Meilleures 100 images

1. Deep VLT image of 3I/ATLAS, a new interstellar object

ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) has obtained new images of 3I/ATLAS, an interstellar object discovered last week. Identified as a comet, 3I/ATLAS is only the third visitor from outside the Solar System ever found, after 1I/ʻOumuamua and 2I/Borisov. Its highly eccentric hyperbolic orbit, unlike that of objects in the Solar System, gave away its interstellar origin.
This VLT image is the result of stacking several observations obtained on the night of 3 July 2025. When combining the different frames, the background stars were removed, showing only a deep image of the interstellar comet. The data were obtained with the ...

2. Sequence of VLT images of 3I/ATLAS, a new interstellar object

ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) has obtained new images of 3I/ATLAS, an interstellar object discovered last week. Identified as a comet, 3I/ATLAS is only the third visitor from outside the Solar System ever found, after 1I/ʻOumuamua and 2I/Borisov. Its highly eccentric hyperbolic orbit, unlike that of objects in the Solar System, gave away its interstellar origin.
In this image, several VLT observations have been overlaid, showing the comet as a series of dots that move towards the right of the image over the course of about 13 minutes on the night of 3 July 2025. The data were obtained ...

3. Des représentants de l'ESO et des entreprises chiliennes signent le contrat CTAO-Sud

4. Les représentants de l'ESO et du CTAO lors d'une cérémonie de signature de contrat

5. Des représentants de l'ESO et des entreprises chiliennes signent le contrat CTAO-Sud

6. De koning en koningin der Belgen bij een Unit Telescoop van de VLT

Tijdens een bezoek aan ESO's Paranal Observatorium in Chili in juni 2025 bezochten de koning en de koningin der Belgen ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT). Hier staan ze voor een Unit Telescoop van VLT.

7. Distribution du calcium autour du vestige de supernova SNR 0509-67.5

8. Vue d'artiste d'une supernova à double détonation

9. Localisation du vestige de la supernova SNR 0509-67.5

10. Image d'une supernova à double détonation prise par le VLT

11. De koning en koningin der Belgen met ESO-vertegenwoordigers voor de ELT

Tijdens een bezoek aan ESO's Paranal Observatorium in Chili reisden de koning en de koningin der Belgen naar de nabijgelegen Cerro Armazones om de ELT te bezoeken. Het bezoek aan de bouwplaats van de ELT vond plaats tijdens een ongebruikelijk bewolkte en zeer koude ochtend in de woestijn, in juni 2025. Van links naar rechts: Thomas Klein, directeur van het ESO-observatorium La Silla Paranal; Roberto Tamai, ELT-programmamanager; koningin Mathilde; koning Filip; Xavier Barcons, directeur-generaal ESO; Itziar de Gregorio-Monsalvo, ESO-vertegenwoordiger in Chili.

12. Take a closer look, something’s missing...

Imagine a telescope... are you thinking of one? What are the parts you think are vital? For an optical telescope (ones that watch the skies in the visible spectrum of light) there is one thing they can’t go without... a mirror.
In this Picture of the Week, we’re taking a peek behind the scenes at the Unit Telescope 2, a part of the Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Paranal, Chile. It’s looking a bit empty behind the yellow barricades, as its main 8 m mirror has been removed for recoating. The mirror is covered with a thin layer of ...

13. De koning en koningin der Belgen bij de ELT

Tijdens een bezoek aan ESO's Paranal Observatorium in Chili zijn hunne koninklijke hoogheden, de koning en koningin der Belgen ook naar het nabijgelegen Cerro Armazones afgereisd. Daar kregen ze van programmamanager Roberto Tamai een rondleiding bij de Extremely Large Telescope.

14. De majesteiten der Belgen op het VLT-platform

Tijdens een bezoek aan ESO's Paranal Observatorium in Chili, in juni 2025, bezochten de koning en koningin der Belgen de Very Large Telescope. Hier staan ze met een deel van de delegatie en met ESO-medewerkers op het platform tussen twee hulptelescopen.

