Like a tiny snail shell lying on a beach, a small spiral juts out from the expanse of the Atacama Desert. While most of the lines carving the landscape in today's Picture of the Week are natural consequences of geology, the circling path is in fact a road leading up the mountain Cerro Armazones. At the top sits ESO's Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), currently under construction, visible only as a black dot below the centre of this image.
\r\nPinpointing the ELT in the vast area of reds and greys might, at first, make its name seem excessive. But it is all a matter of perspective. This photo was taken by Sophie Adenot, a French engineer, helicopter pilot and astronaut at the European Space Agency (ESA), currently on the International Space Station (ISS) for a long-duration mission called εpsilon. Even from her vantage point, more than 400 kilometres above the Earth's surface, the ELT is a distinguishable feature in the landscape. Once completed, it will be the world's largest visible and infrared light telescope. Its immense light-gathering capability will allow the ELT to probe deeper into the Universe than ever before. An avid stargazer herself, Adenot has sent a log from the ISS to explain why the ELT's location was chosen:
\r\nDay 051, orbit 802 – Chile has some of the most beautiful skies on Earth... Stargazing takes on a different dimension there, with three galaxies perfectly visible to the naked eye in the night sky – our very own Milky Way and its two neighbours, the large and small Magellanic Clouds.
\r\nThe Mars-like Atacama desert is home to several of ESO’s observatories, including at La Silla and Cerro Paranal. This picture shows the construction site of ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) on Cerro Armazones. Once completed, the ELT will become the world’s biggest eye on the sky, featuring a 39-meter-diameter mirror… that’s about 9 cars parked bumper-to-bumper, or two H225 helicopters nose-to-tail!
\r\nCollaboration between Europe and Chile at its best!
","Credit":"ESA – S. Adenot. CC-BY-SA 3.0 IGO","PublicationDate":"2026-04-06T07:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory"],"Name":["Extremely Large Telescope"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw2614a/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":70,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/potw2614a.tif","FileSize":84008402,"Dimensions":[8256,5504],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/potw2614a.jpg","FileSize":16723922,"Dimensions":[8256,5504],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/potw2614a.jpg","FileSize":304677,"Dimensions":[1280.0,854.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/potw2614a.jpg","FileSize":12324,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/potw2614a.jpg","FileSize":4998,"Dimensions":[60.0,40.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"potw2613a","Title":"An ExTrA sphere","Description":"Two sunlit spheres can be seen in today's Picture of the Week. While these orbs share similarities in their shape and in being illuminated by the same star, they are vastly different. The one farthest away from the camera, hiding behind the clouds, is our own Moon, the Earth's only natural satellite. The other object is the dome of a telescope at ESO's La Silla Observatory, located in the outskirts of the Atacama Desert, in northern Chile.
\r\nThe telescope is one of the three in the French project Exoplanets in Transits and their Atmospheres (ExTrA). ExTrA is focused on detecting Earth-sized worlds in the Milky Way. It relies on the transit method, where planets block a fraction of the light from the star they orbit when passing between it and Earth, just like a partial eclipse. ExTrA centres on worlds orbiting red dwarfs –– stars much smaller, colder and dimmer than the Sun. Because red dwarfs are small, planets crossing in front of them block more light, making them easier to find than planets orbiting regular stars.
\r\nWho knows, perhaps some of these planets may look as otherworldly as the landscape of this picture. “These places compel me every time to think about our position in the Universe, putting my life ‘in context’ so to say,” says the photographer, ESO astronomer Luca Sbordone. “It always brings me peace.”
","Credit":"L. Sbordone/ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-03-30T04:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Solar System : Planet : Satellite","Unspecified : Technology : Observatory"],"Name":["ExTrA","La Silla","Moon"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw2613a/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":70,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/potw2613a.tif","FileSize":204213052,"Dimensions":[7145,4763],"ProjectionType":"Tan","Checksum":"1b167635880696854b94fd660882e7cf7674341145b0e6c48ff998e073e1e217"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/potw2613a.jpg","FileSize":6260570,"Dimensions":[7145,4763],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/potw2613a.jpg","FileSize":126345,"Dimensions":[1280.0,854.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/potw2613a.jpg","FileSize":8065,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/potw2613a.jpg","FileSize":4270,"Dimensions":[60.0,40.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"eso2604b","Title":"Composite VLT image of two planets around the WISPIT 2 star","Description":"This image shows two planets being born around the young star WISPIT 2. These observations were made with the SPHERE instrument at ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT). SPHERE can directly image exoplanets by correcting atmospheric turbulence and blocking the light from the central star.
