Veckans bild

23 mars 2015: This image shows the dome of the Danish 1.54-metre telescope that has been in operation at La Silla Observatory since 1979. The telescope has been involved in several breakthrough astronomical observations including the discovery of merging neutron stars as the possible origin of gamma-ray bursts (eso0533) and finding an exoplanet only five times more massive than the Earth (eso0603). Above the telescope, our home galaxy the Milky Way stretches across the sky with the bright central bulge aligned with the dome of the telescope. In the background to the right you can spot the dome which once held the MarLy 1-metre telescope.. The telescope saw first light in 1996 and was decommissioned in 2009. Before the MarLy, this dome hosted the 40-centimetre Grand Prisme Objectif, a photographic astrograph. In front of the MarLy dome, the enclosure of the small Marseille 0.36-metre telecope is visible. Links Babak’s image archive at ESO ...

16 mars 2015: This beautiful image taken at ESO's Paranal Observatory shows the four Auxiliary Telescopes of the Very Large Telescope (VLT) Array, set against an incredibly starry backdrop on Cerro Paranal in Chile. The Auxiliary Telescopes are each 1.8 metres in diameter and work with the four 8.2-metre diameter Unit Telescopes to make up the world's most advanced optical observatory. The telescopes work together to form the VLT Interferometer (VLTI), a giant interferometer which allows astronomers to see details up to 25 times finer than would be possible with the individual Unit Telescopes. Hanging over the site are the prominent Small and Large Magellanic Clouds, visible only in the southern sky. These two irregular dwarf galaxies are in the Local Group and so are companion galaxies to our own galaxy, the Milky Way. The image was taken by our Flickr friend John Colosimo who submitted it to the Your ESO Pictures Flickr ...

9 mars 2015: Resembling a cross between the Bespin Cloud City and the ice planet Hoth from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, here we see ESO’s La Silla Observatory blanketed in snow as the Sun sets. The characteristic domes of the La Silla telescopes are closed off to protect the instruments from the harsh environment and icy weather. Amongst the plethora of white, the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope is particularly distinctive due to its silver dome. On a normal night, as darkness falls, the telescope domes will open and begin their nightly routine of observing the cosmos. Despite being located in a very dry area of the world, La Silla does occasionally experience some precipitation in the form of snow and a spattering of rain, as seen in this chilly picture taken by ESO Photo Ambassador Malte Tewes. However, although it does get cold in the Atacama Desert, where La Silla is located ...

2 mars 2015: This image shows the bright centre and swirling arms of the spiral galaxy NGC 6300. NGC 6300 is located in a starry patch of sky in the southern constellation of Ara (The Altar) which contains a variety of intriguing deep-sky objects. NGC 6300 has beautiful pinwheeling arms connected by a straight bar that cuts through the middle of the galaxy. While it may look like a standard spiral galaxy in visible-light images like this one, it is actually a Seyfert II galaxy. Such galaxies have unusually luminous centres that emit very energetic radiation, meaning that they are often intensely bright in part of the spectrum either side of the visible. NGC 6300 is thought to contain a massive black hole at its heart some 300 000 times more massive than the Sun. This black hole is emitting high energy X-rays as it is fed by the material that is pulled ...

23 februari 2015: This stunning panorama shows the Licancabur volcano, just left of centre, high on the Chajnantor Plateau near to the site of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). The spattering of white objects in the sky, though it could be mistaken for snow, is in fact stars. Licancabur stands some 5920 metres high, located on the border between Chile and Bolivia. The border between the two countries cuts across the northeastern slope of the volcano, meaning that the lower two thirds of this northeastern slope actually belong to Bolivia. The sweep of white in the foreground of this image is made up of tall, thin blades of hardened snow and ice. These icy needles, known as penitentes, are a natural phenomenon found in the region (potw1221). Not so natural is the glow to the left of the image emanating from the street lights of the small Chilean town, San Pedro de ...

16 februari 2015: The transition from night to day is captured in this new photograph of ESO's La Silla Observatory. The Moon hangs low to the left of this image, diluted by the morning Sun. This image, taken by ESO Photo Ambassador Alexandre Santerne captures ESO's 3.6-metre telescope on the top right. The telescope, which is located 2400 metres above sea level and is here silhouetted by the shadows of dawn, was inaugurated in 1976. It currently operates with the HARPS spectrograph, the most prolific exoplanet hunting machine in the world. La Silla is ESO's first observatory. Inaugurated in 1969 it is located 600 kilometres north of Santiago at the edge of the Chilean Atacama Desert. La Silla was the largest astronomical observatory of its time, leading Europe to the front line of astronomical research. As illustrated in this image, the skies above La Silla provide crystal clear conditions for astronomical viewing with ...