15. De koning der Belgen wordt verwelkomd op Paranal

De koning en koning der Belgen bezochten ESO's Paranal Observatorium in Chili in juni 2025. Op deze foto wordt koning Filip verwelkomd door directeur-generaal Xavier Barcons tijdens een ongebruikelijk bewolkte en zeer koude morgen in de woestijn.

16. Comisión ministerial para protección de áreas astronómicas

Representantes de la comisión asesora ministerial junto a las autoridades de ESO y del Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología, Conocimiento e Innovación en el sitio de construcción del Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) de ESO, en cerro Armazones, Región de Antofagasta.

17. Representantes de la comisión asesora ministerial

Representantes de la comisión asesora ministerial junto al subsecretario del Ministerio de Ciencia, y a la seremi de Ciencia para la Macrozona Norte, visitan la sala de control del Very Large Telescope (VLT) de ESO.

18. Artist's impression of the ELT showing its six lasers

This image shows an artist's impression, based on the final design for the telescope, of ESO's Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), which will be the biggest ‘eye on the sky’ when it achieves first light. The telescope uses lasers (six initially) to create artificial guide stars to measure how much the light is distorted by turbulence in the Earth’s atmosphere. The deformable M4 mirror adjusts its shape in real time to compensate for these changes in the atmosphere, helping the ELT produce images 16 times sharper than the Hubble Space Telescope.

19. Bundesministerin Bär und Staatsminister Blume während ihres Besuchs bei der ESO

Von links nach rechts: Dorothee Bär, die Bundesministerin für Forschung, Technologie und Raumfahrt der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, ESO-Generaldirektor Xavier Barcons und Markus Blume, der bayerische Staatsminister für Wissenschaft und Kunst.

20. Gruppenfoto vom Besuch von Bundesministerin Bär und Staatsminister Blume

Von links nach rechts: Beatrice Kioko, Beauftragte für institutionelle Beziehungen der ESO, Sara Krauss, ESO-Direktorin für Technik, Matthias Steinmetz, Direktor des Leibniz-Instituts für Astrophysik in Potsdam und Delegierter des ESO-Rates; Thomas Klein, Direktor des La-Silla-Paranal-Observatoriums der ESO, Dorothee Bär, Bundesministerin für Forschung, Technologie und Raumfahrt der Bundesrepublik Deutschland; Xavier Barcons, Generaldirektor der ESO, Markus Blume, bayerischer Staatsminister für Wissenschaft und Kunst, Suzanna Randall, Wissenschaftlerin am ALMA Regional Center; Sabine Carl, Referentin in der Abteilung Europäische Forschungsorganisationen des Bundesministeriums für Forschung, Technologie und Raumfahrt und Delegierte des ESO-Rates; Laura Comendador Frutos, Leiterin des Büros des Generaldirektors der ESO.

21. VLT visitor from space

In this striking Picture of the Week, we see the Very Large Telescope (VLT) resting under a blanket of stars at ESO’s Paranal Observatory, lit up by the green glow of a passing meteor. To the right of the four imposing VLT Unit Telescopes, the VLT Survey Telescope completes the scene. As this meteor rockets above one of the VLT’s Auxiliary Telescopes on the far left of the image, the light it emits actually reveals a little bit about this cosmic visitor.
Meteors are caused by smaller bits of asteroids that have broken off in space to form meteoroids; they ...

22. Le gaz ionisé dans la galaxie du Sculpteur vu par MUSE

23. La galaxie du Sculpteur vue par MUSE

24. Cover of the Annual Report 2024

Cover of the ESO Annual Report 2024.

25. Comisión de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales de la Cámara de Diputadas y Diputados de Chile sesiona en el Observatorio Paranal de ESO

El día 12 de junio, la Comisión de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales de la Cámara de Diputadas y Diputados de Chile, ha sesionado en el Observatorio Paranal de ESO en la Región de Antofagasta. En la foto se encuentran los diputados Jaime Araya Guerrero, Yovana Ahumada Palma, Félix González Gatica, Daniel Melo Contreras y Sebastián Videla Castillo. Además, fueron invitados a exponer, Itziar de Gregorio Monsalvo, representante de ESO en Chile y Mario Acuña Villalobos, alcalde de Taltal.