\r\nThis composite image contains SPHERE observations carried out at different epochs. The outermost planet, WISPIT 2b, was discovered first, whereas WISPIT 2c, which orbits much closer to the star, was confirmed afterwards.
\r\nThis chart shows the location of the young star WISPIT 2 in the constellation Aquila. This map shows most of the stars visible to the unaided eye under good conditions. The location of the star is marked with a red circle.
","Credit":"ESO, IAU and Sky & Telescope","PublicationDate":"2026-03-24T13:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Sky Phenomenon : Night Sky : Constellation"],"Name":["Aquila Constellation"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2604e/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":42,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/eso2604e.tif","FileSize":763176,"Dimensions":[3338,3391],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/eso2604e.jpg","FileSize":643649,"Dimensions":[3338,3391],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/eso2604e.jpg","FileSize":163754,"Dimensions":[1280.0,1301.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/eso2604e.jpg","FileSize":12405,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/eso2604e.jpg","FileSize":5369,"Dimensions":[60.0,61.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"eso2604a","Title":"VLT images of two planets forming around the young star WISPIT 2","Description":"This image, taken with ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) shows a planetary system being born around the young star WISPIT 2. The star is surrounded by a disc of gas and dust –– the raw material out of which planets form and grow. In 2025 a team of astronomers detected a young planet, called WISPIT 2b, carving out a gap in the disc around the star. Now the same team has confirmed the presence of a second planet, WISPIT 2c, orbiting even closer to the star, as shown in the inset.
\r\nBoth planets are gas giants, similar to Jupiter. WISPIT 2b is almost five times as massive as Jupiter, and orbits the star at a distance 60 times larger than the separation between Earth and the Sun. WISPIT 2c is twice as massive as 2b and orbits the star four times closer.
\r\nThe images shown here were taken with the SPHERE instrument at the VLT. SPHERE can correct the blur caused by atmospheric turbulence, as well as block the light of the central star, revealing the faint disc and planets around it in great detail. A different instrument, GRAVITY+ on the VLT Interferometer, was also used in the discovery, helping confirm the planetary nature of the observed object.
\r\nThis image, captured with ESO’s Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA) shows the area of the sky around the young star WISPIT 2, seen here at the centre of the image.
","Credit":"ESO/VHS team","PublicationDate":"2026-03-24T13:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Milky Way : Star"],"Name":["WISPIT 2b","WISPIT 2c"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2604d/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":44,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/eso2604d.tif","FileSize":384122032,"Dimensions":[8001,8001],"ProjectionType":"Observation","Checksum":"43d2ca1c79a1a22ff77d774505a70877e734376991c26057be559eef21f1f459"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/eso2604d.jpg","FileSize":6142406,"Dimensions":[8001,8001],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/eso2604d.jpg","FileSize":199541,"Dimensions":[1280.0,1280.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/eso2604d.jpg","FileSize":6414,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/eso2604d.jpg","FileSize":4100,"Dimensions":[60.0,60.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"}],"ObservationData":{"Spatial":{"ReferenceDimension":[8001.0,8001.0]}}}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"eso2604c","Title":"Spectrum of the baby exoplanet WISPIT 2c","Description":"This image shows two planets forming around the young star WISPIT 2. The images at the top were obtained with ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) using the SPHERE instrument, specifically designed to directly image exoplanets. Planet WISPIT 2b was discovered in 2025, with hints of another one, WISPIT 2c, orbiting closer to the star.
\r\nTo confirm that this new object is indeed a planet and not an extended clump of material within the disc, astronomers observed it with the GRAVITY+ instrument at the VLT Interferometer (VLTI). The VLTI combines the light of several telescopes and is therefore sensitive to very small details. Using GRAVITY+, the team confirmed that that the new object is a point-like source and not an extended cloud within the disc.
\r\nMoreover, the spectrum obtained with GRAVITY+, displayed here in the bottom panel, shows light absorbed by carbon monoxide, a molecule common in the atmosphere of gas giant planets. This further confirms that WISPIT 2c is indeed a young exoplanet around this star.
