Aankondigingen

25 november 2015: Astronomers have used the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE), attached to ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) at the Paranal Observatory, to take advantage of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to test their understanding of massive clusters of galaxies. They are making the first ever prediction of an observational event in the distant Universe before it actually becomes visible. Images of the galaxy cluster MACS J1149+2223, taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope in November 2014, revealed a distant exploding star — a supernova — like no other ever seen. Nicknamed Refsdal [1], it is the first supernova to be split into four separate images through the process of gravitational lensing, forming an almost perfect Einstein Cross around one of the cluster’s galaxies. Gravitational lensing is a consequence of Einstein’s theory of general relativity. The paper stating the equations of this fundamental change in our understanding of gravity was published on 25 November ...

10 november 2015: The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) continues to expand its power and capabilities by linking with other millimetre-wavelength telescopes in Europe and North America in a series of very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) observations. In VLBI, data from two or more telescopes are combined to form a single, virtual telescope that spans the geographic distance between them. The most recent of these experiments with ALMA and other telescopes formed an Earth-sized telescope with extraordinarily fine resolution. These experiments are an essential step in including ALMA in the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT), a global network of millimetre-wavelength telescopes that will have the power to study the supermassive black hole at the centre of the Milky Way in unprecedented detail. Before ALMA could participate in VLBI observations, it first had to be transformed into a different kind of instrument known as a phased array [1]. This new version of ALMA allows its ...

10 november 2015: The outcome of the 2015 Photo Nightscape Award — organised by Ciel et Espace Photos — has been decided. Over 400 photographs and timelapses from more than 50 countries were submitted for this year’s competition, from which eight winners have now been chosen. Prizes were awarded to the first and second places in three categories: Nightscape, In Town, and Timelapse, with two further awards in the Junior category. The first prize in the Nightscape category went to Michael Goh from Australia for his spectacular nightscape showing the plane of our home galaxy, the Milky Way, arching above the Australian desert. His award is a one-week trip to the Paranal Observatory, home of the Very Large Telescope (VLT) in northern Chile. This prize was offered by ESO, which is a supporting partner of the Photo Nightscape Award. Eric Courcier from France won second place in this category. Philippe Jacquot from France ...

6 november 2015: On 27 October 2015, at 22:40 GMT, the NASA/ASI/UKSA Swift satellite discovered its 1000th gamma-ray burst (GRB). This landmark event was subsequently observed and characterised by ESO telescopes at the La Silla Paranal Observatory in northern Chile, which revealed that this GRB was an especially interesting object. Gamma-ray bursts are intense flashes of gamma radiation that occur randomly throughout the distant Universe. They are thought to be caused by an extremely energetic stellar explosion and believed to signal the birth of a new black hole. Swift is dedicated to searching the skies for these mysterious and fascinating events and, after more than ten vigilant years, the satellite has now discovered its 1000th GRB. GRB 151027B occurred on 27 October 2015, in the direction of the constellation of Eridanus (The River) [1]. ESO telescopes have a long and successful tradition of performing follow-up observations of GRB events (eso0318 and eso0533), and ...

4 november 2015: The sites of ESO’s observatories in Chile were chosen for their minimal light pollution and pristine night skies. However, strange green and red colours in images of the night sky have become an increasingly common sight over the past few years. This ESOcast takes a look at what causes these mysterious glows, and why we are seeing more and more of them. You can subscribe to the ESOcasts in iTunes, receive future episodes on YouTube or follow us on Vimeo. Many other ESOcast episodes are also available. Find out how to view and contribute subtitles to the ESOcast in multiple languages, or translate this video on dotSUB. Credits: ESO Editing: Herbert Zodet. Web and technical support: Mathias André and Raquel Yumi Shida. Written by: Petr Horálek, Stefan Noll, Christopher Marshall, Richard Hook and Herbert Zodet. Narration: Sara Mendes da Costa. Music: STAN DART (www.stan-dart.com). Footage and photos: ESO, L. Calçada, ...