26. Number of papers published based on data obtained at ESO observatories (1996–2024)

The number of refereed papers published based on data from ESO observatories, including those in which ESO is a partner, and archival data from 1996 to 2024. These numbers are from the ESO Telescope Bibliography, telbib. For more information about this graph, please check the Basic ESO Publication Statistics webpage.

27. Washing a mirror’s troubles away

When your mirror gets dirty at home, you can just grab a rag and some spray to clean it. But what about ultra-precise and reflective mirrors for telescopes? Today’s Picture of the Week shows us part of the process for the main mirror of the ESO 3.6-metre Telescope at La Silla Observatory, Chile.
The mirror blank, made of fused silica, was made by Corning and polished by REOSC. Here we see ESO staff stripping the mirror of its old aluminium coating, a necessary step before applying a new one. This old layer is washed away manually by applying chemicals that ...

28. Inserting the 3.6 m mirror into the recoating chamber

The second part of the recoating process is seen above, as the mirror blank is loaded onto the crane that will carry it to the specialised recoating chamber in the background. This is a vacuum chamber which vaporises aluminium to deposit an extremely thin layer onto the mirror blank.
Links

Removing the old coating
Inspecting the newly coated mirror

29. Inspecting the newly coated 3.6 m mirror

The final adjustments are seen here to conclude the recoating process, with ESO staff carefully checking the newly coated mirror.
Links

Removing the old coating
Inserting the mirror into the recoating chamber

30. Caution: Planets under construction

Astronomers may have caught a still-forming planet on camera, hidden somewhere in this stellar snapshot.
Today’s Picture of the Week is a close-up of the star RIK 113, seen here surrounded by a cloud of gas and dust called a protoplanetary disc. These discs are a common feature around young stars, containing all the building blocks needed to make a new planet. Over time, these dusty discs will fragment and condense under the influence of gravity, forming larger objects like protoplanets. These planetary embryos carve out gaps in the dust around them, forming the intricate, ring-like structures that we can ...

31. Peering over ALMA’s shoulder

Two large, pale discs can be seen in today's Picture of the Week: one of them in the Atacama Desert, the other orbiting the Earth 384 000 km away.

The latter is our ever-present Moon, faintly hanging in the clear blue sky. Next to it is the real star of the image: one of the antennas of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA).

ALMA, which ESO operates together with international partners, is made up of 66 such antennas, spread out atop the 5000-m high Chajnantor Plateau in Chile. Unlike optical telescopes, which gather ...

32. Two top hunters on a break

Nestled in the rocky terrain of La Silla Observatory in Chile, an unexpected guest is paying the ESO 3.6-metre telescope a visit.

Despite its excellent camouflage, the fuzzy face and pointed ears are a dead giveaway for the presence of a Culpeo Fox, who seems to be basking in the warm sunlight of the Atacama Desert. These ‘foxes’ are technically more closely related to wolves than to other foxes, and they can be found in many of South America’s most mountainous regions.

Clearly, this particular Culpeo has a passion for astronomy, since our ...

33. Vue à grand champ de la région du ciel autour d'une « joute cosmique ».

34. Vue d'artiste d'une « joute cosmique »

35. Image d'ALMA de la "joute cosmique

36. Sitio web del ELT en español

Explora en español todo el sitio web del Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) de ESO, el telescopio óptico más grande del mundo en construcción en Chile. Cada página comienza con una introducción general que te da una visión global del ELT, seguida por más detalles sobre su estructura, espejos, instrumentos y los descubrimientos que permitirá. Si quieres profundizar aún más, puedes seguir bajando y acceder a contenido más técnico, pensado para quienes buscan una mirada más especializada.

37. Top down of the ELT

This photo, taken on 1 May 2025 at Cerro Armazones in Chile's Atacama Desert, shows ESO's Extremely Large Telescope looking directly up at the camera from a bird's eye view. In the middle of the photo, we see the main structure, which will hold the telescope's mirror, including its 39-metre main mirror.