\r\nToday’s Picture of the Week is a closeup of the nearby Triangulum galaxy, also known as Messier 33, located about 3 million light-years away. This festive-looking image, taken with ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), reveals the diversity and complexity of the gas and dust between the stars in great detail.
\r\nStars are not, as is often imagined, isolated spheres in the dark, but rather live in rich and complex environments that they actively shape. Studying this cosmic interplay tells us about how stars form, and how their radiation affects the surrounding material, which helps us to understand how galaxies evolve as a whole.
\r\nThe image was presented in a new study led by Anna Feltre, a postdoctoral researcher at the INAF-Astrophysical Observatory of Arcetri, Italy. The team used data taken with the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) instrument at the VLT. MUSE’s superpower is its ability to break up the light into the different rainbow colours, allowing the team to examine the chemical composition of the interstellar matter at every location across its whole field of view.
\r\nThe different colours of the image represent different elements: blue, green and red indicate the presence of oxygen, hydrogen and sulphur, respectively. MUSE allowed the team to map the distribution of many other elements, as well as their motion, key to understanding the link between stars and their surroundings. As Feltre aptly puts it: “This cosmic interplay produces a spectacular and dynamic landscape, revealing that the birthplaces of stars are far more beautiful and complex than we ever imagined.”
\r\nThe dark sky provides the perfect backdrop for today's Picture of the Week, captured by Chilean astrophotographer Alexis Trigo. The spotlight is on the magnificent Unit Telescope 1, also known as Antu, part of ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT). Hiding behind it is another almost identical telescope, called UT4 or Yepun, reaching for the stars with its laser beams. In the background, the Milky Way stretches low in the horizon.
\r\nThe VLT comprises four Unit Telescopes, each with an 8.2 m mirror. All four UT domes are as big as a family house, keeping the telescope safe and sound from all environmental conditions. But despite their similarities, Yepun is special, as it is the only UT with a total of four lasers.
\r\nLasers create artificial stars in Earth's upper atmosphere, allowing astronomers to measure and correct for atmospheric turbulence that blurs their data. Initially, only UT4 had lasers installed, but this changed recently with the completion of the GRAVITY+ upgrade to the VLT Interferometer. Now, a laser has been installed on all the other three UTs. Nevertheless, Yepun remains distinctive with its four lasers, delivering crystal-clear views of the cosmos.
","Credit":"ESO/A. Trigo","PublicationDate":"2026-03-16T05:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Milky Way : Sky Phenomenon : Night Sky : Milky Way","Unspecified : Technology : Observatory"],"Name":["Laser Guide Star","Milky Way","VLT Unit Telescopes"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw2611a/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":70,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/potw2611a.tif","FileSize":7694406,"Dimensions":[2048,2264],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/potw2611a.jpg","FileSize":1378471,"Dimensions":[2048,2264],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/potw2611a.jpg","FileSize":407152,"Dimensions":[1280.0,1415.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/potw2611a.jpg","FileSize":8907,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/potw2611a.jpg","FileSize":5248,"Dimensions":[60.0,67.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"annlang26001b-it-en","Title":"Minister Bernini and her delegation at the ELT","Description":"Anna Maria Bernini, the Italian Minister of University and Research, and a small delegation visited ESO's Extremely Large Telescope (ELT). The delegation included Valeria Biagiotti, Italy’s Ambassador to Chile, and Roberto Ragazzoni, President of the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF) and ESO Council Member. The group toured the ELT with Xavier Barcons, ESO Director General, and Roberto Tamai, ELT Programme Manager.
","Credit":"ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-03-13T13:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : People"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/annlang26001b-it/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":50,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/annlang26001b-it.tif","FileSize":16946610,"Dimensions":[3887,2591],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/annlang26001b-it.jpg","FileSize":2744357,"Dimensions":[3887,2591],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/annlang26001b-it.jpg","FileSize":248429,"Dimensions":[1280.0,854.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/annlang26001b-it.jpg","FileSize":12770,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/annlang26001b-it.jpg","FileSize":5439,"Dimensions":[60.0,40.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"annlang26001a-it-en","Title":"Anna Maria Bernini, the Italian Minister of University and Research, at the ELT","Description":"Anna Maria Bernini, the Italian Minister of University and Research, and Xavier Barcons, ESO Director General, in front of ESO's Extremely Large Telescope (ELT).
