Announcements

24 June 2010: Garching, 24 June 2010 — In a Statement of Intent signed today at the offices of the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in Garching, Germany, the European Commission (EC) and the members of EIROforum, including ESO, formalise their desire to maintain and further develop their cooperation, for the benefit of European science. In signing this statement, Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, European Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science and Iain Mattaj, Chairman of EIROforum and Director General of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), as well as the Directors General or equivalent of the other EIROforum members, agree to cooperate to further European research in general, and the European Research Area in particular. “As leaders in our fields of scientific research we play an active role, every day, in turning the European Research Area into a reality. At EIROforum we therefore have considerable experience and expertise, which we will strive to make available to ...

24 June 2010: A press kit about black holes is now available for download in PDF format. The guide gives a concise and accessible explanation of what black holes are, why they are interesting, the latest on black hole research from ESO — and why scientists say they have “no hair”. It explains: How black holes were discovered; Why they exist; What scientists know about them today; and How a supermassive black hole lies at the heart of our own galaxy. The press kit is available in English, and features a full list of black hole related ESO press releases.

23 June 2010: A press kit about exoplanets is now available for download in PDF format. Exoplanets (or extrasolar planets) are planets that orbit stars other than our Sun. While astronomers have long suspected their existence, it is only in the past two decades that we have been able to detect them, with much of this cutting edge work done at ESO. This document explains in clear language: Why exoplanets are so hard to detect, and what strategies astronomers have used to find them; What these discoveries can tell us about the origins of our own Solar System and how the Earth was formed; How ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) has allowed scientists to obtain the first image of an exoplanet; How the HARPS spectrograph on the ESO 3.6-metre telescope is the world’s foremost exoplanet hunter; and How future research could one day let us discover whether there is life on other planets. ...

18 June 2010: The ESO Annual Report 2009 is now available for download. It presents a comprehensive report of the many activities of the European Southern Observatory during 2009.

18 June 2010: In this issue of Communicating Astronomy with the Public Journal, the artist Tim Roth and his collaborators give us a behind the scenes look to their very successful science–art project Cosmic Revelation and our regular contributor, Matthew McCool looks back in time to the clash between science and the humanities. Between issues you can stay in touch through our website, www.capjournal.org, where you will find the current issues in PDF format, an astronomy communication and education job bank, submission guidelines and back issues. We also welcome astronomy and science communication events (conferences, meetings, etc.), training opportunities, job postings or courses offered. If you have astronomy and science communication-themed products such as books, DVDs, television programmes, magazines or websites that you would like to see reviewed by the CAPjournal editorial team, simply send the necessary information to: editor@capjournal.org. Any questions, comments or opinions can also be addressed there.

17 June 2010: A Press Kit about the European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT) is now available for download in PDF format, in English- and Spanish-language versions. The kit gives a concise but comprehensive overview of the background, current status, and future of what will be the world’s biggest eye on the sky.

17 June 2010: A new ESO flyer for download and printing is available in English and Spanish (PDF).

10 June 2010: For the first time, astronomers have been able to directly follow the motion of an exoplanet as it moves from one side of its host star to the other. The planet has the smallest orbit so far of all directly imaged exoplanets, lying almost as close to its parent star as Saturn is to the Sun. Scientists believe that it may have formed in a similar way to the giant planets in the Solar System. Because the star is so young, this discovery proves that gas giant planets can form within discs in only a few million years, a short time in cosmic terms. Together with the press release describing this discovery made with ESO’s Very Large Telescope, ESO has issued a new video podcast, ESOcast 18, entitled “Exoplanet Caught on the Move”, with our host, Dr J. The ESOCast provides a nice explanation of the discovery and its importance, ...

28 May 2010: High on the Chajnantor plateau in the Chilean Andes, work progresses at a frantic pace for building the Atacama Large Millimeter/ submillimeter Array (ALMA), which, in a few years from now, will consist of at least 66 antennas, working together at an altitude of 5000 metres. Once completed, ALMA will enable astronomers to study the cold Universe in unprecedented detail.ESO has just issued a new video podcast, ESOcast 17, entitled “Constructing ALMA — The World's Largest Observatory”, to illustrate the enormous progress achieved. The video is available in various formats, including HD, and can be watched or downloaded, also directly from iTunes.

