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

Second Data Release from the VISTA Second Cycle Public Survey VEILS

Published: 04 Dec 2023

The VISTA Extragalactic Infrared Legacy Survey (VEILS, PI: Banerji, Program ID:198.A-2005) is a deep J and Ks-band transient and wide-field survey being conducted using the VIRCAM camera with the primary goals of understanding the epoch of reionisation, the build-up of massive galaxies, and constraining the cosmological equation of state using both Type 1a supernovae and AGN dust lag measurements. The total VEILS surveyed area is 9 sq-deg of the extragalactic sky over three fields: XMM-LSS, CDFS and ELAIS-S1. The data acquisition for the VEILS survey was successfully completed in 2022 prior to the VIRCAM decommissioning

Results of the 2023 Paranal Service Mode User Satisfaction Survey

Published: 29 Nov 2023

The User Support Department again extends its sincere thanks to all those Principal Investigators and their Phase 2 delegates who participated in this year's online Paranal Service Mode User Satisfaction Survey.  A total of 146 responses were received from the targeted campaign.  As in the past, where possible, respondents who provided detailed comments have been contacted via e-mail. A summary report based on this latest User Satisfaction Survey is now available.

ESO's Extremely Large Telescope is now Half Completed

Published: 15 Nov 2023

The European Southern Observatory’s Extremely Large Telescope (ESO’s ELT) will have a 39-metre main mirror and will be the largest telescope in the world for visible and infrared light. Construction of this technically complex project is advancing at a good pace, with the ELT now surpassing the 50% complete milestone.

Third and Final Release of the Programme 'INvestigating Stellar Population In RElics' (INSPIRE)

Published: 14 Nov 2023

The scientific objective of the XShooter ESO Large Program 1104.B-0370 INSPIRE (PI: C. Spiniello), is to create the first catalogue of spectroscopically confirmed relics in the redshift range 0.1<z<0.5, which bridges the gap between the three local confirmed relics and the high-z red nugget galaxies. The availability of this sample of objects enables to put stringent constraint on the predictions from simulations on the initial intense phase of star formation in passive galaxies.

ALMA Previews and Thumbnails Now Available in the ESO Archive Science Portal

Published: 14 Nov 2023

The ESO Archive Science portal was upgraded to include previews and thumbnails of ALMA data, alongside those for La Silla Paranal. They provide a rich and concise overview of the data to guide users in identifying those of interest. Hovering with the mouse on the Actions column in the result table pops up the preview thumbnail. Clicking on the icon in the same column opens a dedicated page, where a detailed preview directly from the ALMA Science Archive is displayed. Previews and thumbnails are only presented for publicly available data, both for ALMA and La Silla Paranal.

The Messenger

The Messenger 191 is now available. Highlights include:

  • Barcons, X.: Sixty Years of Engagement Between ESO and Chile: Past, Present and Future
  • Bacon, R., et al.: Scientific Highlights from Ten Years of the MUSE Collaboration
  • Romaniello, M. et al.: The ESO Science Archive Facility: Status, Impact, and Prospects

The ESO Science Newsletter

The October 2023 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.