Mededelingen 2012

9 januari 2012: with Prof. Jochen Schieck, Excellence Cluster Universe The Standard Model of particle physics is one of the best-validated models in physics today. Nevertheless, this model fails to account for some observed phenomena, such as dark matter, or the fact that there is no longer any antimatter in the Universe. With particle accelerators, scientists are trying to recreate the conditions in the early Universe and attempt to tackle these open questions. At Café & Kosmos on 10 January 2012, Professor Jochen Schieck (Excellence Cluster Universe) will describe two new accelerators before discussing their collision experiments: the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN and the new Super KEKB accelerator, which will start up in 2014, from the Japanese High Energy Accelerator Research Organisation, KEK. While the experiments at the LHC are tuned for very high energies, the physicists are adjusting the "newcomer" Super KEKB for maximum precision. Jochen Schieck will discuss with ...

5 januari 2012: On 1 January 2012, European radio astronomy entered a new era with the implementation of RadioNet3, the third iteration of RadioNet, the European radio astronomy collaboration. As the recognised European body for radio astronomy, RadioNet aims at facilitating access to leading radio astronomy facilities around the world for European radio astronomers. The European Commission recently secured the project by granting it 9.5 million euros for the period 2012–2015. The Max-Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy (MPIfR) will work with 24 European partner institutions, as well as South Korea, Australia and South Africa, to offer access to all 18 existing radio astronomy facilities in Europe. The project will also take full advantage of the APEX telescope operated by ESO, as well as the recently opened Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) of which ESO is a partner, both located in Chile. By promoting cooperation and making use of state-of-the-art facilities around the world, ...

5 januari 2012: The year 2012 is ESO’s 50th anniversary. Established in 1962, ESO has evolved into a key focal point for Europe’s activities in ground-based astronomy, becoming the most productive observatory in the world, and now poised to take on a global role. Fifty years have brought many changes to ESO’s observatories, as the monthly ESO Then & Now Pictures of the Week [1] will showcase. For those who have witnessed ESO’s historical voyage from the inside, either as members of staff or simply as visitors to our sites, we have expanded the Your ESO Pictures Flickr Group [2] to include historical images. Please share your photo memories of ESO with us and everyone else by posting these “golden oldies” to the group — whether in colour or black and white, digital or analogue! The best pictures might make it into our Pictures of the Week section, or into our Anniversary coffee-table ...