38. Exciting skies above the ELT

Today’s Picture of the Week comes from our webcams, which keep watch over the construction site of ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT). This photo was taken on 3 May 2025, showing the ELT’s amazing progress so far. The dome has two giant doors that will open at night, and the structure of both of them is now in place.

On the far right of the image, we see the bright orange glow of lasers beaming up into the sky. Despite appearances, these lasers aren’t going to shoot down the meteor to the left or any other ...

39. A volcanic sunrise

Sunrise in the Atacama Desert lights up the sky of today’s Picture of the Week, surrounding the shadowy mountain at the centre of this image with a blazing orange glow. This photo, taken from ESO’s Paranal Observatory, captures the moment that the Sun begins to peek over the Llullaillaco volcano, which casts a looming shadow onto the atmosphere itself.
Located 190 km away from Cerro Paranal, Llullaillaco is a regular feature on the horizon seen from ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT). This giant of the Andes sits right on the Chile-Argentina border, tucked in the eastern section of the Atacama ...

40. The ELT from above

This photo, taken on 1 May 2025 at Cerro Armazones in Chile's Atacama Desert, shows us a drone's-eye view of ESO's Extremely Large Telescope. Either side of the telescope's white central tower, we can see the frameworks for the doors of its grand dome. When clad, they'll protect the scientific instruments inside by closing the world's largest eye on the skies during the day.

41. A doorway to the ELT

This photo, taken on 1 May 2025 at Cerro Armazones in Chile's Atacama Desert, shows a close up of some of the Extremely Large Telescope's ongoing construction. We can see the frame of one of the dome doors that will guard this collossal telescope, which will eventually be covered with the same protective cladding as the rest of the dome. Peering inside, we can also see the central tower of the ELT, where its 5 main mirrors will be placed, the largest of which will be 39-metres wide.

42. A top-down telescope

This photo, taken on 1 May 2025 at Cerro Armazones in Chile's Atacama Desert, gives us a perfectly aligned shot of ESO's Extremely Large Telescope from above. Looking straight down into the centre of the dome, the hexagonal support structure that will hold the ELT's 39-metre M1 mirror can be seen in its entirety, and either side we can see the framework for the telescope's two giant dome doors. All around, the construction site buzzes with activity, working to bring the ELT's completion closer every day.

43. The ELT basking in the sunlight

This photo, taken on 1 May 2025 at Cerro Armazones, Chile, shows the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), an ESO facility under construction. This drone image zooms in on the structure of one of the two giant slidding doors at the top of the ELT dome.

44. The framework of a future door

This photo, taken on 1 May 2025 at Cerro Armazones in Chile's Atacama desert, gives us a close look at the construction of one of the dome doors of ESO's Extremely Large Telescope. The scaffolding structure seen here will soon be covered in a protective cladding made from aluminium and other thermally insulating materials, which will also protect the telescope inside from the harsh environment around it. While the terrain may be tough, it is also ideal for a telescope, since this dusty desert is one of the driest in the world, with a rich dark sky heritage that is ...

45. Sunset from Cerro Armazones

This photo, taken on 1 May 2025 at Cerro Armazones, shows us a beautiful sunset over Chile's Atacama Desert as seen from ESO's Extremely Large Telescope. It also shows a glimpse of the dome's side, providing a close-up of the protective cladding that covers most of the telescope dome.

46. A towering telescope

This photo, taken on 1 May 2025 at Cerro Armazones in Chile's Atacama Desert, lets us see ESO's Extremely Large Telescope in its entirety as construction continues. By looking at the nearby cranes for scale, it starts to become clear just how huge the ELT really is. Also, at the centre of the telescope we see the central tower that will eventually hold the ELT's 5 mirrors, the largest of which will be 39 metres across. The frameworks for what will become the doors of the telescope are also visible either side of this tower, and they will slide shut ...

47. The bare bones of an ELT door

This photo, taken on 1 May 2025 at Cerro Armazones in Chile's Atacama Desert, shows the skeletal structure for one of the two dome doors on the dome of ESO's Extremely Large Telescope. At the bottom right of the image is the track that the door will move across to open and close. Eventually, the skeleton will be covered by protective cladding that will help keep the mirrors and instruments protected from the desert elements during the day.

