Announcements

19 October 2015: Registration for secondary school students to attend the third ESO Astronomy Camp has now closed. More than 120 video applications were submitted and the winners of the bursaries offered by ESO and the national partners have now been selected. The following bursaries were granted: From the Institute of Astronomy at the University of Leuven, Belgium, support for Alexandra Stuer. From the Instrument Centre for Danish Astrophysics, at Aarhus University, Denmark, support for Josefine Damtoft and Thomas Hansen. From the German Astronomical Society, Germany, support for Antonia Krieger. From the National Institute of Astrophysics, Italy, support for Silvia Ambrosini. From the Netherlands Research School for Astronomy, the Netherlands, support for Jessie de Kruijf. From the Polish Astronomical Society, Poland, support for Edyta Kołodziejczuk. From the Polish Children’s Fund, Poland, support for Jan Dziedzic. From Ciência Viva, Portugal, support for Jessica Goncalves and Joana Rita Carneiro. From the Centre for the Promotion ...

7 October 2015: Using images from ESO’s Very Large Telescope and the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers have discovered unique and totally unexpected structures within the dusty disc around the star AU Microscopii. This ESOcast takes a look at these fast-moving wave-like dust features, which are unlike anything ever observed, or even predicted. 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 Visual design and editing: Martin Kornmesser and Luis Calçada.Editing: Martin Kornmesser and Herbert Zodet.Web and technical support: Mathias André and Raquel Yumi Shida.Written by: Georgia Bladon, Mathias Jäger and Richard Hook.Narration: Sara Mendes da Costa.Music: Mat Jarvis (http://microscopics.co.uk), Johan B. Monell (www.johanmonell.com), STAN DART (www.stan-dart.com).Footage and photos: ESO, Luis Calçada, Martin Kornmesser, Christoph Malin (christophmalin.com) and NASA.Directed by: Mathias ...

6 October 2015: Expo Milano 2015, the biggest World Exposition, will be held in Milan, Italy from 1 May to 31 October 2015. It will have an important component devoted to astronomy and ESO will have a strong presence. The period 5–8 October 2015 will be “Astronomy Week” at the Chilean Pavilion. With talks and activities, the organisers will highlight the qualities and the importance of the Chilean skies as a window to the Universe, and the role of facilities like ESO’s Paranal Observatory to help develop state-of-the-art astronomy in Chile. ESO will have a prominent role during the week. Massimo Tarenghi, ESO Astronomer Emeritus, is one of the organisers and will give the opening talk along with the Chilean astronomer María Teresa Ruiz. They will discuss the big astronomical observatories installed in Chile, including the Very Large Telescope (VLT) and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). These events will kick off four ...

5 October 2015: Impressive photographs and videos showing the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) take centre stage at the free exhibition, ALMA, exploring our cosmic origins, held at the Espacio Fundación Telefónica, Santiago, Chile, between 7 October 2015 and 3 January 2016. The exhibition, which is divided into four sections, will describe the innermost workings of the most powerful ground-based observatory in history. It will explore the story behind its development and construction in addition to explaining what ALMA has already discovered about our cosmic origins. The fascinating and diverse exhibition will be accompanied by a series of free activities, including night-sky observations, music performances based on the cosmos, and robotics and astrophotography workshops. Round tables on topics such as art and astronomy, astro-engineering, and how to get the most out of the Chilean skies will also be held. Teachers and students will have access to special activities, such as talks by ALMA ...

2 October 2015: The number of public images on the ESO website has reached a new milestone, with 10 000 images now free for public use. The collection features an impressive array of cosmic phenomena — including galaxies, nebulae and star clusters. In addition there are also many spectacular views of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and the APEX telescope, high in the Andes, as well as of the Paranal and La Silla Observatories in the barren landscapes of northern Chile. Must-see images include the famous Horsehead Nebula (eso0202a), the centre of the Milky Way (eso0846a) and the first direct image of an exoplanet (26a_big-vlt). Each image can be downloaded in a variety of formats and resolutions, including the original version for maximum quality, as well as in the form of wallpapers. The 10 000th image was posted to the Your ESO Pictures Flickr group by Adhemar Duro on 30 September 2015. ...

30 September 2015: The 18th issue of the Communicating Astronomy with the Public journal is out now! In this issue you will find articles discussing key findings in astronomy communication, including research into astronomers’ views on outreach; reflections on the highly successful Galileoscope project and Global Astronomy Month; and insights into new ways to share and improve access to the huge files we, as astronomy communicators, are creating. We also gain a new perspective in this issue by hearing from those who have participated in our projects. All of this, and more, is featured in this free, peer-reviewed journal for astronomy communicators — now available for download.