29 oktober 2015: In recent months, the construction of the ESO Supernova Planetarium & Visitor Centre has made substantial progress and the remarkable architecture of the building has become clearly visible. To celebrate the fast pace of the construction work, a festivity was held on 28 October 2015, at ESO Headquarters in Garching bei München, Germany. The construction workers were invited by ESO, the architects Bernhardt + Partner, and other companies involved in the construction including Schumann Projektsteuerung, Bollinger + Grohmann, IB Hausladen and Burnickl Ingenieure, to a party with food and beer. The whole occasion provided both the construction team and the future occupants with an opportunity to celebrate the building’s progress and to wish it and its occupants luck in the future. ESO, the architects and all the other parties involved would particularly like to take the opportunity to thank the workers on the site for their exceptional dedication in constructing ...

27 oktober 2015: Music from the ALMA Music Box — an audio artwork that plays melodies created from ALMA observations — is now available to be purchased in the iTunes store, on the compilation CD Music for a Dying Star. R Sculptoris, a massive red giant star located roughly 1000 light-years away in the constellation of Sculptor, is in the final stages of its life, and is violently expelling massive amounts of gas into space as it depletes its supply of fuel. The ALMA Music Box plays musical discs inscribed with information from ALMA’s observations of this dying star, based on images taken at 70 different radio frequencies. The Music Box, a collaboration between the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, PARTY New York and Qosmo, plays 70 musical discs, each corresponding to a different radio frequency observation. The discs feature holes corresponding to points of intensity in the emission. The ALMA Music Box ...

21 oktober 2015: In partnership with the Art & Science Network, ESO invites interested artists to submit applications to be considered for a residency at one of its Chilean observatories. Conducted by Ars Electronica and ESO, this second open call is part of a successful ongoing cooperation between the two institutions. Artists are encouraged to submit a short video conveying the ideas and themes they would like to develop and implement during a residency at one of ESO’s Chilean observatories and the Ars Electronica Futurelab. The residency will consist of an initial period at one of ESO’s observatories and then a month with the Ars Electronica Futurelab team and a mentor at Ars Electronica in Linz, Austria with whom the winner will develop and create new work inspired by the visit to ESO. The call opened for entries on 15 October 2015 and closes on 29 November 2015 (23:59 UTC+1). An international jury ...

19 oktober 2015: Registration for secondary school students to attend the third ESO Astronomy Camp has now closed. More than 120 video applications were submitted and the winners of the bursaries offered by ESO and the national partners have now been selected. The following bursaries were granted: From the Institute of Astronomy at the University of Leuven, Belgium, support for Alexandra Stuer. From the Instrument Centre for Danish Astrophysics, at Aarhus University, Denmark, support for Josefine Damtoft and Thomas Hansen. From the German Astronomical Society, Germany, support for Antonia Krieger. From the National Institute of Astrophysics, Italy, support for Silvia Ambrosini. From the Netherlands Research School for Astronomy, the Netherlands, support for Jessie de Kruijf. From the Polish Astronomical Society, Poland, support for Edyta Kołodziejczuk. From the Polish Children’s Fund, Poland, support for Jan Dziedzic. From Ciência Viva, Portugal, support for Jessica Goncalves and Joana Rita Carneiro. From the Centre for the Promotion ...

7 oktober 2015: Using images from ESO’s Very Large Telescope and the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers have discovered unique and totally unexpected structures within the dusty disc around the star AU Microscopii. This ESOcast takes a look at these fast-moving wave-like dust features, which are unlike anything ever observed, or even predicted. You can subscribe to the ESOcasts in iTunes, receive future episodes on YouTube or follow us on Vimeo. Many other ESOcast episodes are also available. Find out how to view and contribute subtitles to the ESOcast in multiple languages, or translate this video on dotSUB. Credits ESO Visual design and editing: Martin Kornmesser and Luis Calçada.Editing: Martin Kornmesser and Herbert Zodet.Web and technical support: Mathias André and Raquel Yumi Shida.Written by: Georgia Bladon, Mathias Jäger and Richard Hook.Narration: Sara Mendes da Costa.Music: Mat Jarvis (http://microscopics.co.uk), Johan B. Monell (www.johanmonell.com), STAN DART (www.stan-dart.com).Footage and photos: ESO, Luis Calçada, Martin Kornmesser, Christoph ...