48. Sunset on the ELT

This photo, taken on 1 May 2025 at Cerro Armazones in Chile's Atacama Desert, shows a golden sunset over the construction site of ESO's Extremely Large Telescope (ELT). Peaking out of the dome is the main structure of the telescope, which will hold the telescope's mirrors, including the 39-metre main mirror. On either side is the skeleton structure of the ELT dome doors, which soon will be covered in protective cladding.

49. The ELT web that will hold up the world

This photo, taken on 1 May 2025 at Cerro Armazones in Chile's Atacama Desert, shows a close-up of the main structure that will hold the 39m main mirror of ESO's Extremely Large Telescope (ELT). The mirror will be made up of 798 hexagonal segments.

50. A golden construction site

This photo was taken on 1 May 2025 at Cerro Armazones in Chile's Atacama Desert, where ESO's Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) is bathed in the light from a golden sunset. The white support beams for the main mirror structure are peaking out of the dome, flanked by the skeleton structure for what will be the dome doors.

51. There is an impostor in this nebula

In space, not everything is what it seems. This Picture of the Week shows the nebula Sh2-46, also named Gum 80, situated roughly 6000 light-years away. The strong red hues of Sh2-46 might be beautiful, but they hide an impostor.
The big blue-white star at the centre of the image is HD 165319, an O type star, one of the brightest, but rarest types of stars in the Universe. The star is largely responsible for the striking red tones around it, caused by the ionisation of the hydrogen atoms that make up the nebula. This star, however, should not be ...

52. The many eyes of ALMA

How does a radio-telescope really ‘see’? To find out, we’re taking a peek inside one of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) antennas for this Picture of the Week. ALMA, in which ESO is a partner, is based high up in the Chajnantor plateau in the Chilean Andes, and is comprised of 66 antennas — all used to observe the cool corners of the Universe.

First, light is collected by the large dish of an antenna, which is focussed onto the secondary reflector that we can see in the foreground. From there, it goes through ...

53. Afiche oficial de Puerto de Ideas Antofagasta 2025

Afiche ofcial de Puerto de Ideas Antofagasta 2025

54. Piercing the skies above Paranal

Today’s Picture of the Week is a majestic portrait of UT4, one of the four 8-m telescopes of ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT). Framed against the star-filled sky of the Paranal Observatory, this telescope is much more than a passive observer. From within its dome, it pierces the peaceful night with four laser beams.
These lasers are projected from the 4 Laser Guide Star Facility (4LGSF), which UT4 uses to create its own artificial stars in the sky. The lasers create these points of light by exciting sodium atoms in the atmosphere, about 90 km above the ground, causing them ...

55. Flags atop the ELT

At the Extremely Large Telescope’s construction site on Cerro Armazones, ESO and Chilean flags have been placed at the top of the telescope’s dome as part of the Topping Out or Roofing Ceremony, celebrating construction on the ELT reaching its highest point. Known as Tijerales in Chile, the ceremony, which took place on 16 April, also involved a traditional barbecue for the workers on site, and was live-streamed to a partner event in Garching, Germany, for industrial and institutional partners. In this photo the flags are visible atop one of the dome doors with the Atacama Desert in the background.

56. ESO and Chilean flags atop the ELT (close up)

At the Extremely Large Telescope’s construction site on Cerro Armazones, ESO and Chilean flags have been placed at the top of the telescope’s dome as part of the Topping Out or Roofing Ceremony, celebrating construction on the ELT reaching its highest point. Known as Tijerales in Chile, the ceremony, which took place on 16 April, also involved a traditional barbecue for the workers on site, and was live-streamed to a partner event in Garching, Germany, for industrial and institutional partners. This photo shows a close-up for the flags atop one of the ELT dome doors.

