First image of our black hole
First Image of a Black Hole
The Very Large Telescope snaps a stellar nursery and celebrates fifteen years of operations
Stellar Nursery Blooms into View
Thor’s Helmet Nebula imaged on the occasion of ESO’s 50th anniversary
VLT looks into the eyes of the Virgin
A 340-million pixel starscape from Paranal
The Helix Nebula*
The centre of the Milky Way*
The Horsehead Nebula*
A deep infrared view of the Orion Nebula from HAWK-I
The Carina Nebula imaged by the VLT Survey Telescope
A deep look at the strange galaxy Centaurus A
ESO’s VLT reveals the Carina Nebula's hidden secrets
VST image of the star-forming region Messier 17
VST image of the giant globular cluster Omega Centauri*
Messier 78: a reflection nebula in Orion
2M1207b - first image of an exoplanet
The hidden fires of the Flame Nebula*
The Milky Way panorama
The Omega Nebula
NGC 2264 and the Christmas Tree cluster*
Spiral galaxy NGC 1232
The Orion Nebula and cluster from the VLT Survey Telescope
The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) by night, under the Magellanic Clouds
VISTA gigapixel mosaic of the central parts of the Milky Way
The southern Milky Way above ALMA
ALMA's world at night
The R Coronae Australis region imaged with the Wide Field Imager at La Silla*
Centaurus A
A pool of distant galaxies
Panoramic view of the WR 22 and Eta Carinae regions of the Carina Nebula*
A hard day's night ahead
Antennae Galaxies composite of ALMA and Hubble observations
VISTA’s infrared view of the Cat’s Paw Nebula*
VISTA's infrared view of the Orion Nebula*
Portrait of a dramatic stellar crib*
APEX at Chajnantor*
The moon and the arc of the Milky Way
Betelgeuse’s surface before and during its 2019–2020 Great Dimming
Early morning on Paranal*
The star cluster NGC 3293
The mouthpiece of the Pipe Nebula
Eclipsed moon, striking night sky
The VLT in action*
Rare 360-degree panorama of the southern sky*
The Eagle Nebula
The Tinker Bell triplet
ALMA and the centre of the Milky Way
SPHERE image of the disc around AB Aurigae
Total solar eclipse, La Silla Observatory, 2019
Total solar eclipse, La Silla Observatory, 2019
ALMA image of the protoplanetary disc around HL Tauri
Cosmic fireball falling over ALMA
Three planets dance over La Silla
The Lupus 3 dark cloud and associated hot young stars
The globular star cluster 47 Tucanae
ALMA’s solitude
Exoplanet hunters at La Silla*
Iconic, conical Licancabur watches over Chajnantor
Mars, 2099?
Yepun’s laser and the Magellanic Clouds
Icy penitents by moonlight on Chajnantor
ESO Headquarters at sunset*
Close-up of the drama of star formation
Bird’s eye view of the Very Large Telescope*
Paranal Observatory and the volcano Llullaillaco*
370-million-pixel starscape of the Lagoon Nebula
The Trifid Nebula
Spiral galaxy NGC 253*
Glowing stellar nurseries*
A golden halo around the ELT
Celestial conjunction at Paranal
A portrait of a beauty
The VST captures three spectacular nebulae in one image
1001 stars
Radiance of Milky Way over La Silla
New insights into debris discs
ESO’s Very Large Telescope images the Medusa Nebula
VLT image of the cometary globule CG4
VST snaps a very detailed view of the Triangulum Galaxy
New image of comet ISON
A VISTA before sunset
The Pencil Nebula, a strangely shaped leftover from a vast explosion
APEX stands sentry on Chajnantor
The VLT Survey Telescope: the largest telescope in the world designed for visible light sky surveys
Stellar nursery NGC 3603*
One million stars — towards the dark heart of the Milky Way*
Group portrait of the VLT with the galaxy
Spiral galaxy NGC 4945
Memory of the Solar Eclipse Above La Silla
Four lasers over Paranal
The planetary nebula ESO 378-1
Celestial nomad takes centre stage
Scarlet and smoke
The Gum 15 star formation region
Paranal platform after sunset*
The Milky Way glitters brightly over ALMA
The planetary nebula Abell 33 captured using ESO's Very Large Telescope
The star formation region NGC 6559
Curious spiral spotted by ALMA around red giant star R Sculptoris (data visualisation)
ALMA antennas under the Milky Way
Dark sky and white desert — Snow pays a rare visit to ESO’s Paranal Observatory
A laser beam towards the Milky Way's centre*
Wide Field Imager view of the spiral galaxy NGC 247
Starry La Silla
VISTA Magellanic Cloud Survey view of the Tarantula Nebula*
Panorama of sunset on Paranal
Really hot stars
The Eagle's EGGs *
Artist’s impression of the record-breaking quasar J0529-4351
The Running Chicken Nebula
The PDS 70 system as seen with ALMA
Caught “Pink-Handed”
Galaxy Cluster RCS2 J2327
Betelgeuse captured by ALMA