6 oktober 2015: Expo Milano 2015, the biggest World Exposition, will be held in Milan, Italy from 1 May to 31 October 2015. It will have an important component devoted to astronomy and ESO will have a strong presence. The period 5–8 October 2015 will be “Astronomy Week” at the Chilean Pavilion. With talks and activities, the organisers will highlight the qualities and the importance of the Chilean skies as a window to the Universe, and the role of facilities like ESO’s Paranal Observatory to help develop state-of-the-art astronomy in Chile. ESO will have a prominent role during the week. Massimo Tarenghi, ESO Astronomer Emeritus, is one of the organisers and will give the opening talk along with the Chilean astronomer María Teresa Ruiz. They will discuss the big astronomical observatories installed in Chile, including the Very Large Telescope (VLT) and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). These events will kick off four ...

5 oktober 2015: Impressive photographs and videos showing the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) take centre stage at the free exhibition, ALMA, exploring our cosmic origins, held at the Espacio Fundación Telefónica, Santiago, Chile, between 7 October 2015 and 3 January 2016. The exhibition, which is divided into four sections, will describe the innermost workings of the most powerful ground-based observatory in history. It will explore the story behind its development and construction in addition to explaining what ALMA has already discovered about our cosmic origins. The fascinating and diverse exhibition will be accompanied by a series of free activities, including night-sky observations, music performances based on the cosmos, and robotics and astrophotography workshops. Round tables on topics such as art and astronomy, astro-engineering, and how to get the most out of the Chilean skies will also be held. Teachers and students will have access to special activities, such as talks by ALMA ...

2 oktober 2015: The number of public images on the ESO website has reached a new milestone, with 10 000 images now free for public use. The collection features an impressive array of cosmic phenomena — including galaxies, nebulae and star clusters. In addition there are also many spectacular views of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and the APEX telescope, high in the Andes, as well as of the Paranal and La Silla Observatories in the barren landscapes of northern Chile. Must-see images include the famous Horsehead Nebula (eso0202a), the centre of the Milky Way (eso0846a) and the first direct image of an exoplanet (26a_big-vlt). Each image can be downloaded in a variety of formats and resolutions, including the original version for maximum quality, as well as in the form of wallpapers. The 10 000th image was posted to the Your ESO Pictures Flickr group by Adhemar Duro on 30 September 2015. ...

30 september 2015: The 18th issue of the Communicating Astronomy with the Public journal is out now! In this issue you will find articles discussing key findings in astronomy communication, including research into astronomers’ views on outreach; reflections on the highly successful Galileoscope project and Global Astronomy Month; and insights into new ways to share and improve access to the huge files we, as astronomy communicators, are creating. We also gain a new perspective in this issue by hearing from those who have participated in our projects. All of this, and more, is featured in this free, peer-reviewed journal for astronomy communicators — now available for download.

30 september 2015: On 28 and 29 September 2015, ESO’s Paranal Observatory welcomed a very special visitor — British rock guitarist, singer, songwriter and astrophysicist, Brian May. Unbeknownst to many, Brian May — famed for being the lead guitarist of the legendary rock band Queen — has a passion for astronomy. In addition to holding a PhD in astrophysics, the guitarist is a science team collaborator for NASA's New Horizons mission, which flew past Pluto in July 2015. ESO therefore decided to invite Brian May to come to Paranal while he was in Santiago, Chile, as part of his current South American Queen tour with Queen drummer Roger Taylor and American singer Adam Lambert. ESO’s Paranal Observatory is located 130 kilometres south of Antofagasta, in the arid Chilean Atacama Desert. It is home to the four 8.2-metre Unit Telescopes and four 1.8-metre Auxiliary Telescopes of ESO’s Very Large Telescope. Paranal is one of ...

