Astronomical Events

On this page you will find information about upcoming and past Astronomical Event in which ESO will or has played an important coordinating role. The list below provides an overview of the available information.

For more information about upcoming astronomical events and ESO's activities around these events please contact the ESO education and Public Outreach Department.

Information about important observations with telescopes at the ESO observatories at La Silla and Paranal are regularly published via ESO Press Releases. They may relate to all kinds of different astronomical objects, from comets to variable stars, and from supernovae to distant gamma-raybursters.

Information about these observations, observations with other telescopes, and major astronomical events is available on IAU Circulars, as communicated by observers and published by the IAU Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams (CBAT). Please note that new Circulars are only placed on the Web after they have been distributed by email to the regular subscribers. It may therefore happen that the most recent link below is not yet active. If so, try again later.

Venus Transit

The most recent transit of Venus took place on 8 June 2004. ESO Headquarters in Garching organised series of public observations in recognition to this unique astronomical event

The Comet McNaught 2007

January and February, 2007

Comet McNaught, the Great Comet of 2007, has been delighting those who have seen it with the unaided eye as a spectacular display in the evening sky.
Press Photo's eso0507 and eso0707. A collection of beautiful images is available.

Deep Impact, 4 July 2005

4 July, 2005

Information about ESO's Campaign to Study the Aftermath of the Deep Impact spacecraft that collided with Comet 9P/Tempel 1.

The Venus Transit 2004

8 June, 2004

Comprehensive information about the Venus Transit 2004.

The Leonids 1999

17-18 November, 1999

This famous Meteor Shower became very impressive this year.

Solar Eclipse at ESO HQ

11 August, 1999

The ESO Headquarters were located near the line of maximum totality.

The Leonids 1998

November 1998

This famous Meteor Shower was early but became very impressive.

Mars Pathfinder

1997

The NASA Mars Pathfinder mission landed the first remotely controlled robot vehicle on the surface of Mars.

Comet Hyakutake

1997

When Comet Hyakutake passed only 15 million km from the Earth in March 1996, it became a most impressive sight in the sky.

SL-9 and Jupiter

1994

Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 crashed into Jupiter in July 1994, producing many surprising effects.

Comet Hale Bopp

1994

Information and pictures of the Comet Hale Bopp (1995 01).