Pressemitteilungen

19. Juli 1998: Just some weeks after the successful First Light Event of the first 8.2-m VLT Unit Telescope, cf. ESO PR 06/98 , the Paranal Observatory will today receive the visit of a high-ranking delegation from Portugal. It is lead by the Portuguese Minister of Science and Technology, Professor Mariano Gago , accompanied by the Ambassador of Portugal to the Republic of Chile, Mr. Rui Félix-Alves.

24. Juni 1998: Observations with an infrared-sensitive instrument at the ESO 3.6-m telescope at La Silla have for the first time shown the presence of a disk around a hot and massive star, known as G339.88-1.26. Until now, disks have only been found around less massive stars. Planets are formed in such disks. The new discovery may thus have important implications for our understanding of the formation of planetary systems around stars.

23. Juni 1998: The first VLT 8.2-m telescope (UT1) is now undergoing a "Commissioning Phase" during which all systems are thoroughly tested and further tuned. Although priority is given to technical work, some astronomical images have been obtained during the recent weeks.

23. Juni 1998: The first VLT 8.2-m telescope (UT1) has obtained deep images of the southern spiral galaxy Messier 83 during the present "Commissioning Phase" . During this time, all systems are thoroughly tested and further tuned. Although priority is given to technical work, some astronomical images have been obtained during the recent weeks.

23. Juni 1998: The first VLT 8.2-m telescope (UT1) is now undergoing a "Commissioning Phase" during which all systems are thoroughly tested and further tuned. Although priority is given to technical work, some astronomical images have been obtained during the recent weeks. This is a colour photo from the VLT that shows NGC 4650A, a member of the so-called Centaurus chain of galaxies in the southern constellation of that name.

19. Juni 1998: The Anglo-Australian Observatory (AAO) at Epping (New South Wales, Australia) has been awarded the contract to build a fibre positioner for the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (VLT). This new, large astronomical facility is located at the Paranal Observatory in Chile and will feature four Unit Telescopes, each with a main mirror of 8.2-m diameter.

18. Juni 1998: We publish here two photos that were obtained in the VLT Control Room at the moment of First Light Event for the UT1 on May 25, 1998.

17. Juni 1998: A wide-angle photograph has been obtained that shows for the first time the complete structure of the first 8.2-metre VLT Unit Telescope (UT1) in its enclosure on Paranal.

10. Juni 1998: Following the very successful First Light Event in late May, the first 8.2-m Unit Telescope (UT1) of the ESO Very Large Telescope (VLT) has continued to demonstrate its great potential. These developments are reported on a dedicated webpage with new VLT Information.

27. Mai 1998:

21. Mai 1998: One of the most crucial operations before the VLT UT1 First Light was successfully concluded late last evening at Paranal. For the first time ever, an astronomical mirror with a total surface of more than 50 m 2 has been coated with a thin (less than 0.0001 mm) and highly reflective layer of extremely pure aluminium. The very good result of this critical operation guarantees that the VLT UT1 will now be able to capture efficiently the faintest light from celestial objects.

19. Mai 1998: With the VLT UT1 First Light just one week away, the ultimate activities that lead up to this important event have started at the Paranal Observatory. Following successful optical alignment tests, cf. ESO Press Release 05/98, the 8.2-m primary mirror has been removed from the first Unit Telescope (UT1). It is now in the Mirror Maintenance Building (MMB) and is being prepared for coating with a thin, highly reflective aluminium layer.

13. Mai 1998: Two weeks before the moment of "First Light" of Unit Telescope no. 1 of the Very Large Telescope (VLT) , the ESO Team at the Paranal Observatory reports good progress of the preparatory work.

13. Mai 1998: In December 1987, the ESO Council decided to embark upon the Very Large Telescope (VLT), Europe's astronomical flagship facility for the early 21st century.

30. April 1998: This is another video clip with recent footage from the Paranal Observatory, illustrating the continuing progress of the VLT project. It was obtained in mid-April 1998 by the ESO EPR Video Team and forms part of the video tape ( UT1-FLE-VNR1 ) with selected video material for broadcast use, issued in connection with the VLT First Light Event.

27. April 1998: Following the successful installation of the 8.2-m Zerodur main mirror at the first of the four Unit Telescopes (UT1) of the ESO Very Large Telescope (VLT) on April 16, work now continues on the optical alignment of the complex system.

17. April 1998: The world's largest optical mirror - with 8.2-m diameter and a surface of more than 50 m 2 , polished to the highest perfection - was today put in place at the First VLT Unit Telescope (UT1) at the Paranal Observatory.

24. März 1998: The assembly work on the first VLT 8.2-m Unit Telescope (UT1) at Paranal is now entering the final phases. The excellent progress continues and the project is on schedule for the First Light Event in late May.

11. März 1998: The European Southern Observatory is building the world's largest optical telescope, the Very Large Telescope (VLT) , at the ESO Paranal Observatory in Chile. The VLT consists of four 8.2-m unit telescopes and several smaller, moveable Auxiliary Telescopes. When coupled as the giant VLT Interferometer (VLTI) , they will together provide the sharpest images ever obtained by any optical telescope. It will in principle be able to see an astronaut on the surface of the Moon, 400,000 km away.

10. März 1998: The VLT assembly work at the ESO Paranal Observatory continues in great strides. During the past week, the mirror cell for the 8.2-m main mirror (the M1 cell ) was successfully attached to the bottom of the telescope tube of Unit Telescope 1 (UT1). The present `picture story' illustrates the various phases of this delicate operation.