ESO

Reflect Orbital and SpaceX have filed proposals with the US Federal Communications Commission that threaten ground-based astronomy. We submitted replies and collaborated with the UK Royal Astronomical Society & the International Astronomical Union for their responses. 1/

#astrodon #astronomy #astrophysics #space #science

Reaching for the stars!

Chilean astrophotographer Alexis Trigo captured the VLT Unit Telescope 4, shooting its laser beams to create artificial stars high up in the atmosphere.

This allows astronomers to correct for atmospheric turbulence that blurs data: https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw2611a/

📷 ESO/A. Trigo

#astrodon #astronomy #astrophysics #astrophotography #space #science

Our Extremely Large Telescope is already 70% complete!

But what would you see if you walked inside it today? The latest Chasing Starlight episode takes you there: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IUeLqC-xpo

#astrodon #astronomy #astrophysics #space #science #engineering #chile

A cosmic hawk and its starry eyasses 🐦

What looks like a hawk spanning its wings above massive newly born stars is the RCW 36 nebula.

Now, a team of astronomers has used, yes, the HAWK-I instrument on our VLT to study the very dim stars called brown dwarfs hidden in the nebula and how they form: https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw2609a/

📷 ESO/A. R. G. do Brito do Vale et al.

#astrodon #astronomy #astrophysics #space #science

Two's company ⭐️⭐️ Just like we humans are strongly influenced by the presence of companions over the course of our lives, so are stars, literally. The pair of points at the centre of this image, taken with our VLT, are an old stellar couple known as AFGL 4106. https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw2608a/ 📷 ESO/G. Tomassini et al. #astrodon #astronomy #astrophysics #space #science

If you live in #Munich or nearby, save the date!

On 26 February at 19:00, our Director General Xavier Barcons will give a talk at the Instituto Cervantes in Munich explaining why we build large telescopes to answer big questions about the Universe.

The talk will be in Spanish with simultaneous translation into German. Admission is free, but registration is required.

More: https://cultura.cervantes.es/munich/de/grandes-telescopios-para-responder-grandes-preguntas-sobre-el-universo/185767

📷C. Letelier/ESO

#munchen #bayern #germany #deutschland #astronomy #astrophysics #space #science

RE: @esoastronomy@mastodon.social

Update on the post below: in a letter sent to #Chile 's Environmental Assessment Service on 6 February, AES Andes requested the withdrawal of INNA from evaluation.

This formally confirms that INNA is not going ahead.

#astrodon #astronomy #astrophysics #space #science #environment

The full scope of Paranal’s beauty 🤩

Right in front, one of the movable ATs stands tall, while the UTs are scanning the sky.

The lasers emerging from the UTs create each a bright artificial star on the sky to correct observations for the blurring effect of the atmosphere. Until recently, only one UT was equipped with lasers. But now one additional laser has been installed in the other 3.

Discover why: https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw2606a/

📷 A. Trigo/ESO

#astrodon #astronomy #astrophysics #space #science

1/ Dorothee Bär, German Federal Minister of Research, Technology and Space, has visited our Paranal Observatory.

The Minister was joined by Markus Blume, Bavarian State Minister for Science and the Arts, Thomas Reiter, Director General ‘Space and Security’, Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space of Germany, and several high-profile German dignitaries.

Read more: https://www.eso.org/public/announcements/annlang26002-es-cl/

#astronomy #space #science #germany

Meet the ELT large coating plant!

Aside from its main mirror, the other mirrors of our Extremely Large Telescope will be removed every two years for a new reflective coating. And the machine designed to carry out this delicate task is undergoing testing.

Discover it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lSTmjqkLoI

#astrodon #astronomy #astrophysics #space #science #engineering

1/2 AES Andes announced that it will step back from the megaproject INNA, planned to be located near our Paranal Observatory.

We welcome this announcement and expect that the project will be withdrawn from #Chile 's Environmental Assessment Service (SEA) soon, which would formally confirm INNA is not going ahead.

https://www.eso.org/public/news/eso2602/

📷 A. Ghizzi Panizza/ESO

#astrodon #astronomy #astrophysics #environment #space #science

Peek inside ESO's Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), under construction in #Chile 's Atacama Desert. The main structure shown here will host the ELT’s five mirrors, which will gather the light and send it to the instruments at the sides of the telescope. With its 39-metre-diameter, the main mirror will be the largest ever for an optical telescope: the biggest eye on the sky! Read more: https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw2605a/ 📷 ESO/J. C. Muñoz-Mateos #astrodon #astronomy #astrophysics #space #science

1/2 Today, we have signed the agreement for the construction of BlueMUSE, an upcoming instrument for our Very Large Telescope (VLT)
⁠
Based on the successful technology of the MUSE instrument installed at the VLT, BlueMUSE will observe in shorter and therefore bluer wavelengths. It is anticipated to see first-light in 2034.⁠

https://www.eso.org/public/announcements/ann26001/
⁠
#astrodon #astronomy #astrophysics #space #science

1/2 Young or old? There’s both in this image!

The main object depicted here is known as Ve 7–27. It was long believed to be a planetary nebula — namely, the end phase of a sun-like star’s life. Yet ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT) has shown it to actually be a still-forming baby star.

But there's also a dead star lurking just nearby, so keep reading!

https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw2604a/

📷 ESO/J. Suherli et al.

#astrodon #astronomy #astrophysics #space #science

A dance of two pairs!

While the two Magellanic Clouds shine upon the Atacama Desert in #Chile, two Auxiliary Telescopes of ESO’s Very Large Telescope Interferometer point up to the sky.

Just like our cosmic neighbours move around the Milky Way, the Auxiliary Telescopes can be moved along rails and arranged in different configurations when observing the sky.

Read more: https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw2545a/

📷 J. Looten/ESO

#astrodon #astronomy #astrophotography #astrophysics #space #science

The magic of a pristine sky 🤩

The Milky Way arches over our Very Large Telescope, set under a colourful sky. This so-called airglow is extremely faint and only noticeable in the darkest regions, such as the Atacama Desert in #Chile. So, preserving pristine skies not only enables cutting-edge research, but it also allows photographers to capture the magic of a perfectly dark night.

https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw2543a/

📷 J. Looten/ESO

#astrodon #astronomy #astrophotography #astrophysics #space #science