9 februari 2015: Step outside the control room of the Very Large Telescope (VLT) at night, and you will be greeted with a jaw-dropping sight. Thousands of stars cover the sky and the Milky Way stretches from one horizon to another. In this image, the dark lanes of the Milky Way are visible, dense clouds of dust and gas that block out the light from background stars. The varying colours of the surrounding visible stars result from their different ages and temperatures — young, hot stars are very blue-white in colour, whilst the older, cooler generation appear more orange or red. For the astronomers, a sight like this means that good data is on the way due to the lack of polluting moonlight. In order to help keep the sky as dark as possible, any lights within rooms not currently in use inside the control building are turned off and blackout blinds are ...

2 februari 2015: This unique and spectacular image of ESO’s La Silla Observatory features a cloudless sky stained with red and green airglow and bejewelled with celestial objects. Amongst the celestial cast are the Small and Large Magellanic Clouds just to the right of centre, the rosy-red glow of various star-forming regions and the faint green streak of a meteor just to the left of the Milky Way. These striking heavenly regulars are eclipsed however by the presence of something far more elusive and much closer to home. The six panels below the main image magnify a series of extremely rare atmospheric phenomenon known as sprites. A few hours before daybreak — signalled by the spire of zodiacal light rising from the base of the Milky Way — a powerful thunderstorm appeared on the distant horizon, and the Earth’s upper atmosphere became a playground for these ephemeral events. Named after Shakespeare’s mischievous sprites ...

26 januari 2015: In this new ESO image, nightfall raises the curtain on a theatrical display taking place in the cloudless skies over La Silla. In a scene humming with activity, the major players captured here are Comet Lovejoy, glowing green in the centre of the image; the Pleiades above and to the right; and the California Nebula, providing some contrast in the form of a red arc of gas directly to the right of Lovejoy. A meteor adds its own streak of light to the scene, seeming to plunge into the hazy pool of green light collecting along the horizon. The telescopes of La Silla provide an audience for this celestial performance, and a thin shroud of low altitude cloud clings to the plain below the observatory streaked by the Panamericana Highway. Comet Lovejoy’s long tail is being pushed away from the comet by the solar wind. Carbon compounds that have been ...

19 januari 2015: This striking new image shows ESO’s Paranal Observatory in Chile soon after sunset. The last rays of the day create a spectacular orange haze as they pass through the dusty lower levels of the atmosphere, setting a perfect scene for this picture of the week. In this long exposure image we can see star trails caused by the movement of stars across the sky as the earth rotates. These tracks look a little like dotted lines, an effect caused by combining a number of individual shots taken with short gaps in between. The crookedness at the bottom of the star trails is due to the camera moving out of place. The path of the crescent Moon can also be seen towards the lower left of the frame as it slowly sets, appearing to sink into the Pacific Ocean. The moon is not trailed as it was taken with a series ...

12 januari 2015: Coated in a layer of ashen dust and littered with heavy equipment vehicles, the peak of Cerro Armazones appears conspicuously flattened as efforts continue to craft a platform for the European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT). This shot of the monumental work in progress was taken from a quadcopter by ESO Photo Ambassador Gerd Hüdepohl, allowing a stretch of the Chilean Coastal Range, with Cerro Paranal and the Very Large Telescope, to be unveiled as a dramatic backdrop. The Atacama Desert and its crumpled mountains unfurl outwards, dissolving into a hazy blue towards the horizon. They provide a largely featureless but quietly arresting stage for the E-ELT, which will serve as the world’s largest optical and near-infrared telescope. The clear skies of the Atacama provide the E-ELT with the perfect conditions to see the Universe with a sharpness far exceeding even that of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. When operational, this ...

5 januari 2015: High on the Chajnantor Plateau in Chile’s Atacama region, at a breathtaking altitude of 5100 metres, ESO operates the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment telescope, APEX. APEX is a pathfinder for ALMA, the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, a revolutionary new telescope that ESO, together with its international partners, has built close to APEX on the Chajnantor Plateau. APEX is based on a prototype 12-metre antenna constructed for the ALMA project, and it is finding many targets that ALMA will be able to study in greater detail. This spectacular aerial image was taken in December 2012 by Clémentine Bacri and Adrien Normier, the two crew members of the non-profit organisation ORA Wings for Science project, who are flying a special eco-friendly ultralight aeroplane on a year-long journey around the world. While on route, they help out scientists with aerial capabilities ranging from air sampling to archaeology, biodiversity observation and 3D terrain modelling. ESO ...

29 december 2014: Here we see a swirling starscape above ESO’s La Silla Observatory. A long series of individual images have been combined to form this striking shot, allowing the motion of the Earth to be captured as it rotates, with stars producing long trails around the sky’s south pole as it does so. The familiar silver dome of the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope is seen in the foreground. Moving into the shot, we next see the white dome of the ESO 1-metre Schmidt telescope, the rectangular building of the New Technology Telescope, and at the back, the double domes of the ESO 3.6-metre telescope with its adjacent smaller sibling, the now-decommissioned Coudé Auxiliary Telescope. But what are those streaks in the sky? Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Well, yes, it is indeed a plane. In fact, if you look very closely, you can see not one, but three horizontal trails ...