25 May 2010: ESO Director General Tim de Zeeuw and astrophysicist Sabine Schindler visited the Austrian Minister of Science and Research, Beatrix Karl, on 21 May 2010.Minister Karl said she appreciated Austria’s participation in ESO projects, which include the Very Large Telescope in Chile, and the European Extremely Large Telescope project that is currently under development. "We all three agree that when Austria's joined ESO it was an important step for Austria's basic research programmes, and especially for astronomy," she said. Other disciplines, ranging from astrophysics and particle physics to mathematics and information science, will also benefit from Austria’s accession to ESO in 2008.Austrian scientists have access to the largest observatories in the world, along with ESO infrastructure to help analyse and understand the data gathered. "This naturally strengthens the attractiveness of Austria for researchers," said the minister. Universities in Austria benefitting from the new arrangement include the University of Innsbruck, University of ...

18 May 2010: The European Astronomical Society (EAS) has created a new award to honour astronomers of outstanding scientific distinction. The award is named after Professor Lodewijk Woltjer, one of Europe’s outstanding astronomers of the second half of the twentieth century, and ESO Director General from 1975 till 1988. Under his leadership ESO established itself as one of the world’s leading astronomical institutes, and took the decision to build the Very Large Telescope, the world’s most advanced visible-light astronomical observatory. Professor Woltjer will give the first Lodewijk Woltjer Lecture at the opening session of the European Week of Astronomy and Space Science — JENAM 2010 on Monday, 7 September 2010, in Lisbon, Portugal.Read more on the EAS website.

17 May 2010: A New Series of Astronomy Cafés Start in Munich If you have ever wanted to discuss the hottest topics of physics and astronomy with scientists in a relaxed atmosphere, now is your chance (provided you speak German). ESO, together with the Excellence Cluster Universe and the Max-Planck Institutes for Physics, for Astrophysics and for Extraterrestrial Physics, is starting a series of scientific cafés centred on topics related to the Universe. The series starts on 31 May 2010 with the theme “The Big Bang in the Tunnel”. Physicist Stefan Stonjek from the Max-Planck Institute for Physics will briefly tell us about the latest from the CERN Large Hadron Collider before leading a general discussion. The second meeting will take place on 5 July 2010 and to discuss the theme “Are we alone in the Universe?”with ESO astronomer Markus Kissler-Patig. From July, all the discussions will be held every first Monday of ...

21 April 2010: The European Astronomical Society [1] announces that this year’s winner of its Tycho Brahe Prize is the British optical engineer Dr Raymond Wilson. The Tycho Brahe Prize is awarded annually in recognition of the development or exploitation of European instruments, or major discoveries based largely on such instruments. It carries a monetary reward of 6000 euros and is sponsored by the Klaus–Tschira foundation, based in Heidelberg, Germany. The prize will be awarded to Dr Wilson during the European Week of Astronomy and Space Science (JENAM2010) [2] that will take place in Lisbon, Portugal, from 6–10 September 2010.Dr Wilson has made contributions of the utmost importance to the technology of astronomical telescopes during the last two decades of the 20th century. His profound theoretical and practical knowledge of optics and his vision for achieving optical perfection led him to the concept of active optics, which revolutionised the world of large telescopes: ...

12 April 2010: People traveling from all over the world to Easter Island, Chile, to witness the total solar eclipse on 11 July 2010, now have the chance to add another astronomical destination to their route. ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), the world’s most advanced visible-light astronomical observatory, will offer guided visits to the public every weekend in July 2010, and also on Friday 16 July in the week after the eclipse. Normally public visits to Paranal are scheduled for just the last two weekends of every month, except in December, but due to the high demand by amateur astronomy groups visiting Chile, ESO has added more weekend openings.Guided visits take place during the day only, so as not to disturb the science observations. They include a tour to the platform of the VLT and the unique opportunity to see the mirror of one of the four 8.2-metre telescopes on the site.Paranal Observatory ...