","Credit":"ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-03-13T13:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : People"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/annlang26001a-it/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":50,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/annlang26001a-it.tif","FileSize":16765656,"Dimensions":[3936,2624],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/annlang26001a-it.jpg","FileSize":2681047,"Dimensions":[3936,2624],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/annlang26001a-it.jpg","FileSize":256159,"Dimensions":[1280.0,854.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/annlang26001a-it.jpg","FileSize":12096,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/annlang26001a-it.jpg","FileSize":5327,"Dimensions":[60.0,40.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"annlocal26002a-es-cl","Title":"ESO ALMA OHD 2025","Description":"Escolares participan del ESO ALMA OHD 2025 en Vitacura
","Credit":"Innata Media","PublicationDate":"2026-03-12T15:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : People"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/chile/images/annlocal26002a-es-cl/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":0,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/annlocal26002a-es-cl.tif","FileSize":7540238,"Dimensions":[2560,1700],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/annlocal26002a-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":1349687,"Dimensions":[2560,1700],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/annlocal26002a-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":341848,"Dimensions":[1280.0,850.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/annlocal26002a-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":17338,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/annlocal26002a-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":5839,"Dimensions":[60.0,40.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"ann26002a","Title":"Number of papers published based on data obtained at ESO observatories (1996–2025)","Description":"The number of refereed papers published based on data from ESO observatories, including those in which ESO is a partner, and archival data from 1996 to 2025. These numbers are from the ESO Telescope Bibliography, telbib. Papers can use data from more than one facility, therefore the total number cannot be calculated by simply adding all publications of the individual sites, telescopes, or instruments. For more information about this graph, please check the Basic ESO Publication Statistics webpage.
\nLegend:
\nLSP = papers using data generated by the La Silla Paranal (LSP) facilities (VLT and VLTI, ESO facilities at La Silla, survey telescopes, APEX);
\nALMA = papers using data generated by ALMA. Only papers based (entirely or partly) on European ALMA time are included.
\nArchive = ESO observations without any overlap between observers and authors. Please note that all Archive papers utilise data from LSP and/or ALMA;
\nArc only or Arc+PI = papers using partly or exclusively (a) ESO data obtained from the ESO or ALMA Archive (\"Arc only\"), or (b) ESO data obtained from the ESO or ALMA Archive as well as by the team of authors (\"Arc+PI”);
\nArchive only = papers using partly or exclusively ESO data obtained from the ESO or ALMA Archive.
","Credit":"ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-03-10T13:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/ann26002a/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":10,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/ann26002a.tif","FileSize":127882,"Dimensions":[624,416],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/ann26002a.jpg","FileSize":86813,"Dimensions":[624,416],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/ann26002a.jpg","FileSize":118650,"Dimensions":[1280.0,854.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/ann26002a.jpg","FileSize":12482,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/ann26002a.jpg","FileSize":5002,"Dimensions":[60.0,40.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"potw2610a","Title":"New look at the stars around the Milky Way's centre","Description":"A new view on the heart of our Milky Way is presented in today's Picture of the Week. This stunning snapshot, taken with ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), reveals the stars and gas surrounding an invisible giant — a supermassive black hole, located some 27 000 light-years away. This is a hugely dynamic environment, with stars and gas clouds hurtling by the black hole at dramatic speeds.
\r\nA team of astronomers at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Germany has detected a new gas cloud, named G2t, orbiting the supermassive black hole. Two gas clouds, G1 and G2, were already known, but their nature and origin were still being debated. In particular, it was unclear whether these clouds were hiding a star inside or consisted purely of gas. However, the discovery of a third gas cloud now helps answer these questions.
\r\nThe observations were done with the Enhanced Resolution Imager and Spectrograph (ERIS), an instrument on ESO’s VLT that can not only take images like the one in this Picture of the Week, but also spectra. Thanks to this, astronomers were able to measure the 3D orbits of the clouds around the black hole. The clouds move within a very small region at the centre of this wide-field image. It was revealed that G1, G2 and G2t are actually on almost identical orbits, only rotated a bit with respect to each other. This rules out the possibility that each cloud hides a star in their core, as the odds of different stars having almost identical orbits are slim. The similarity of the orbits suggests that the three clouds probably share the same origin, most likely IRS16SW, a pair of massive stars expelling an enormous amount of gas. As IRS16SW moves around the black hole, each cloud of gas is ejected in a slightly different orbit, explaining the small differences in the trajectories of the ‘G-triplet’.