22 december 2014: Season’s Greetings on behalf of everyone at the European Southern Observatory! We wish you happy holidays, a good start into the next year and a fruitful 2015! Links: Christmas card 2014

15 december 2014: Rainbows are widely appreciated for the welcome touch of colour they can bring to an otherwise dark and dreary day, and this rainbow is no exception. This rare rainbow appears over the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) Operations Support Facility (OSF), which lies some 2900 metres above sea level close to San Pedro de Atacama. The OSF is the base camp for the ALMA site, which is significantly higher at over 5000 metres up on the Chajnantor Plateau. The OSF isn’t just a location for operating the giant ALMA Observatory; it is also where new technologies are assembled, integrated, and verified before they are transported to their final destination on Chajnantor. The technology has to be assembled and tested at the OSF because the air is much denser there than on the plateau, and workers can complete their tasks without the adverse health risks associated with working at high altitude. ...

8 december 2014: La Silla sits at the lowest height above sea level of all ESO’s observatories in Chile. At 2400 metres, it is around 200 metres lower than Paranal and sits at half the altitude of ALMA, which resides on top of Chajnantor at an ear-popping 5000 metres above sea level. Despite being the lowest observatory in terms of elevation, scientists at La Silla are still reminded of the extreme altitude when they step outside and see spectacles like this one — clouds just beneath their feet! As La Silla is in the Southern outskirts of the Atacama Desert, one of the driest places on Earth, it may come as a surprise to see cloud formations in the region, but this arid climate is the result of the Peruvian Humboldt Current. This current is caused by the upward movement of cold water from the depths of the nearby Pacific Ocean, and flows ...

1 december 2014: This image shows a region of the Milky Way that lies within the constellation of Scorpius, close to the central plane of the galaxy. The region hosts a dense cloud of dust and gas associated with the molecular cloud IRAS 16562-3959, clearly visible as an orange smudge among the rich pool of stars at the centre of the image. Clouds like these are breeding grounds for new stars. In the centre of this cloud the bright object known as G345.4938+01.4677 can just be seen beyond the veil of gas and dust. This is a very young star in the process of forming as the cloud collapses under gravity. The young star is very bright and heavy — roughly 15 times more massive than the Sun — and featured in a recent Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) result. The team of astronomers made surprising discoveries within G345.4938+01.4677 — there is a ...

24 november 2014: Att studera röda jättestjärnor berättar för astronomer om solens framtid – och om hur tidigare stjärngenerationer spridit livets grundämnen genom universum. En av stjärnhimlens mest berömda röda jättar heter Mira A, som ingår i dubbelstjärnan Mira, omkring 400 ljusår från jorden. I den här bilden avslöjar ALMA Miras hemliga liv. Mira är en gammal stjärna och redan håller på att kasta slutprodukterna av sitt livsverk ut i rymden för återvinning. Mira A:s följeslagare, som kallas Mira B, kretsar kring den på två gånger avståndet mellan solen och Neptunus. Forskare vet att Mira A har en långsam vind som försiktigt omformar materian omkring stjärnan. ALMA har nu kunnat bekräfta att Miras kompanjon är en helt annat slags stjärna, med en helt annan slags vind. Mira B är en het, tät, vit dvärg med snabb och kraftfull stjärnvind. Nya observationer visar hur de två stjärnornas vindar har skapat en fascinerande, vacker och ...

17 november 2014: Have you ever wondered what the inside of ESO's Very Large Telescope looks like? Well, wonder no more, as this picture of the week shows the internal structure of one of the VLT's Unit Telescopes (UTs) — specifically UT3, otherwise known as Melipal. Seen here, lit by moonlight, is the main steel structure of the Unit Telescope's optical assembly. The main mirror, measuring 8.2 metres in diameter and weighing in at more than 23 tonnes, requires a sturdy frame to allow it to rotate within the structure, while maintaining high optical resolution. This movable steel frame itself weighs over 430 tonnes, about the same as a fully loaded jumbo jet! The structure, optics and electronics are housed within a further steel enclosure, which provides protection from the harsh Atacama environment. Melipal is named after the Mapuche term for the constellation of the Southern Cross. All four of the VLT's Unit ...

10 november 2014: This week removal of the temporary office buildings at the ESO Headquarters in Garching, Germany began. This image shows them being dismantled, and captures both the beginning, and end, of an era. The ESO staff members who had been working in the temporary buildings — seen here in this aerial photo taken earlier this year — moved into the new Headquarters extension at the beginning of this year. The removal of the containers marks the end of this transition period. It also marks the beginning of the construction of the ESO Supernova Planetarium & Visitor Centre. In a few months, on the site once occupied by the temporary office buildings, the construction of ESO’s newest building will begin. The ESO Supernova is scheduled to open in spring 2018 and will offer its visitors a modern, interactive astronomical exhibition and one of the most advanced planetariums in the world. The removal ...