28 september 2015: ESO heeft een overeenkomst getekend met een consortium van instituten uit heel Europa [1] voor het ontwerp en de bouw van METIS, een infraroodcamera en -spectrograaf voor de European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT). Het contract werd op 28 september 2015 tijdens een ceremonie in Leiden getekend door Willem te Beest, vicevoorzitter van het College van Bestuur van de Universiteit Leiden, namens het consortium, en Tim de Zeeuw, de directeur-generaal van ESO. De Principal Investigator (PI) van METIS, Bernhard Brandl, en alle co-PI's en projectleiders van de consortiumpartners waren ook aanwezig bij de plechtigheid. METIS is een van de eerstefase-instrumenten voor de E-ELT. METIS biedt een camera en midden-resolutie spectroscopie in een golflengtegebied van 3-19 micrometer, en hogeresolutie-integral field spectroscopie in een golflengtegebied van 3–5,3 micrometer. Het is het enige E-ELT fase 1-instrument dat op deze langere midinfraroodgolflengten werkt, en completeert de MICADO-camera en de HARMONI-spectrograaf. Het enorme lichtverzamelende vermogen en ...

25 september 2015: Between the 17 and 21 September 2015, over 169 young scientists aged between 14 and 20 presented a total of 103 projects from 39 countries to a panel of international judges at the Fabbrica del Vapore in Milan, Italy. This was the 27th time that the European Union Contest for Young Scientists (EUCYS) contest had been held, and this year's contest was the largest in its history of over three decades. The winners have now been announced. The three first prizes of €7000 each were awarded to Sanath Kumar Devalapurkar from the USA for “On the Stability and Algebraicity of Algebraic K-theory”, Michał Bączyk and Paweł Piotr Czyż from Poland for “The studies of behaviour of single and coupled on-off type oscillators on the example of bottle oscillators” and Lukas Stockner from Germany for “Statistical modeling of volume-scattered light”. The second prizes (€5000) went to teams from Austria, Russia and ...

25 september 2015: ESO telescopes are being used to search for the subtle signs of magnetic fields in other stars and even to map out the star spots on their surfaces. This ESOcast looks at how this information — and particularly the polarisation of light — is beginning to reveal how and why so many stars, including our own Sun, are magnetic, and what the implications might be for life on Earth and elsewhere in the Universe. You can subscribe to the ESOcasts in iTunes, receive future episodes on YouTube or follow us on Vimeo. Many other ESOcast episodes are also available. Find out how to view and contribute subtitles to the ESOcast in multiple languages, or translate this video on dotSUB.

23 september 2015: ESO has signed an agreement with an international consortium of institutes [1] for the design and construction of the HARMONI instrument for the European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT). The agreement was signed by Grahame Blair, Executive Director of Programmes, Science and Technology Facilities Council, on behalf of the consortium, and Tim de Zeeuw, ESO Director General, at a ceremony at the Mathematical Institute, University of Oxford, United Kingdom, on 22 September 2015. Patrick Roche, President of ESO Council and Niranjan Thatte, Principal Investigator for HARMONI, were also in attendance. HARMONI, or the High Angular Resolution Monolithic Optical and Near-infrared Integral field spectrograph, will be one of the first-light instruments installed on the giant telescope and will function as the workhorse instrument for visible light and near-infrared spectroscopy in the wavelength range 0.5–2.4 µm. It can work with different adaptive optics systems, or even without adaptive optics at all, and will ...

22 september 2015: The latest edition of ESO's quarterly journal, The Messenger, is now available online. Find out the latest news from ESO on topics ranging from new instruments to the latest science discoveries. Highlights of this edition include: History of Polish Astronomy Shaping ESO 2020+ Together: Feedback from the Community Poll Simultaneous HARPS and HARPS-N observations of the Earth Transit of 2014 as seen from Jupiter: detection of an Inverse Rossiter-McLaughlin effect Using Solar Twins to explore the Planet-Star Connection with unparalleled precision Red Supergiants as Cosmic Abundance Probes Download The Messenger in PDF format or visit The Messenger website to subscribe and receive a free printed copy.