Comunicati stampa

30 Agosto 1995: This series of three photos of the unusual Comet Hale-Bopp demonstrates that the comet is much larger than thought so far. In fact, its nucleus is surrounded by a dust cloud that measures more than 2.5 million kilometres across. Note that because of the wide field they represent, each of the images is available in two sizes, the larger of which has considerably better resolution.

25 Agosto 1995: A very unusual comet was discovered last month, on its way from the outer reaches of the solar system towards the Sun. Although it is still situated beyond the orbit of Jupiter, it is so bright that it can be observed in even small telescopes. It has been named `Hale-Bopp' after the discoverers and is already of great interest to cometary astronomers.

25 Agosto 1995: In the evening of August 17, 1995, famous comet hunter William Bradfield (Australia) discovered his seventeenth comet. He found the comet as a 6th magnitude object with a tail longer than 1 degree in the southern constellation Crater. Soon thereafter, observations were made at the ESO La Silla Observatory with various telescopes.

22 Agosto 1995: This series of four photos was taken on Sunday, August 6, 1995, on the top of the Paranal mountain, where the world's largest telescope, the ESO 16-metre equivalent Very Large Telescope , is now being installed. The VLT will consist of four 8.2-metre unit telescopes which can also be coupled. Together with some smaller, moveable telescopes, to be installed later, the four large telescopes will form the VLT Interferometer (VLTI) , a unique instrument that will allow extremely sharp images to be obtained. The first 8.2-metre telescope is expected to be in place in late 1997/early 1998.

22 Agosto 1995: On Sunday, July 30, 1995, at 1:15 hrs, the Antofagasta region was struck by a strong earthquake, reaching 7.8 on the Richter scale. Three people died and more than 130 houses and buildings were damaged beyond repair. The port also suffered damage.

22 Agosto 1995: Moving steadily closer to the Sun, Comet 1995 Q1 (Bradfield) can no longer be observed with the larger telescopes at La Silla. Nevertheless, Guido Pizarro succeeded in obtaining one more image with the ESO Schmidt telescope last evening (21 - 22 August 1995). At the moment of the 10 minute exposure, the comet was only 26 degrees from the Sun. This is most likely to be the last image of this comet that will be made from the ESO observatory.

21 Agosto 1995: Observations of Comet 1995 Q1 (Bradfield) were again made at La Silla last night (20 - 21 August 1995), but were hindered by high winds and the fact that the comet is rapidly approaching the Sun.

20 Agosto 1995: The observations of the bright comet 1995 Q1, now named after its discoverer, William Bradfield, continued for the third night in a row at La Silla (19 - 20 August 1995). Two telescopes were employed to obtain more unique data of this interesting object.

19 Agosto 1995: The newly discovered, bright Comet 1995 Q1 was again observed at La Silla last night (18 - 19 August 1995).

18 Agosto 1995: In the evening of August 17, 1995, famous comet hunter William Bradfield (Australia) discovered his seventeenth comet. He found the comet as a 6th magnitude object with a tail longer than 1 degree in the southern constellation Crater.

17 Agosto 1995: A few months ago, a violent stellar explosion – a supernova – was discovered in an extremely distant galaxy by an international team of astronomers [1]. This is the very promising first result of a recently initiated, dedicated search for such objects. Subsequent spectral observations have shown this to be the most distant supernova ever observed. Although it is very faint, it has been possible to classify it as a supernova of Type Ia, a kind that is particularly well suited for cosmological distance determinations.

02 Agosto 1995: The Antofagasta Earthquake of last Sunday, July 30, 1:15 hours, violently shook Cerro Paranal, the site where ESO, the European Southern Observatory, is building the VLT, the world's largest optical telescope. The quake's intensity in Paranal was estimated at grade 8 on the Richter scale.

19 Giugno 1995: Based on exciting new data obtained with the ROSAT X-ray satellite and a ground-based telescope at the ESO La Silla Observatory, a team of European astronomers [2] has just discovered a very distant cluster of galaxies with unique properties. It emits the strongest X-ray emission of any cluster ever observed by ROSAT and is accompanied by two extraordinarily luminous arcs that represent the gravitationally deflected images of even more distant objects. The combination of these unusual characteristics makes this cluster, now known as RXJ1347.5-1145, a most interesting object for further cosmological studies.

08 Giugno 1995: The ESO Council has just met at the ESO Headquarters in Garching during two days of intensive consultations. Among the important items on the agenda were the recent developments around the Very Large Telescope Project at Paranal, and also the possible membership of other countries.

07 Giugno 1995: With the above title, and following the very successful events of the past two years [1], ESO again organises an "educational adventure" in 1995. It takes place within the framework of the "Third European Week for Scientific and Technological Culture", initiated and supported by the European Commission. This time ESO will invite about fifty 17-18 year old grammar school pupils with their teachers to try their skills at one of the world's most advanced astronomical telescopes.

02 Giugno 1995: Versailles-Satory (France) May 31, 1995 - Giat Industries has just obtained a contract from the European Southern Observatory (ESO) for the construction of the primary and tertiary mirror supports and the positioning apparatus of the world's largest optical telescope. This contract, worth almost 140 million francs, represents over 100,000 hours of work. It was won by Gitech, a division of Giat Industries, in collaboration with the Sfim group, following an international competition between the largest European groups in the space field. Gitech is charged with the development of civil and military industrial equipment for the Giat Industries group, in particular in high technology fields.

19 Aprile 1995: Today, Wednesday, 19 April 1995, the ESO Council [1] met in extraordinary session at the ESO Headquarters in Garching (Germany) to discuss the recent developments which have affected the operations of this Organisation in its host state, the Republic of Chile [2].

18 Aprile 1995: Today, Tuesday, 18 April 1995, at the ESO Headquarters in Garching (Germany), Mr. Roberto Cifuentes, Plenipotentiary Ambassador representing the Government of the Republic of Chile, and the Director General of the European Southern Observatory, Professor Riccardo Giacconi, have signed a Supplementary, Interpretative and Amending Agreement to the Convention of 6 November 1963 which governs the relations between Chile and this International Organisation. This Agreement which in practice signifies a widening and strengthening of the cooperative relations between the Organisation and the Chilean scientific community will hereafter be submitted for ratification by the National Congress of the Republic of Chile (the Parliament) and by the ESO Council.

31 Marzo 1995: Yesterday, 30 March 1995 at 12:40 h Chilean time, a Chilean court official, Mr. Javier Jimenez, Receptor Indicial, accompanied by Chilean Carabinieros, forced an entry to the premises of ESO on Cerro Paranal without permission of ESO and without agreement between the Chilean Government and ESO, although warned that this act was in violation of the status of ESO as an international organization on the basis of the 1963 Convention and subsequent agreements between the Government of Chile and ESO.

20 Febbraio 1995: ESO, the European Southern Observatory, in reply to questions raised by the international media, as well as an ongoing debate about the so-called "Paranal case" in Chilean newspapers, would like to make a number of related observations concerning its status and continued operation in that country [1].