Quality Control at ESO has seen changes with respect to its tools and the data organization and processing with the reduction pipeline recipes (EDPS). The overhaul of quality control software and data processing was driven in parts to augment the real-time science data assessment and OB grading with up-to-date calibrations.

The aim of the Expanding Horizons process is for ESO to gather input from the community to decide on its next major programme, following the completion of ELT construction. ESO has now formally opened the call for Letters of Intent (LoI) for the Expanding Horizons process with deadline 1 December 2026. The submission of a LoI is a requirement for submitting a proposal.

ESO received 1286 valid proposals for observations in Period 118 (1 May 2027 - 30 April 2028). The deadline for proposal submission was 22 September 2026. On the VLT, the most demanded ESO instrument was MUSE with a request of 7170 hours, followed by ESPRESSO (5873 hours), and XSHOOTER (4971) hours. HARPS/NIRPS on the ESO 3.6-m telescope was the most demanded instrument at La Silla, with a combined request of 4470 hours, followed by SOXS, with a combined request of 3045 hours.

ALMA is implementing the Wideband Sensitivity Upgrade (WSU) to address the ALMA 2030 Development Roadmap and keep ALMA at the forefront of astronomical discovery. The WSU will bring major observing improvements, including increased instantaneous bandwidth (by at least 2x), improved sensitivity, and higher spectral resolution across wider bandwidths than is currently possible with ALMA. To help ALMA assess user support needs over the next decade we invite your input via the following ALMA user survey.

ESO is delighted to announce the ESO workshops chosen to take place in 2027. These events will bring together astronomers from around the world to explore some of the most exciting frontiers in astrophysics. Fourteen proposals were submitted this year and reviewed by a panel of experts from ESO in Garching and Chile. After careful consideration, and with input from ESO's Programme Scientists, the top-ranked proposals were confirmed by the Heads of the Offices for Science and the Director for Science.

This ESO workshop will explore the extreme environments and physical processes associated with galaxy interactions and mergers across cosmic time. Galaxy encounters often give rise to some of the most spectacular star-forming events, rapid accretion and coalescence of supermassive black holes, and powerful feedback phenomena capable of transforming galaxies completely. The workshop will revisit the recent advancements in this key area of galaxy evolution research, from both observational and theoretical perspectives, and envision future directions enabled by the next-generation multi-wavelength wide-field facilities and surveys.

ESO is pleased to announce that the international conference "Probing the Cosmos with White Dwarf Binaries" will be held in person from 26 to 30 July 2027, at ESO's Headquarters in Garching bei München. This workshop will bring together researchers across the diverse sub-fields of white dwarf binaries to foster discussion in key areas, including: Galactic archaeology, binary evolution, pathways to Type Ia Supernovae, and multi-messenger & gravitational-wave sources.

ESO announces the discontinuation as of 2026-09-01 of support for the ESO MacPorts Repository in favour of Homebrew, which has the advantage of providing a unique package management system for both Mac and Linux systems.

At the end of his nine years as ESO Director General, Xavier Barcons reflects on ESO’s scientific contributions, international standing, organisational challenges, sustained growth during this period, and exciting perspectives for the future.