[111], VOs have proven their effectiveness in a number of ways, including discovering 31 optically faint, obscured quasar candidates in existing Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey (GOODS) fields (quadrupling the number previously found). European Southern Observatories in Chile. Pictures of the Week show beautiful (or interesting) photos from ESO telescopes, and may highlight recent events or archival photos. Consequently, dust from the desert slowly accumulates over the surface of the mirror, making it less reflective over time. Observations of how this "star" twinkles are fed into the VLT's adaptive optics system, controlling a deformable mirror in the telescope to restore the image of the star to a sharp point. Further out from the star and beyond the ring of knots, the red colour from hydrogen and nitrogen is more prominent. ESO began its design in early 2006, and aimed to begin construction in 2012. The ESO La Silla Observatory also played a role in the study of supernova SN 1987A. The European Southern Observatory celebrates its 50th birthday this year, and hopes to crown its achievements with the construction of the world's largest telescope. Radio telescope antennas of the ALMA project, in the Chajnantor plateau, on October 1, 2011. The laser energizes sodium atoms high in the Earth's mesosphere, causing them to glow and creating a bright dot that appears to be a man-made star. This picture was taken with the MPG/ESO 2.2-meter telescope at the La Silla Observatory in Chile and is the best image ever taken of this little-known object. The VLT has four 8.2-meter Unit Telescopes such as the one shown in the photograph. | ESO Annual report 1997.. Online access: Click here to access online Availability: Items available for loan: … La Silla, located in the southern Atacama Desert 600 kilometres (370 mi) north of Santiago de Chile at an altitude of 2,400 metres (7,900 ft), is the home of ESO's original observation site. Even with a partial array of antennas, ALMA is more powerful than any previous telescope at these wavelengths, giving astronomers an unprecedented capability to study the cool Universe -- molecular gas and dust as well as the relic radiation of the Big Bang. The crescent Moon, although not visible in this image, casts stark shadows over all the antennas. This image was taken on 30 April 2010. ESO/M. They are known to occur at great distances from earth, near the limits of the observable universe. #, A glowing laser shines forth from the VLT, piercing the dark Chilean skies, its mission is to help astronomers explore the far reaches of the cosmos. This type of astronomy is a relatively unexplored frontier, revealing a universe which cannot be seen in more-familiar visible or infrared light and ideal for studying the "cold universe"; light at these wavelengths shines from vast cold clouds in interstellar space at temperatures only a few tens of degrees above absolute zero. ESO/IDA/Danish 1.5 m/R. Visible light data from the Wide Field Imager #, This image, taken with the VLT Survey Telescope (VST) shows a wide variety of interacting galaxies in the young Hercules galaxy cluster. Large format 2Kx2K HgCdTe Hawaii-2RG arrays grown on CdZnTe substrates when used in state-of-the-art infrared instruments are powerful detectors, especially as high spatial and spectral resolution require low dark current and readout noise and high QE. [107] This feature has never been seen before and is probably caused by a hidden companion star orbiting the star. Announcements are shorter than press releases (typically less than 200 words) highlighting stories and events of interest to the community. Since then the telescope has been operated by ESO,[68] capturing quality images since it began operation. 2255 N Gemini Dr, Flagstaff, AZ 86001. Email. Santa in a snow globe in Seattle, an orangutan returned to Indonesia, Fashion Week in Senegal, a gingerbread town in Norway, and much more. It is dry and inhospitable to humans, but a good site for submillimetre astronomy; because water vapour molecules in Earth's atmosphere absorb and attenuate submillimetre radiation, a dry site is required for this type of radio astronomy. We want to hear what you think about this article. The Messenger is a quarterly journal which has presented ESO's activities to the public since May 1974. #, Color composite image of Centaurus A, revealing the lobes and jets emanating from the active galaxy's central black hole. The European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere,[2] commonly referred to as the European Southern Observatory (ESO), is a 16-nation intergovernmental research organisation for ground-based astronomy. ESO provides state-of-the-art research facilities to astronomers and is supported by Austria, Belgium, Brazil, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, 129555 129561 Chuhachi 1997 CS21 ChÅ«hachi. This site was also used as one of the locations for the 2008 James Bond film "Quantum of Solace". #, The barren Atacama Desert in northern Chile, with part of the ESO's VLT observatory visible. The nebula is a giant cloud of gas that forms around an ancient star that hasn't yet exploded, reports CNN. Chajnantor is one of the driest sites in the world, making it excellent for astronomical observations. Like other observatories in the area, La Silla is far from sources of light pollution and has one of the