Astronomical Events

On this page you will find information about upcoming and past Astronomical Event in which ESO will or has played an important coordinating role. The list below provides an overview of the available information.

For more information about upcoming astronomical events and ESO's activities around these events please contact the ESO education and Public Outreach Department.

Information about important observations with telescopes at the ESO observatories at La Silla and Paranal are regularly published via ESO Press Releases. They may relate to all kinds of different astronomical objects, from comets to variable stars, and from supernovae to distant gamma-ray bursters.

Information about these observations, observations with other telescopes, and major astronomical events is available on IAU Circulars, as communicated by observers and published by the IAU Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams (CBAT). Please note that new Circulars are only placed on the Web after they have been distributed by email to the regular subscribers. It may therefore happen that the most recent link below is not yet active. If so, try again later.

The Comet Mc Naught 2007 January and February, 2007 Comet McNaught, the Great Comet of 2007, has been delighting those who have seen it with the unaided eye as a spectacular display in the evening sky. Press Photo's eso0507 and eso0707. A collection of beautiful images is available.

Deep Impact, 4 July 2005 4 July, 2005 Information about ESO's Campaign to Study the Aftermath of the Deep Impact spacecraft that collided with Comet 9P/Tempel 1.

The Venus Transit 2004 8 June, 2004 Comprehensive information about the Venus Transit 2004.

The Leonids 1999 17-18 November, 1999 This famous Meteor Shower became very impressive this year.

Solar Eclipse at ESO HQ 11 August, 1999 The ESO Headquarters were located near the line of maximum totality.

The Leonids 1998 November 1998 This famous Meteor Shower was early but became very impressive.

Mars Pathfinder 1997 The NASA Mars Pathfinder mission landed the first remotely controlled robot vehicle on the surface of Mars.

Comet Hyakutake 1997 When Comet Hyakutake passed only 15 million km from the Earth in March 1996, it became a most impressive sight in the sky.

SL-9 and Jupiter 1994 Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 crashed into Jupiter in July 1994, producing many surprising effects.

Comet Hale Bopp 1994 Information and pictures of the Comet Hale Bopp (1995 01).