\r\nThis discovery shows that, despite decades of monitoring our Milky Way centre, new unanswered curiosities still arise. But what could be more exciting than mysteries waiting to be solved?
\r\nToday’s Picture of the Week, taken with ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), seems to have captured a cosmic hawk as it spans its wings. While the dark clouds in the middle of the image make up the head and body of the bird of prey, the filaments extending away from the body to the left and right compose its wings. Below it, is a mesmerising blue nebula with massive newly born stars, whose intense radiation make the gas around them glow brightly.
\r\nAltogether the image shows the RCW 36 nebula, located about 2300 light-years away in the Vela constellation. Coincidently, this nebula, resembling a hawk, was also captured by a hawk — the HAWK-I instrument on the VLT. While the most apparent stars in this image may be the massive and bright baby stars, the astronomers behind this image are actually more interested in hidden, very dim stars called brown dwarfs — “objects unable to fuse hydrogen in their cores,” explains Afonso do Brito do Vale, a PhD student at the Instituto de Astrofísica e Ciências do Espaço, Portugal, and the Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux, France, and lead author of a new paper where this image was presented.
\r\nHAWK-I is perfectly suited for this task. It observes at infrared wavelengths, where these cold failed stars are more easily spotted, and it can correct atmospheric turbulence with adaptive optics, delivering sharp images like this one. Besides providing invaluable data to understand how brown dwarfs form, the study produced a striking image of “massive stars ‘pushing’ away the clouds of gas and dust around them almost like an animal breaking through its eggshell for the first time,” as do Brito do Vale describes. Who knows, perhaps the cosmic hawk is guarding his baby stars — watching over them as they “hatch”.
\r\nThis image shows the location of the Central Molecular Zone (CMZ), a region at the core of our galaxy rich in dense and intricate gas clouds. This zone has been mapped with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), as part of the ALMA CMZ Exploration Survey or ACES. The inset is an ACES image where different molecules are displayed in different colours. The entire image – the largest ever made with ALMA – is as long as three full Moons side-by-side in the sky.
","Credit":"ALMA(ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)/S. Longmore et al. Stars in inset: ESO/D. Minniti et al. Milky Way: ESO/S. Guisard","PublicationDate":"2026-02-25T13:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Milky Way : Galaxy : Component : Center/Core"],"Name":["Central Molecular Zone"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2603c/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":70,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/eso2603c.tif","FileSize":29314800,"Dimensions":[4331,2480],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/eso2603c.jpg","FileSize":6140493,"Dimensions":[4331,2480],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/eso2603c.jpg","FileSize":321590,"Dimensions":[1280.0,733.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/eso2603c.jpg","FileSize":13339,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/eso2603c.jpg","FileSize":5075,"Dimensions":[60.0,35.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"}],"ObservationData":{"Spatial":{"ReferenceDimension":[4331.0,2480.0]}}}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"eso2603b","Title":"Different molecules in the centre of the Milky Way observed with ALMA","Description":"This montage shows the distribution of different molecules in the Central Molecular Zone (CMZ) of the Milky Way. The observations were made with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), as part of the ALMA CMZ Exploration Survey or ACES.
\r\nACES has mapped the distribution of several dozen molecules at the centre of our galaxy. Here we show five of them, from top to bottom: carbon monosulphide, isocyanic acid, silicon monoxide, sulphur monoxide, and cyanoacetylene.
