Pressemitteilung
Frontiers of Astronomy
Exciting Astronomy Exhibition Opens in Florence
27. März 1993
The past decades have witnessed a dramatic increase in our knowledge of the Universe we live in. New instruments for astronomical observations and analysis are unveiling the secrets of deep space at an ever-increasing pace. Detailed studies of planets, stars, nebulae, galaxies and strange, exotic celestial objects have provided us with new insights into the formation, structure and evolution of our Universe.
Giant astronomical telescopes, now under construction in several countries, will soon increase our possibilities to observe and better understand what is going on in the space that surrounds us. This is the background for the exhibition "Frontiers of Astronomy" which opens at the Sala D'Armi of the famous Pallazzo Vecchio in Florence on March 27, 1993.
This event takes place within the official programme of the "Terza settimana della cultura scientifica" (April 19-25, 1993). The exhibition is sponsored by the Ministero dell'Universita della Ricerca Scientifica e Tecnologica, the Ministero della Pubblica Istruzione, the Regione Toscana, the Commune di Firenze and the Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze.
The exhibition has been produced by the European Southern Observatory (ESO) and the Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri in Florence. ESO, the European astronomy organisation, is supported by eight European countries, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland. It operates the world's largest optical astronomical observatory at La Silla in the Atacama desert in northern Chile where 15 large astronomical telescopes are available for Europe's astronomers. More than 500 of them make use of this facility each year.
Here is also the ESO New Technology Telescope (NTT) with a 3.5 m diameter mirror, a unique instrument of its kind which became operational in 1990. It represents a great step forward in telescope technology and was to a large extent built by Italian firms. An ``Italian'' twin of the NTT (for use by Italian astronomers) is now being built by the same firms; it will be placed in the Northern Hemisphere.
The exhibition describes some of the most recent, exciting discoveries in astronomy and also presents ESO's La Silla observatory as well as the 16-m Very Large Telescope (VLT) — ESO's current, ambitious project which aims at building the largest and most advanced optical telescope in the world. The construction of the VLT is well underway, again with the strong involvement of Italian industry, and it is scheduled for completion in 1999—2000.
Large photos, models and videos are on display at the exhibition, as well as interactive computer programmes where the visitor can learn more about the sky and the universe. There is also a unique 8-m wide panoramic picture of our galaxy - the Milky Way - the only existing
photo of the entire Milky Way which shows this amount of details.
Visitors will also see the famous Southern Cross and the Summer Triangle, that striking constellation in the summer sky of the Northern hemisphere. Impressive photos of the Magellanic Clouds, not visible from Europe, are also displayed.
One part of the exhibition illustrates the astronomical research carried out at the Arcetri Astrophysical Observatory and of past developments of astronomy in Florence, including copies of Galileo's original instruments, preserved in the Museum of Science in Florence.
While the exhibition itself is aimed at the general public, an important scientific event will take place in Florence within this period, that is the Annual Meeting of the Italian Astronomical Society
(May 4-8, 1993).
The exhibition will remain open until May 8, 1993.
Über die Pressemitteilung
| Pressemitteilung Nr.: | eso9302 |
| Name: | Exhibition |
| Typ: | Unspecified : Technology : Observatory |
| Facility: | Other |
Bilder
Our use of Cookies
We use cookies that are essential for accessing our websites and using our services. We also use cookies to analyse, measure and improve our websites’ performance, to enable content sharing via social media and to display media content hosted on third-party platforms.
ESO Cookies Policy
The European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere (ESO) is the pre-eminent intergovernmental science and technology organisation in astronomy. It carries out an ambitious programme focused on the design, construction and operation of powerful ground-based observing facilities for astronomy.
This Cookies Policy is intended to provide clarity by outlining the cookies used on the ESO public websites, their functions, the options you have for controlling them, and the ways you can contact us for additional details.
What are cookies?
Cookies are small pieces of data stored on your device by websites you visit. They serve various purposes, such as remembering login credentials and preferences and enhance your browsing experience.
Categories of cookies we use
Essential cookies (always active): These cookies are strictly necessary for the proper functioning of our website. Without these cookies, the website cannot operate correctly, and certain services, such as logging in or accessing secure areas, may not be available; because they are essential for the website’s operation, they cannot be disabled.
Functional Cookies: These cookies enhance your browsing experience by enabling additional features and personalization, such as remembering your preferences and settings. While not strictly necessary for the website to function, they improve usability and convenience; these cookies are only placed if you provide your consent.
Analytics cookies: These cookies collect information about how visitors interact with our website, such as which pages are visited most often and how users navigate the site. This data helps us improve website performance, optimize content, and enhance the user experience; these cookies are only placed if you provide your consent. We use the following analytics cookies.
Matomo Cookies:
This website uses Matomo (formerly Piwik), an open source software which enables the statistical analysis of website visits. Matomo uses cookies (text files) which are saved on your computer and which allow us to analyze how you use our website. The website user information generated by the cookies will only be saved on the servers of our IT Department. We use this information to analyze www.eso.org visits and to prepare reports on website activities. These data will not be disclosed to third parties.
On behalf of ESO, Matomo will use this information for the purpose of evaluating your use of the website, compiling reports on website activity and providing other services relating to website activity and internet usage.
Matomo cookies settings:
Additional Third-party cookies on ESO websites: some of our pages display content from external providers, e.g. YouTube.
Such third-party services are outside of ESO control and may, at any time, change their terms of service, use of cookies, etc.
YouTube: Some videos on the ESO website are embedded from ESO’s official YouTube channel. We have enabled YouTube’s privacy-enhanced mode, meaning that no cookies are set unless the user actively clicks on the video to play it. Additionally, in this mode, YouTube does not store any personally identifiable cookie data for embedded video playbacks. For more details, please refer to YouTube’s embedding videos information page.
Cookies can also be classified based on the following elements.
Regarding the domain, there are:
- First-party cookies, set by the website you are currently visiting. They are stored by the same domain that you are browsing and are used to enhance your experience on that site;
- Third-party cookies, set by a domain other than the one you are currently visiting.
As for their duration, cookies can be:
- Browser-session cookies, which are deleted when the user closes the browser;
- Stored cookies, which stay on the user's device for a predetermined period of time.
How to manage cookies
Cookie settings: You can modify your cookie choices for the ESO webpages at any time by clicking on the link Cookie settings at the bottom of any page.
In your browser: If you wish to delete cookies or instruct your browser to delete or block cookies by default, please visit the help pages of your browser:
Please be aware that if you delete or decline cookies, certain functionalities of our website may be not be available and your browsing experience may be affected.
You can set most browsers to prevent any cookies being placed on your device, but you may then have to manually adjust some preferences every time you visit a site/page. And some services and functionalities may not work properly at all (e.g. profile logging-in, shop check out).
Updates to the ESO Cookies Policy
The ESO Cookies Policy may be subject to future updates, which will be made available on this page.
Additional information
For any queries related to cookies, please contact: pdprATesoDOTorg.
As ESO public webpages are managed by our Department of Communication, your questions will be dealt with the support of the said Department.