23 March 2010: ESO Messenger No. 139 is available for download on http://www.eso.org/sci/publications/messenger/

22 March 2010: In a position paper presented at the European Conference on Research Infrastructures today, EIROforum, of which ESO is a member, presents the main challenges encountered by research infrastructure projects and offers to support and help new European research infrastructures to become world-class facilities for scientific research. “Creating new European Research Infrastructures and achieving world-class excellence requires concerted and sustained efforts by various stakeholders including governments, the European Commission, funders, administrators and scientists,” says Iain Mattaj, Director General of EMBL and present chairman of EIROforum. “EIROforum members have several decades of expertise in the construction and successful operation of large international research facilities, and would now like to make their experience available to the benefit of all.”Across Europe, cutting-edge research requires world-class research infrastructures, which help to support the continent’s competitiveness in scientific research, underpin its knowledge-based economy, and are essential to meet current and future challenges faced by Europe and ...

9 March 2010: Supported by the ESO Chile Solidarity Group, a “solidarity mission” involving ESO and Gemini South Observatory employees has been actively and successfully helping the people in Pelluhue area, on the coast of the Maule region in Chile. The region was one of the most affected by the magnitude 8.8 earthquake that struck the country on 27 February 2010.On 2 March 2010, three vehicles loaded with food, medicine, clothes, hygiene and essential items departed from the ESO offices in Vitacura, Santiago. The goods were distributed to victims of the earthquake both on the Maule coast and in nearby rural areas. The group not only distributed supplies, but also built a temporary rainproof shelter for an elderly couple living in the rural area of Salto de Pelluhue, whose house was devastated by the earthquake. The group came back after a week of traveling and helping on 8 March 2010.In the next days, ...

4 March 2010: ESO Council delegates met in Committee on 2–3 March 2010 and discussed the process for adoption of a baseline reference site for the European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT). This will enable the successful conclusion of the detailed design of the telescope with the goal of preparing a proposal for construction in due course.ESO Council received a report with the main conclusions from the E-ELT Site Selection Advisory Committee. These conclusions confirm that all sites examined in the final short list (Armazones, Ventarrones, Tolonchar and Vizcachas in Chile, and La Palma in Spain) have very good conditions for astronomical observing, each one with its particular strengths. The technical report concludes that Cerro Armazones, near Paranal, stands out as the clearly preferred site, because it has the best balance of sky quality across all aspects and it can be operated in an integrated fashion with the existing ESO Paranal Observatory.The ESO Council ...

1 March 2010: The first components for the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE), a second generation instrument for ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), are beginning to arrive. MUSE is an innovative 3D spectrograph with a wide field of view, providing simultaneous spectra of numerous adjacent regions in the sky. Such spectrographs are efficient explorers of the Universe in three dimensions (two for the on-sky positions, and one for the wavelengths). Poised to become a unique and powerful tool for discovering objects that cannot be found in imaging surveys, MUSE, which is based on a number of innovative technological developments, is bringing these advantages to a level never achieved before. “After many years of hard work, it is with great satisfaction that we see this dream becoming reality,” says Roland Bacon, who is leading the development of this instrument. “The MUSE concept, with its serial production of not just one, but 24, 3D spectrographs, ...

28 February 2010: Update as of 8 March 17:30 CET:The operations of the Santiago de Chile airport are steadily improving to a point that we are now expecting only minor perturbations of both domestic and international flights to/from Santiago in the days to come. As a result, we would like to inform all visiting astronomers to ESO-Chile with an arrival in Chile scheduled for March 10, 2010 and beyond, that no more restrictions will be applied to their itinerary and that they should plan their trip as originally scheduled.Please keep checking this webpage before your departure as we will update its content in case of deviations from the current situation. Any questions, please email "vatravel@eso.org".As of 28 February 21:00 CET:We urge Visiting Astronomers with observations planned at ESO observatories to put their trips to Chile on hold until further notice. International flights to and from Santiago International Airport are currently either cancelled or ...