The stellar 'Initial Mass Function' (IMF) is a fundamental observable and a crucial component for the understanding of a vast range of astrophysical processes. It is suspected to have its roots in the mass distribution of dense molecular cloud cores resulting from molecular cloud fragmentation, but what shapes this 'Core Mass Function' (CMF) and how core masses really relate to stellar masses, remains unclear. This ESO workshop will summarize and discuss recent observational and theoretical progress on these questions and explore ways forward with ongoing progress in instrumentation (e.g., ALMA upgrade, ELT(s)). The deadline for abstract submissions is 15 February 2026.

ESO is pleased to announce the second and final Phase3 data release of the Large Programme SUPER - SINFONI Survey for Unveiling the Physics and the Effect of Radiative feedback, programme id 196.A-0377, PI V. Manieri. It uses SINFONI in Seeing-Enhancer mode to study Active Galactic Nuclei at z=2-2.5. The AO assisted observations reach a PSF of 0.2 arcsec in K-band.

Olivier Chesneau, one of the most active and prolific members of the optical interferometry community, passed away in May 2014, at the age of 41. To honour his work in this field, his home institute, the Laboratoire J.-L. Lagrange at the Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur in France, and ESO established a prize in his memory. Since 2015, the prize has been awarded biennially for the best PhD thesis completed in the field of high angular resolution optical astronomy.

The VLTI Community Days meeting will take place at ESO Garching on the 11, 12 and 13 of May 2026 (participation available via MS Teams). The meeting will be dedicated to the current status, scientific exploitation, and future evolution of the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) and the programme will cover recent and ongoing developments at the VLTI, with a strong focus on GRAVITY+ and ASGARD, as well as the status and prospects for MATISSE and PIONIER. The meeting will combine technical and operational updates, with science talks, together with time for discussion.

Observations with the VLT, VLTI, and ALMA have pioneered exoplanet science over the past decade. With upcoming results from ESA missions such as Gaia, PLATO, and Ariel, exoplanet research is entering a transformative era of large-scale characterisation surveys. This ESO workshop will bring the community together to explore how current ESO facilities together with powerful archival resources, can best complement exoplanet demographics, atmospheres, and planet formation at the dawn of population-scale studies.