57. ELT dome reaches its highest point

58. 2M1510 AB, une paire de naines brunes avec une exoplanète sur une orbite perpendiculaire

59. 2M1510 (AB) b, une planète en orbite perpendiculaire autour de deux naines brunes

60. Vue d'artiste d'une exoplanète autour de deux naines brunes

61. Lever de soleil derrière l'ELT

62. Atteindre le sommet de la coupole de l'ELT

63. Le gouverneur d'Antofagasta et le personnel de l'ESO devant l'ELT de l'ESO

64. Photo de groupe : le personnel de l’ESO et les représentants des partenaires institutionnels et industriels de l’ELT

65. Lancer de ligne pour l’ELT

66. La Silla gets the green light

The magical green glow that dominates the sky in this Picture of the Week is airglow. You won’t be able to see it with the naked eye, but sensitive cameras can capture this faint light emitted by the Earth’s atmosphere, though only in the darkest of places. It reveals itself where there is little light pollution, like here at ESO’s La Silla Observatory, on the outskirts of the Chilean Atacama Desert.
With its green colour, the airglow’s continuous presence in the sky is not to be confused with the dynamic, dancing auroras. Airglow is a chemical process triggered by ultraviolet ...

67. La Silla gets the green light

68. La Silla gets the green light

69. Supermassive black hole caught playing with its food

This Picture of the Week shows a stunning spiral galaxy known as NGC 4945. This little corner of space, near the constellation of Centaurus and over 12 million light-years away, may seem peaceful at first — but NGC 4945 is locked in a violent struggle.
At the very centre of nearly every galaxy is a supermassive black hole. Some, like the one at the centre of our own Milky Way, aren’t particularly hungry. But NGC 4945’s supermassive black hole is ravenous, consuming huge amounts of matter — and the MUSE instrument at ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) has caught it ...

70. Winds flowing out of NGC 4945’s active core

This image gives us a close-up view of the galaxy NGC 4945’s active core — clouds of dust and gas obscuring its supermassive black hole. We can also see a clear shot of the great galactic winds flowing out from this black hole, shown here in the bright, cone-shaped jets of material at the centre of the picture. These observations, taken with the MUSE instrument at ESO's Very Large Telescope, are helping astronomers understand how these winds move and shape their host galaxies.
Links

Research paper in Nature Astronomy by Marconcini et al.
Wide-field view of the entire galaxy

71. A full Moon rises behind the ELT

The full Moon looms large in this Picture of the Week, framing ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT). Taken at precisely the moment that the rising Moon appears to perch atop Cerro Armazones, this perfectly timed photo captures the striking halo created around the ELT’s ongoing construction.
On either side of the telescope’s structure we can see the outlines of gigantic cranes, hard at work shaping what will become the world’s largest optical and infrared telescope. The construction team, led by the company Cimolai, has partially covered the ELT dome with insulating cladding, captured here shining as the sun sets, that ...

72. Photographers gather to capture the Moon behind the ELT

Here we can see a beautiful view of Cerro Armazones, with ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) under construction at the mountain’s peak and a dramatic full Moon rising behind it. Far from the construction site, a team of photographers are working to capture the precise moment that this moonrise perfectly framed the enormous ELT.
Links

Video of the Moon rising behind the ELT
Closeup ot the Moon rising behind the ELT
The Moon hovering over the ELT

73. The Moon hovering over the ELT

This image shows the full Moon rising above ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), casting an ominous glow over Chile’s Atacama Desert.
Links

Video of the Moon rising behind the ELT
Closeup of the Moon rising behind the ELT
Photographers gather to capture the Moon behind the ELT

74. Miembros del Parlamento Europeo visitan oficinas de ESO en Santiago

ESO tuvo el placer de recibir en sus oficinas de Vitacura, en Santiago de Chile, a un grupo de políticos, administradores y asesores de la Unión Europea, entre ellos cuatro miembros del Parlamento Europeo.
La delegación estuvo conformada por representantes de varios países europeos, incluidos los Estados Miembros de ESO: Austria, Italia y España. La visita fue organizada por Itziar de Gregorio-Monsalvo, representante de ESO en Chile y Andreas Kaufer, director de operaciones de ESO.

75. Miembros del Parlamento Europeo visitan oficinas de ESO en Santiago

76. Miembros del Parlamento Europeo visitan oficinas de ESO en Santiago

77. Oxygen spectrum in most distant known galaxy

The inset in this image shows JADES-GS-z14-0 –– the most distant known galaxy as of today –– as seen with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). The two spectra shown here result from independent analysis of ALMA data by two teams of astronomers. Both found an emission line of oxygen, making this the most distant detection of oxygen, when the Universe was only 300 million years old.

