ESO is delighted to announce the ESO workshops chosen to take place in 2026. These events will bring together astronomers from around the world to explore some of the most exciting frontiers in astrophysics. Seventeen proposals were submitted this year and reviewed by a panel of experts from ESO in Garching and Chile. After careful consideration, and with input from ESO's Programme Scientists, the top-ranked proposals were confirmed by the Heads of the Offices for Science and the Director for Science.
ESO Workshops Selected for 2026
Published: 11 Aug 2025
This year, the highest-ranked proposals were predominantly from Chile. In line with the panel’s recommendations, 2026 will see four workshops hosted in Chile and three in Germany.
Chile
- Type II Supernovae: The Chaotic Deaths of Supergiants and their Cosmic Implications - Joe Anderson (ESO Chile)
- Stellar Substructure in the Milky Way across Time - Julio Chanamé (PUC, Chile)
- IR2026: Showcasing Science and Synergies in Thermal Infrared Astronomy - Abigail Frost (ESO Chile)
- Galaxy Nuclei - Diversity, Dynamics, and Hidden Mass in Galactic Centres - Steffen Mieske (ESO Chile)
Germany (Garching)
- Bridging Horizons: Harnessing ESO’s Current Facilities for the Dawn of Population Studies - Jens Krammerer (ESO Garching Fellow), Bibi Prinoth (incoming ESO Garching Fellow)
- CMF2IMF? The Origin of the Stellar Initial Mass Function - Thomas Stanke (MPE), Morten Andersen (ESO Garching)
- AGN Feedback Across All Scales and Time - Vincenzo Mainieri (ESO Garching)
Planning for these workshops has already started and, for some of them, dates have already been decided (for further details please visit the dedicated webpage ESO - Conferences 2026).
ESO looks forward to welcoming the global astronomical community to engage in these exciting scientific exchanges. Congratulations to all the organisers, and our thanks to every scientist who submitted a proposal.