30 September 2015: On 28 and 29 September 2015, ESO’s Paranal Observatory welcomed a very special visitor — British rock guitarist, singer, songwriter and astrophysicist, Brian May. Unbeknownst to many, Brian May — famed for being the lead guitarist of the legendary rock band Queen — has a passion for astronomy. In addition to holding a PhD in astrophysics, the guitarist is a science team collaborator for NASA's New Horizons mission, which flew past Pluto in July 2015. ESO therefore decided to invite Brian May to come to Paranal while he was in Santiago, Chile, as part of his current South American Queen tour with Queen drummer Roger Taylor and American singer Adam Lambert. ESO’s Paranal Observatory is located 130 kilometres south of Antofagasta, in the arid Chilean Atacama Desert. It is home to the four 8.2-metre Unit Telescopes and four 1.8-metre Auxiliary Telescopes of ESO’s Very Large Telescope. Paranal is one of ...

28 September 2015: ESO has signed an agreement with a consortium of institutes around Europe [1] for the design and construction of METIS, an infrared camera and spectrograph for the European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT). The agreement was signed by H. W. (Willem) te Beest, Vice-President Executive Board, Leiden University, on behalf of the consortium, and Tim de Zeeuw, ESO Director General, at a ceremony at the Science Faculty Club of Leiden University in the Netherlands, on 28 September 2015. Bernhard Brandl, the Principal Investigator of METIS, was also in attendance as well as all Co-Investigators and the project managers of all the partners in the consortium. METIS is one of the Phase 1 instruments for the E-ELT. It will offer imaging and medium-resolution spectroscopy over a wavelength range from 3–19 micrometres, and high-resolution integral field spectroscopy over a wavelength range of 3–5.3 micrometres. METIS is the only E-ELT Phase 1 instrument to ...

25 September 2015: Between the 17 and 21 September 2015, over 169 young scientists aged between 14 and 20 presented a total of 103 projects from 39 countries to a panel of international judges at the Fabbrica del Vapore in Milan, Italy. This was the 27th time that the European Union Contest for Young Scientists (EUCYS) contest had been held, and this year's contest was the largest in its history of over three decades. The winners have now been announced. The three first prizes of €7000 each were awarded to Sanath Kumar Devalapurkar from the USA for “On the Stability and Algebraicity of Algebraic K-theory”, Michał Bączyk and Paweł Piotr Czyż from Poland for “The studies of behaviour of single and coupled on-off type oscillators on the example of bottle oscillators” and Lukas Stockner from Germany for “Statistical modeling of volume-scattered light”. The second prizes (€5000) went to teams from Austria, Russia and ...

25 September 2015: ESO telescopes are being used to search for the subtle signs of magnetic fields in other stars and even to map out the star spots on their surfaces. This ESOcast looks at how this information — and particularly the polarisation of light — is beginning to reveal how and why so many stars, including our own Sun, are magnetic, and what the implications might be for life on Earth and elsewhere in the Universe. 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.

23 September 2015: ESO has signed an agreement with an international consortium of institutes [1] for the design and construction of the HARMONI instrument for the European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT). The agreement was signed by Grahame Blair, Executive Director of Programmes, Science and Technology Facilities Council, on behalf of the consortium, and Tim de Zeeuw, ESO Director General, at a ceremony at the Mathematical Institute, University of Oxford, United Kingdom, on 22 September 2015. Patrick Roche, President of ESO Council and Niranjan Thatte, Principal Investigator for HARMONI, were also in attendance. HARMONI, or the High Angular Resolution Monolithic Optical and Near-infrared Integral field spectrograph, will be one of the first-light instruments installed on the giant telescope and will function as the workhorse instrument for visible light and near-infrared spectroscopy in the wavelength range 0.5–2.4 µm. It can work with different adaptive optics systems, or even without adaptive optics at all, and will ...

22 September 2015: 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: History of Polish Astronomy Shaping ESO 2020+ Together: Feedback from the Community Poll Simultaneous HARPS and HARPS-N observations of the Earth Transit of 2014 as seen from Jupiter: detection of an Inverse Rossiter-McLaughlin effect Using Solar Twins to explore the Planet-Star Connection with unparalleled precision Red Supergiants as Cosmic Abundance Probes Download The Messenger in PDF format or visit The Messenger website to subscribe and receive a free printed copy.

18 September 2015: ESO has signed an agreement with a consortium of institutes across Europe [1], to design and construct the MICADO camera (Multi-AO Imaging Camera for Deep Observations), one of the first-light instruments for the European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT). MICADO will be the first dedicated imaging camera for the giant telescope and will take the power of adaptive optics to the next level. The agreement was signed by Reinhard Genzel, Director of the Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik, representing the consortium, and Tim de Zeeuw, Director General of ESO, at a ceremony at ESO Headquarters on 18 September 2015. The Principal Investigator of MICADO, Richard Davies, was also present. MICADO will equip the E-ELT with a first-light capability for diffraction-limited imaging at near-infrared wavelengths. The design of MICADO was driven by a desire for high sensitivity and resolution, astrometric accuracy, and wide wavelength coverage spectroscopy. The MICADO design has been optimised for ...

