1 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:04,000 On the day of its 50th anniversary 2 00:00:05,000 --> 00:00:07,000 5th October 2012 3 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:11,000 ESO, the European Southern Observatory 4 00:00:11,000 --> 00:00:16,000 produced a live webcast called “A Day in the Life of ESO”. 5 00:00:16,000 --> 00:00:21,000 This webcast gave viewers a unique opportunity to see 6 00:00:21,000 --> 00:00:25,000 inside the world's most productive ground-based astronomical observatory 7 00:00:25,000 --> 00:00:32,000 and to help celebrate ESO's first 50 years of exploring the southern sky. 8 00:00:34,000 --> 00:00:37,000 Founded in 1962, ESO has evolved into today’s 9 00:00:37,000 --> 00:00:43,000 pre-eminent intergovernmental science and technology organisation in astronomy, 10 00:00:43,000 --> 00:00:48,000 operating three unique world class observing facilities in Chile, 11 00:00:48,000 --> 00:00:51,000 and its headquarters located in Garching, Germany. 12 00:00:56,000 --> 00:00:58,000 This is the ESOcast! 13 00:00:58,000 --> 00:01:00,000 Cutting edge science 14 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:05,000 and life behind the scenes of ESO, the European Southern Observatory. 15 00:01:17,000 --> 00:01:20,000 It's the morning of the 5th of October 16 00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:24,000 The countdown for the webcast “A Day in the Life of ESO” 17 00:01:24,000 --> 00:01:28,000 has begun, and preparations are in full swing. 18 00:01:28,000 --> 00:01:35,000 Before long, the live stream, hosted by Dr J, aka Dr Joe Liske 19 00:01:35,000 --> 00:01:37,000 will begin, giving members of the public 20 00:01:37,000 --> 00:01:41,000 the opportunity to interact with ESO astronomers and engineers 21 00:01:41,000 --> 00:01:45,000 by listening to live talks and asking questions. 22 00:01:47,000 --> 00:01:51,000 Meanwhile, on the other side of the Earth, 23 00:01:51,000 --> 00:01:53,000 Brigitte Bailleul from France, the lucky winner 24 00:01:53,000 --> 00:01:57,000 of the “Tweet your way to the VLT!” competition, 25 00:01:57,000 --> 00:02:00,000 has arrived at Paranal Observatory in Chile 26 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:03,000 and is preparing to claim her prize: 27 00:02:03,000 --> 00:02:06,000 a chance to make a live observation using the world’s 28 00:02:06,000 --> 00:02:10,000 most advanced visible-light astronomical observatory, 29 00:02:10,000 --> 00:02:14,000 the Very Large Telescope, or VLT. 30 00:02:17,000 --> 00:02:20,000 Before long, the first live link from ESO’s headquarters 31 00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:24,000 in Garching, Germany to Brigitte in Paranal is made 32 00:02:24,000 --> 00:02:27,000 and hundreds of people from around the world 33 00:02:27,000 --> 00:02:31,000 watch as Brigitte begins making the observations. 34 00:02:32,000 --> 00:02:34,000 So she is now a full expert, 35 00:02:34,000 --> 00:02:37,000 and she is going to start the observations. 36 00:02:42,000 --> 00:02:47,000 Ok, so now we have sent the command to start the observations 37 00:02:47,000 --> 00:02:51,000 The target for the VLT is the Thor’s Helmet Nebula 38 00:02:51,000 --> 00:02:54,000 an object chosen by public vote 39 00:02:54,000 --> 00:02:57,000 as part of the “Choose What the VLT Observes” competition. 40 00:03:06,000 --> 00:03:07,000 Wow, that's really incredible! 41 00:03:08,000 --> 00:03:11,000 This is 30 seconds exposure time on the VLT 42 00:03:11,000 --> 00:03:13,000 that's what you get! 43 00:03:13,000 --> 00:03:14,000 This is really incredible 44 00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:16,000 I did not expect it like that 45 00:03:17,000 --> 00:03:19,000 So what do you think? 46 00:03:19,000 --> 00:03:21,000 It's great! 47 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:27,000 Back in Germany, Dr. J hosts a series of talks 48 00:03:27,000 --> 00:03:31,000 from ESO experts, who provide first-hand information 49 00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:34,000 and insights into the world of astronomical research. 