [1] base station in Sequitor, San Pedro de Atacama, to mark ten years of astronomical research with the APEX telescope, which resides on Chile’s Chajnantor Plateau, 5100 metres above sea level. From there, the telescope observes the sky in submillimetre wavelengths, giving astronomers access to the coldest regions of the Universe, which cannot be seen in visible light. As it looks forward to further discoveries at the forefront of observational astronomy, the APEX 12-metre telescope has already made significant contributions across a variety of astronomical fields, including the discovery of new interstellar molecules and deep imaging of the submillimetre sky, leading to new insights into star formation in the Milky Way and distant starburst galaxies in the early Universe. The Sequitor base station was chosen for the celebration, as it is at the more comfortable altitude of 2500 metres above sea level. But ...

4 February 2016: At an extraordinary meeting in Garching bei München, Germany on 3 February 2016, ESO’s Finance Committee authorised ESO to enter into final discussions with the winning bidder of the tender process for the design, manufacture, transport, construction, on-site assembly and verification of the Dome and Main Structure of the European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT). The discussion between ESO and the ACe Consortium, consisting of Astaldi, Cimolai and the nominated sub-contractor EIE Group will start soon, with the aim of contract signature in May 2016. This major milestone for the project is the culmination of the extensive and intense work of many people. This contract will be the largest ever approved by ESO and the largest ever placed for a ground-based telescope. When the contract is signed, ESO will issue a press release with more details, along with extensive information about the design of the dome and telescope structure. No further ...

1 February 2016: On 28 April 2016, ESO will participate in Germany’s Girls’ Day activities, in which technical enterprises, universities and research organisations open their doors to female school students to give them an insight into science and technology professions and to encourage more of them to choose careers in STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). The ESO Girls’ Day will introduce the work of ESO and highlight many of our daily activities, such as astrophysical research, mechanical and opto-mechanical design and integration, operations, and much more. The programme includes an introductory talk, a tour of the main ESO laboratories, and hands-on workshops on astronomy and engineering. The students will learn how astronomical instruments are built, tested and operated. They will also learn how data are collected and used in astronomical research to answer the big questions about the Universe. This will provide the students with an insight into the kinds of ...

1 February 2016: One of ESO’s Photo Ambassadors has joined a select band of people who have photographed a strange phenomenon in the sky, known as Red Sprites. These are not astronomical objects, but occur in the Earth’s atmosphere and are associated with thunderstorms. They are hard to spot, as the conditions need to be right, and they are only visible for a few seconds. But Petr Horálek was in the right place at the right time when he visited ESO’s observatories at La Silla and Paranal in Chile. This ESOcast explores the extraordinary images that result and describes how this ghostly phenomenon comes about. You can subscribe to the ESOcasts in 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 Credits ESO. Editing: Herbert Zodet.Web and technical support: Mathias ...

1 February 2016: School students around the world are invited to take part in the 2016 Catch a Star astronomy writing contest. To participate, students should submit a written report on an astronomical topic of their choice — for example, an astronomical object, phenomenon, observation, scientific problem or theory. Reports must be written in English and be no more than 5000 words in length. They may be undertaken by groups of up to three students, plus a group leader who is not a student. Each submission must be emailed as a PDF file to astro.edu@gmail.com. The deadline for all entries is 30 November 2016. The five winners will each receive a mounted image of a fascinating astronomical object, courtesy of ESO. In addition, each winner will also have the chance to carry out remote observations at the National Astronomical Observatory "Rozhen", Bulgaria, or to hold a video conference with a professional astronomer. Catch ...

15 January 2016: The quest to find alien worlds beyond our Solar System is one of the most exciting fields of modern astronomy. Now members of the public have a unique opportunity to go behind the scenes and follow astronomers on a planet hunt as it happens. This ESOcast introduces the Pale Red Dot campaign, a new project that will provide the public with unprecedented access to the search for an Earth-like exoplanet around our nearest stellar neighbour, Proxima Centauri. You can subscribe to the ESOcasts in 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. Credits ESOEditing: Herbert Zodet.Web and technical support: Mathias André and Raquel Yumi Shida.Written by: Rebecca Davies, Oana Sandu and Guillem Anglada.Narration: Sara Mendes da Costa.Music: Johan B. Monell (www.johanmonell.com).Footage and photos: ESO, L. Calçada, ...

15 January 2016: A unique outreach campaign has been launched that will allow the general public to follow scientists from around the globe as they search for an Earth-like exoplanet around the closest star to us, Proxima Centauri. The observing campaign will run from January to April 2016 and will be accompanied by blog posts and social media updates. No one knows what the outcome will be. In the months following the observations, the scientists will analyse the data and submit the results to a peer-reviewed journal. At a distance of just 4.2 light-years from the Sun, and located in the constellation of Centaurus, Proxima Centauri is the closest known star to the Sun. Previous observations have provided tantalising, but weak hints of a small companion orbiting this red dwarf star, but this new campaign will make a more sensitive search for the telltale wobbles in the dwarf star’s orbital motion that might ...