Science Users Information

These pages are aimed at ESO community astronomers and contain all the information required in order to prepare, execute, process and exploit observations with ESO facilities. They also provide information on the scientific activities taking place at ESO. Details can be accessed via the navigation menu.

ESO Science Announcements

Apply Now for ESO Studentships - First Annual Call

Published: 01 Sep 2026
Are you a PhD student eager to dive into the cutting-edge scientific world at one of the most prestigious observatories on the planet? The ESO research studentship programme offers you a chance to do just that. This exceptional programme is open to students enrolled in a PhD programme in astronomy or related fields. You will continue your doctoral research under the formal supervision of your home university, but with the added benefit of spending a minimum of six months (Chile) or one year (Germany), and up to two years at ESO, working closely with a dedicated ESO staff astronomer.
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Xavier Barcons Concludes his Term as Director General

Published: 28 Aug 2026

At the end of his nine years as ESO Director General, Xavier Barcons reflects on ESO’s scientific contributions, international standing, organisational challenges, sustained growth during this period, and exciting perspectives for the future.

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Major New ALMA Science Archive Features

Published: 25 Aug 2026
The ALMA Science Archive has received substantial feature upgrades, some of which have been worked on for years.
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Comparison of Panel Review and Distributed Peer Review at ALMA

Published: 25 Aug 2026
Since 2021, ALMA has used a distributed peer review model instead of traditional panel-based review. In a recent study, John Carpenter and Andrea Corvillon analysed more than 20,000 proposals and over 160,000 individual reviews over 13 ALMA cycles (Cycles 0–12) to examine whether the statistical patterns of proposal evaluation changed. Overall, the study finds that the outcomes of distributed peer review are statistically consistent with those of traditional panel review. You can read a summary of the result on the ALMA website and the paper accepted for publication in PNAS.
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Introducing the 2026 ESO Fellows - Germany and Chile

Published: 25 Aug 2026

The Offices for Science are very pleased to present the 2026 ESO Fellows. Here is an introduction to the Fellows due to start in Garching and Chile later this year.

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The Messenger

The Messenger 196 is now available. Highlights include:

  • Matrà, L.: Exocometary Belts Transformed by ALMA
  • Andreani, P., Díaz Trigo, M.: ALMA–CTAO Synergies
  • Péroux, C., Mérand, A. et al.: Report on the ESO workshop "VLT Beyond 2030 and Call for White Papers”

The ESO Science Newsletter

The August 2026 issue is now available.

The ESO Science Newsletter, mailed approximately once per month, presents the most recent announcements. Subscription is controlled through the Manage Profile link on the User Portal. Back issues (2013-) are archived.

Citing ESO data in research papers

Researchers are kindly asked to indicate the identifiers (programme IDs or Data DOIs) of the (new or archival) observations they used in their papers as explained in ESO’s data citation policy. This enables the telbib curators to cross-link research output to make data Findabie, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable as suggested by the FAIR Principles.  

Pitch Your Research to ESO COMM

Are you an author on an upcoming scientific study based on ESO data that could be relevant to journalists or the wider public? Or are you a Principal Investigator on ESO observations with potential to become stunning images? If so, please consider sending to ESO your paper and/or a preview of the image(s) obtained with ESO telescopes.