17 September 2015: A magnitude 8.3 earthquake struck central Chile at about 20:00 local time on Wednesday 16 September 2015 (01:00 CEST on 17 September) between Santiago and La Serena, followed by several aftershocks. According to government reports, eight people have died and one million people have been evacuated in response to tsunami warnings. ESO expresses its deepest condolences to the families of the victims, and its sympathy and support for all those affected by the earthquake. The epicentre was distant from both the ALMA/APEX site on the Chajnantor Plateau and the Paranal site but the quakes were felt quite strongly in Santiago and at the La Silla Observatory, which were the ESO sites closest to the earthquake. However, no casualties among ESO staff have been reported and no major problems have been reported from La Silla, where telescope checks are ongoing. ESO is currently investigating whether any staff or visiting astronomers may ...

17 September 2015: 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 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: the second of two articles on the strange world of transmissible cancers; understanding how nature is inspiring us to make colour without pigments; and a look at how scientists are trying to understand fear. Teaching activities include: a way to understand physics using craft materials; a practical lesson using colour match apps on mobile phones; and an activity on the safety of tattoo inks. Science in School is published by EIROforum, a collaboration between eight European intergovernmental scientific research organisations, of which ESO is a ...

11 September 2015: Two web cameras are now installed at the site of the ALMA Residencia, allowing anyone to follow the progress of its construction. The ALMA Residencia will be the home for staff and people working temporarily at the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). It is sited at the ALMA Operations Support Facility, close to San Pedro de Atacama in northern Chile. Construction work officially began on 23 February 2015 and is expected to last 17 months. The live transmissions from the webcams show the ongoing work in real time. The new two webcams join ESO’s extensive collection of live webcams in Chile and Germany. The collection includes live transmissions from: The Very Large Telescope (Cerro Paranal, Chile): Follow astronomers and engineers as they work at the VLT. ALMA Observatory (Chajnantor Plateau, Chile): Spot the ALMA antennas as they are being operated by ESO and partners. La Silla Night Cam (Atacama Desert, ...

24 August 2015: On 20 August 2015 the Director General of ESO, Tim de Zeeuw, and the Director General of ESA, Johann-Dietrich Wörner, signed a cooperation agreement between the two organisations at ESO’s offices in Santiago, Chile. The ESA Director General was accompanied by Álvaro Giménez, Director of Science and Robotic Exploration at ESA, and Fabio Favata, Head of the ESA Programme Coordination Office. There is considerable overlap of interests between ESO, pre-eminent in ground-based astronomy, and ESA, Europe’s leader in space research and technology. The new agreement provides a framework for future close cooperation and exchange of information in many areas, including technology and scientific research. The agreement will promote strategic coordination of the two organisations’ long-term plans as well as coordination of specific programmes. In addition, it will promote coordination of scientific and training programmes as well as the sharing of best practices in many areas. Coordination in the areas of ...

20 August 2015: One of our most popular products, the ESO Calendar 2016, is now available to order in the ESO online shop. The calendar’s cover features a spectacular picture of ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) observing the region around the supermassive black hole at the Milky Way’s centre. The calendar itself is packed with images of the cosmos as well as photographs of ESO telescopes in the rugged landscapes of northern Chile. Highlights include Comet Lovejoy glowing emerald green above ESO’s La Silla Observatory for the month of February, and the most detailed image ever taken of the strange Medusa Nebula for September. In June, the sharpest image taken so far by ALMA — sharper than is routinely achieved with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope in visible light — shows the protoplanetary disc surrounding the young star HL Tauri. Each month also marks the dates of lunar phases. The calendar measures 43 ...

20 August 2015: Astronomers using ESO facilities have been advancing astronomical studies for decades. Along the way, there have been many truly significant findings that have had a major impact on our understanding of the Universe. This ESOcast takes a look at what have been ranked as the top 10 discoveries made using ESO telescopes. From exoplanets to voracious black holes, this rundown covers many of the most exciting findings made by astronomers over the last half century 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.

11 August 2015: A new instrument called GRAVITY has been shipped to Chile and successfully assembled and tested at the Paranal Observatory. GRAVITY is a second generation instrument for the VLT Interferometer (VLTI). It will allow the measurement of the positions of astronomical objects on the finest scales and perform interferometric imaging and spectroscopy. GRAVITY will bring the most advanced vision to the VLT, combining four individual telescopes of the Paranal Observatory so that they effectively act as a single telescope with a diameter of more than 100 metres. Using several novel techniques, GRAVITY will offer sensitivity and accuracy far beyond what is possible today [1]. It aims to measure the positions of objects on scales of order ten microarcseconds, and perform imaging with four milliarcsecond resolution. For illustration, this corresponds to seeing buildings on the Moon, and locating them to within a few centimetres. GRAVITY will push high angular resolution astronomy to ...