darkest night skies on Earth. Operations never stop at the most productive astronomical ground-based observatory in the world. ESO press releases describe scientific, technical and organisational developments and achievements and results obtained by scientists with ESO facilities. [109] The archive is about 1.01 Petabytes (PB), with an input rate of about 131 TB per year; this is being increased by a factor of 10 or so due to the survey telescopes' data-production rate. About 200 Terabytes (TB) of public data are distributed per year through the ESO archive. The ESO's Very Large telescope (VLT) has already closed its eyes after a long night of observations, and telescope operators and astronomers sleep while technicians, engineers and day astronomers wake up for a new day of work. ... with its large surface and well tested, favourable observing conditions, might offer a suitable location for the ESO Observatory. This feature has never been seen before and is probably caused by a hidden companion star orbiting the star. [63], At the Paranal inauguration in March 1999, names of celestial objects in the Mapuche language were chosen to replace the technical designations of the four VLT Unit Telescopes (UT1–UT4). On November 15, 1963 Chile was chosen as the site for ESO's observatory. European Southern Observatory. (ESO/WFI, Optical; MPIfR/ESO/APEX/A.Weiss et al., Submillimeter; NASA/CXC/CfA/R.Kraft et al., X-ray, ESO/M.-R. Cioni/VISTA Magellanic Cloud survey, Reuters/ESO/IDA/Danish 1.5 m/ R. Gendler, J-E. Ovaldsen, C. Thsne, and C. Feron. [56][57], The main facility at Paranal is the VLT, which consists of four nearly identical 8.2-metre (27 ft) unit telescopes (UTs), each hosting two or three instruments. ESO operates a number of telescopes located high in the Atacama Desert in Chile. This slice through the new ALMA data reveals the shell around the star, which shows up as the outer circular ring, as well as a very clear spiral structure in the inner material. The Very Large Telescope (VLT) is a telescope facility operated by the European Southern Observatory on Cerro Paranal in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile. European Southern Observatory Paranal; Search. ESO staff member Gordon Gillet welcomed the new day by capturing this stunning image from 14 km away, on the road to the nearby Cerro Armazones. Some familiar celestial objects can be seen in the night sky behind them. The ELT will be the largest visible and near-infrared telescope in the world. [10], The idea that European astronomers should establish a common large observatory was broached by Walter Baade and Jan Oort at the Leiden Observatory in the Netherlands in spring 1953. ALMA is already revolutionizing how astronomers study the Universe at millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths. The conclusion was that short-duration bursts could not be caused by a hypernova; instead, it is thought that they originate in the violent merges of neutron stars or black holes. [133], A collection of photos and videos can be found in the ESO Public Image Gallery and Video Library. ESO staff member Gordon Gillet welcomed the new day by capturing this stunning image from 14 km away, on the road to the nearby Cerro Armazones. A view of the Chajnantor plateau, showing the ALMA antennas ranged across the unearthly landscape. The ESO Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) allows astronomers to see details up to 25 times finer than those seen with the individual telescopes. [80] A call for ALMA science proposals was issued on 31 March 2011,[81] and early observations began on 3 October. At these wavelengths, the small cloud is completely opaque because of the obscuring effect of dust particles in its interior. ALMA is an astronomical interferometer of innovative design, initially composed of 66 high-precision antennas and operating at wavelengths of 0.3 to 3.6 mm. The site is 750 metres (2,460 ft) higher than the Mauna Kea Observatory and 2,400 metres (7,900 ft) higher than the VLT in Cerro Paranal. [30] The VLT's scientific discoveries include imaging an extrasolar planet,[61] tracking individual stars moving around the supermassive black hole at the centre of the Milky Way[62] and observing the afterglow of the furthest known gamma-ray burst. ESO's observing facilities have made astronomical discoveries and produced several astronomical catalogues. The two survey telescopes collect more data every night than all the other instruments on the VLT combined. The telesco… The prominent tail of Comet McNaught made a spectacular view over the VLT platform in January of 2007. These large telescopes can also work together in groups of two or three as a giant interferometer. [39], The ESO 3.6-metre telescope began operations in 1977. #, A composite color image of the Horsehead Nebula and its immediate surroundings, based on three exposures in the visual part of the spectrum with the FORS2 multi-mode instrument at the 8.2-m KUEYEN telescope at Paranal. Conclusive evidence was obtained after 16 years of monitoring the Galactic Center with ESO telescopes at the La Silla and Paranal observatories. The ESO has been in existence since 1962, and it is one of the largest centres of advanced astronomy in the world. European Southern Observatory. It was produced from three images, obtained on February 1, 2000. 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