78. Artist’s impression of JADES-GS-z14-0

This is an artist’s impression of JADES-GS-z14-0, which as of today is the most distant confirmed galaxy. Galaxies in the early Universe tend to be clumpy and irregular. Supernova explosions in this galaxy would have spread heavy elements forged inside stars, like oxygen, which has been now detected with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA).

79. Wide-field view of the region of the sky around JADES-GS-z14-0

This wide-field view from the Digitized Sky Survey 2 shows the region of the sky around JADES-GS-z14-0, the most distant galaxy known yet. The galaxy is located at the centre of the frame, but it is too faint to be seen here. Observations with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) have revealed the presence of oxygen in this galaxy –– the furthest detection of oxygen yet.

80. Furthest detection of oxygen in the early Universe

This image shows the precise location in the night sky of the galaxy JADES-GS-z14-0, an extremely tiny dot in the Fornax constellation. As of today, this is the most distant confirmed galaxy we know of. Its light took 13.4 billion years to reach us and shows the conditions of the Universe when it was only 300 million years old. The inset of the image shows a close-up of this primordial galaxy as seen with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). The inset is overlaid on an image taken with the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope.
When two research teams studied ...

81. Impacto del megaproyecto INNA en las instalaciones del Observatorio Paranal

Esta infografía resume los principales resultados de un análisis técnico detallado sobre el impacto del megaproyecto INNA, realizado por AES Andes, en las instalaciones del Observatorio Paranal en Chile.
En relación con los niveles de referencia actuales de luz artificial, INNA aumentaría la contaminación lumínica en al menos un 5%, 35% y 55% sobre el Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) de ESO, el Very Large Telescope (VLT) de ESO, y el conjunto sur del Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory (CTAO), respectivamente.
Además de albergar los cielos más oscuros de todos los principales observatorios profesionales, la atmósfera sobre Paranal también es muy estable, ...

82. Impact of the INNA megaproject on the facilities at Paranal Observatory

This infographic summarises the main results of a detailed technical analysis on the impact of the INNA megaproject, by AES Andes, on the facilities at Paranal Observatory in Chile.
Relative to current artificial-light baseline levels, INNA would increase light pollution by at least 5%, 35% and 55% above ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), and the southern array of the Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory (CTAO), respectively.
Besides hosting the darkest skies of all major professional observatories, the atmosphere above Paranal is also very stable, which is key to producing sharp images. Turbulence created by INNA’s wind ...

83. La comète C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) se couche au-dessus de l’Observatoire de Paranal.

84. Four lasers, four layers of the Cosmos

The four lasers of ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) pierce the heart of the Milky Way in this Picture of the Week. The starry night is interrupted by the vertical glow of the zodiacal light, caused by dust grains in the Solar System, so faint that it’s only visible in the darkest skies, such as those of Chile’s Atacama Desert. The pristine night sky in this region has always been intertwined with the culture and traditions of its indigenous people.
The Chakana is a recurrent symbol within Andean cultures. Shaped like a square stepped cross, it represents four stairs or ...

85. La construction de l'ELT se poursuit

86. A l'intérieur du dôme de l'ELT

87. Construction de la structure support de l'ELT vue par le bas

88. Au sommet du Cerro Armazones

89. Groundbreaking new telescope (artist's impression)

Artist's impression of the construction site of the Extremely Large Telescope.

90. A planetary party portrait above Paranal

In this portrait of ESO’s Paranal Observatory, taken in early February, our planets appear to parade one after the other across the night sky. In addition to the Moon, our own Milky Way, and the comet C/2024 G3, we can see Saturn, Venus, Jupiter and Mars — even Neptune and Uranus are hiding here too!
Often on nights with a few planets in view, you can draw an imaginary straight line in the night sky through them. This is due to their orbital paths being relatively aligned along a single, flat plane called the ecliptic. (In reality, the planets aren’t ...