50 00:03:37,000 --> 00:03:40,000 It's all about questions, we ask questions 51 00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:43,000 because we want to know, that's what we do, that's what we live for 52 00:03:43,000 --> 00:03:46,000 And in particular, what was discovered here 53 00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:48,000 was the emission of a simple sugar 54 00:03:48,000 --> 00:03:52,000 and this is important because sugar is the basic chain 55 00:03:52,000 --> 00:03:54,000 that produces energy for life 56 00:03:54,000 --> 00:03:58,000 and this simple sugar was detected for the first time with ALMA 57 00:03:58,000 --> 00:04:02,000 It's through hi-tech that we have an augmented vision of nature 58 00:04:02,000 --> 00:04:07,000 this is where the scientist goes very close 59 00:04:07,000 --> 00:04:10,000 to nature, that's the way he can perceive nature 60 00:04:13,000 --> 00:04:15,000 Before, during and after each talk, 61 00:04:15,000 --> 00:04:19,000 hundreds of viewers submit questions to the speakers 62 00:04:19,000 --> 00:04:24,000 via Facebook, Twitter, e-mail, or the chat box on the live stream itself 63 00:04:25,000 --> 00:04:28,000 What time of day can you use the ALMA radio telescopes, 64 00:04:28,000 --> 00:04:30,000 only at night? 65 00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:33,000 No, you can use ALMA in principle 24 hours a day 66 00:04:34,000 --> 00:04:39,000 So do you have any advice for those young people out there watching who want to be astronomers? 67 00:04:39,000 --> 00:04:41,000 Yes! 68 00:04:41,000 --> 00:04:45,000 My advice is questions - ask questions, all the time 69 00:04:45,000 --> 00:04:49,000 After finding biological activity signs in an exoplanet's atmosphere, 70 00:04:49,000 --> 00:04:51,000 what do you think will be the next step? 71 00:04:51,000 --> 00:04:53,000 What will we do next? 72 00:04:54,000 --> 00:04:57,000 I think one of the next steps is perhaps 73 00:04:57,000 --> 00:04:59,000 to search for radio signals 74 00:05:01,000 --> 00:05:06,000 Furthermore, almost 600 viewers from 55 different countries 75 00:05:06,000 --> 00:05:08,000 put their ESO knowledge to the test 76 00:05:08,000 --> 00:05:11,000 in a quiz that ran throughout the entire day. 77 00:05:17,000 --> 00:05:20,000 Between the individual presentations, 78 00:05:20,000 --> 00:05:26,000 chapters of ESO's anniversary movie, "Europe to the Stars", are shown. 79 00:05:26,000 --> 00:05:32,000 This documentary showcases ESO's story with breathtaking visuals. 80 00:05:38,000 --> 00:05:41,000 Finally, at the end of the day, 81 00:05:41,000 --> 00:05:44,000 a live link to the Paranal observatory is established once again. 82 00:05:45,000 --> 00:05:49,000 Standing on the platform of the VLT observatory 83 00:05:49,000 --> 00:05:53,000 at the 2600-metre summit of Cerro Paranal, 84 00:05:53,000 --> 00:05:56,000 a group of astronomers wait with an anxious Brigitte 85 00:05:56,000 --> 00:06:00,000 to witness the results of the observations made earlier. 86 00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:02,000 Nobody is disappointed. 87 00:06:03,000 --> 00:06:07,000 The VLT has captured a beautiful and spectacular 88 00:06:07,000 --> 00:06:10,000 image of the Thor's Helmet Nebula. 89 00:06:18,000 --> 00:06:21,000 And, with that, it is time for Dr J 90 00:06:21,000 --> 00:06:25,000 to sign off, marking the end of the live webcast: 91 00:06:25,000 --> 00:06:27,000 "A Day in the Life of ESO". 92 00:06:29,000 --> 00:06:32,000 For Brigitte, it was a remarkable "once in a lifetime" opportunity 93 00:06:32,000 --> 00:06:36,000 and for the viewers, a chance to share her unique experience. 94 00:06:37,000 --> 00:06:44,000 What better way to celebrate 50 fantastic years of astronomy at ESO? 95 00:06:50,000 --> 00:06:52,000 Transcription by ESO; translation by --