Feeding a Baby Star with a Dusty Hamburger
ALMA peers into the hearts of stellar nurseries
Image composition of ESO observatories
The star forming cloud RCW 34
The VLT's Laser Guide Star
La Silla poses for an Ultra HD shoot
The Paranal Basecamp from above
VISTA’s look at the Helix Nebula
The cool clouds of Carina
The VLT Survey Telescope (VST)
Another perfect day at Paranal
The Galactic Centre above the ESO 3.6-metre telescope
Infrared VISTA view of a stellar nursery in Monoceros*
Starlight shines brightly above Paranal
Wide Field Imager view of the southern spiral NGC 300
Paranal at sunrise
Creating a star
The white penitents*
Beta Pictoris as seen in infrared light
Fine shades of a Sombrero*
The Crab Nebula in Taurus
Looking into the eye of the ELT
The ELT under construction in January 2025
A mirror's skeleton
Bird's eye view of the ELT's altitude structure
Covering the ELT's dome
Small yet Extremely Large
The altitude structure of ESO's ELT
The sun bathes the ELT's shell
Carved out of the mountain
A stellar sprinkler
The Vela supernova remnant imaged by the VLT Survey Telescope
The observing platform as the crow flies *
Artist's Impression of the ELT: A Sharp Eye on the Sky
How the ELT will look like at Cerro Armazones
Looking into crystal-clear skies
ELT concept
Off to a strong start
NGC 6902 Caught by SPECULOOS
Stunning Exoplanet Time-lapse
A red giant sheds its skin
Supermoon beckons in the new year
Caught in a Dust Trap
Artist’s rendering of the ELT in operation
ESO’s facilities in Chile merged into an imaginary landscape
Highest resolution image of Eta Carinae
Artist's rendering of the Extremely Large Telescope
ESO signs largest ever ground-based astronomy contract for E-ELT dome and telescope structure
ESO signs largest ever ground-based astronomy contract for E-ELT dome and telescope structure
ESO signs largest ever ground-based astronomy contract for the E-ELT dome and telescope structure
The E-ELT showing the secondary mirror housing
Road to the Milky Way at La Silla
A galactic view from the observation deck
The star formation region Messier 17
A cosmic rainbow in Ultra HD
Star cluster NGC 6193 and nebula NGC 6188
Auxiliary telescopes and satellites
The globular star cluster Messier 54
Impression, sunset
The Milky Way above the antennas of ALMA
Milky Way stretches over ESO 3.6-metre telescope
Star trails at La Silla
Artist’s impression of the Extremely Large Telescope deploying lasers for adaptive optics
Paranal nights
Two very different glowing gas clouds in the Large Magellanic Cloud
Three people, three telescopes and three planets
ALMA array from the air
Whirling southern star trails over ALMA
A place to unveil the mysteries of the cold universe
Stars trails over La Silla
The star cluster NGC 2100 in the Large Magellanic Cloud
An artist’s rendering of the most distant quasar
The Orion Nebula*
VISTA's infrared view of the Lagoon Nebula (Messier 8)
ESO’s Very Large Telescope peers into a distant nebula*
Aerial view of the VLT platform
Lying down on the VLT platform
Dramatic moonset — amazing sight on Cerro Paranal, home of ESO’s Very Large Telescope*
VISTA at sunset
Paranal at sunrise
Sunset at Paranal
ALMA vision
Sunset view at Paranal with Moon, Venus and an AT
Paranal under snow
Burning lithium inside a star (artist's impression)
A snapshot of the Jewel Box cluster with the ESO VLT
Eta Carinae
The planet, the galaxy and the laser
The topsy-turvy galaxy NGC 1313*
A view of the Milky Way supermassive black hole Sagittarius A* in polarised light
Plunge into a stellar ocean
A curled viper
Milky Way over ALMA
A guiding light
Rose of star formation around distant supermassive black hole
Aerial view of Cerro Paranal
Cloudy with a Chance of Dust
La Silla from base to summit
Bubbles of Brand New Stars
Milky Way behind a VLT Auxiliary Telescope
Straight to the Milky Way's heart
Ribbons and pearls
HAWK-I and Hubble Explore a Cluster with the Mass of two Quadrillion Suns
VLTI Revisits the Largest Yellow Hypergiant Ever Discovered
Billions of new neighbours?
The edge-on galaxy NGC 1055
ELT lasers
Exoplanet caught on the move
The final ALMA antenna arrives at Chajnantor
Otto parked at night
The star cluster Messier 7
The ESO Headquarters Extension
The star cluster NGC 3572 and its dramatic surroundings
ALMA antennas at work
Artist impression of the ELT dome
Artist’s impression of the European Extremely Large Telescope
The Lobster Nebula seen with ESO’s VISTA telescope
The glowing cloud Sharpless 2-296, part of the Seagull Nebula
The Cat's Paw remastered
La Silla soon after sunset
ESO Headquarters