91. A planetary party portrait above Paranal

92. A planetary party portrait above Paranal

93. A planetary party portrait above Paranal

94. Asistentes al Puertas Abiertas ESO ALMA 2023

Asistentes al Puertas Abiertas ESO ALMA 2023 escuchan a Laura Ventura, coordinadora de comunicaciones de ESO, junto a una replica de un segmento del espejo del ELT de ESO.

95. Paranal dio la bienvenida al Presidente Steinmeier

El director general de ESO, Xavier Barcons, da la bienvenida al Presidente de Alemania, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, en el Observatorio Paranal de ESO en marzo de 2025.

96. Presidente de Alemania visita el Observatorio Paranal de ESO en Chile

El presidente de Alemania, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, y su delegación realizaron una visita al Observatorio Paranal de ESO, en el norte de Chile el 5 y 6 de marzo.

97. Foto grupal durante la visita del Presidente Steinmeier a Paranal

De izquierda a derecha: Dominika Wylezalek, Thomas Klein, Elke Büdenbender, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Xavier Barcons, Itziar de Gregorio, Reinhard Genzel.

98. Cryogenic test facility for ELT systems

Some of the instruments on ESO's Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) will have elements that need to be cooled as low as 4 degrees Kelvin. Here we can see the large facility, which ESO has built to test cryogenic devices and develop ELT's cryogenic control system.

99. Careful work at the ESO Cryogenics lab

At the ESO Cryogenics lab, engineer Veronika Wimmer's steady hands are carefully mounting a cryogenic temperature sensor to an adaptor. Developing and testing cryogenic equipment is vital work for ESO, as some instruments in our telescopes need to operate at extreme low temperatures.

100. ESO Engineer working on test cryostat

The devices, which provide the required cooling to the instruments on our telescopes, are developed and tested in the ESO Cryogenics Lab. In the picture ESO engineer Veronika Wimmer preparing a test cryostat for the Stirling CryoTel GT AVC II cryocooler.

Usage of ESO Images, Videos, Web texts and Music

Send us your comments!

Abonnez-vous pour recevoir les nouvelles de l'ESO dans votre langue

Accéléré par CDN77

Terms & Conditions

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.

You can manage your cookie preferences and find out more by visiting 'Cookie Settings and Policy'.

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.

Cookie ID/Name

Description/Purpose

Provider (1^st party or 3^rd party)

Browser session cookie or Stored cookie?

Duration

csrftoken

XSRF protection token. We use this cookie to protect against cross-site request forgery attacks.

1^st party

Stored

1 year

user_privacy

Your privacy choices. We use this cookie to save your privacy preferences.

1^st party

Stored

6 months

_grecaptcha

We use reCAPTCHA to protect our forms against spam and abuse. reCAPTCHA sets a necessary cookie when executed for the purpose of providing its risk analysis. We use www.recaptcha.net instead of www.google.com in order to avoid unnecessary cookies from Google.

3^rd party

Stored

6 months

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.

Cookie ID/Name

Description/Purpose

Provider (1^st party or 3^rd party)

Browser session cookie or Stored cookie?

Duration

Settings

preferred_language

Language settings. We use this cookie to remember your preferred language settings.

1^st party

Stored

1 year

ON | OFF

sessionid

ESO Shop. We use this cookie to store your session information on the ESO Shop. This is just an identifier which is used on the server in order to allow you to purchase items in our shop.

1^st party

Stored

2 weeks

ON | OFF

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.

ON | OFF

Matomo cookies settings:

Cookie ID/Name

Description/Purpose

Provider (1^st party or 3^rd party)

Browser session cookie or Stored cookie?

Duration

Settings

_pk_id

Stores a unique visitor ID.

1^st party

Stored

13 months

_pk_ses

Session cookie temporarily stores data for the visit.

1^st party

Stored

30 minutes

_pk_ref

Stores attribution information (the referrer that brought the visitor to the website).

1^st party

Stored

6 months

_pk_testcookie

Temporary cookie to check if a visitor’s browser supports cookies (set in Internet Explorer only).

1^st party

Stored

Temporary cookie that expires almost immediately after being set.

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:

Brave

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.