","Credit":"ALMA(ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)/S. Longmore et al.","PublicationDate":"2026-02-25T13:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Milky Way : Galaxy : Component : Center/Core"],"Name":["Central Molecular Zone"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2603b/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":70,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/eso2603b.tif","FileSize":232112652,"Dimensions":[8300,14928],"ProjectionType":"Observation","Checksum":"07a803ab4f5a88ceea366c862854aabbb910872208680cabf825c63d423e8c0d"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/eso2603b.jpg","FileSize":13782339,"Dimensions":[8300,14928],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/eso2603b.jpg","FileSize":326874,"Dimensions":[1280.0,2303.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/eso2603b.jpg","FileSize":8352,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/eso2603b.jpg","FileSize":6681,"Dimensions":[60.0,108.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"}],"ObservationData":{"Facility":["Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array","Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array","Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array","Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array","Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array"],"Instrument":["Band 3","Band 3","Band 3","Band 3","Band 3"],"Spectral":{"ColorAssignment":["Magenta","Red","Green","Cyan","Blue"],"Band":["CS","HNCO","SiO","SO","HC3N"],"Bandpass":["CS","HNCO","SiO","SO","HC3N"],"CentralWavelength":[3060000,3410000,3452000,3019000,2996000]},"Spatial":{"ReferenceDimension":[8300.0,14928.0]}}}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"eso2603a","Title":"Largest ALMA image ever shows the molecular gas in the centre of the Milky Way","Description":"This image shows the complex distribution of molecular gas in the Central Molecular Zone (CMZ) of the Milky Way. It was obtained with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), in which ESO is a partner. This map is as long as three full Moons side-by-side in the sky, and it is in fact the largest ALMA image ever obtained.
\nThis map is part of ACES — the ALMA CMZ Exploration Survey — a project designed to understand how gas condenses into stars in the extreme and chaotic environment at the heart of our galaxy. The survey has charted the distribution of dozens of different molecules, five of which are shown here in different colours: sulphur monoxide (cyan), silicon monoxide (green), isocyanic acid (red), cyanoacetylene (blue), and carbon monosulphide (magenta).
\nThe stars in the foreground of this image were observed at infrared wavelengths (Y, Z and J filters) with ESO’s VISTA telescope as part of a different project. The actual density of stars in the CMZ is much higher than what is shown here, where we have opted to highlight the details in the molecular cloud. Note that the edges of the ALMA map appear somewhat sharp because the ALMA observations do not cover the entire rectangular area here.
","Credit":"ALMA(ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)/S. Longmore et al. Background: ESO/D. Minniti et al.","PublicationDate":"2026-02-25T13:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Milky Way : Galaxy : Component : Center/Core"],"Name":["Central Molecular Zone"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2603a/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":70,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/eso2603a.tif","FileSize":94371510,"Dimensions":[11119,4080],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/eso2603a.jpg","FileSize":15553106,"Dimensions":[11119,4080],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/eso2603a.jpg","FileSize":272935,"Dimensions":[1280.0,470.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/eso2603a.jpg","FileSize":14862,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/eso2603a.jpg","FileSize":4471,"Dimensions":[60.0,23.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"}],"ObservationData":{"Facility":["Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array","Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array","Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array","Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array","Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array"],"Instrument":["Band 3","Band 3","Band 3","Band 3","Band 3"],"Spectral":{"ColorAssignment":["Cyan","Green","Red","Blue","Magenta"],"Band":["SO","SiO","HNCO","HC3N","CS"],"Bandpass":["SO","SiO","HNCO","HC3N","CS"],"CentralWavelength":[3019000,3452000,3410000,2996000,3060000]},"Spatial":{"CoordinateFrame":"ICRS","ReferenceValue":[266.5145396,-28.8341246],"ReferenceDimension":[11119.0,4080.0],"ReferencePixel":[5560.5,2040.5],"Scale":[-0.0001388888,0.0001388888],"Rotation":58.65,"CoordsystemProjection":"TAN","Equinox":"J2000"}}}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"potw2608a","Title":"Two's company","Description":"We humans are strongly influenced by the presence of companions over the course of our lives, shaping each other emotionally, culturally, or intellectually. This shaping effect is made literal in the case of stellar companions, which is the topic of today's Picture of the Week. The pair of points at the centre of the image, taken with ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), are an old stellar couple — a binary system officially called AFGL 4106. As most stars are born in pairs, a big question for astronomers is how does being in a couple impact a star's death?
\r\nBefore dying, stars expel huge amounts of gas and dust, ingredients for a growing nebula. The massive stars shown here are at close yet distinct late stages of their lifecycles, with one having blown off enough mass to produce a dusty surrounding envelope. In a new paper led by Gabriel Tomassini, a PhD student at the Université Côte d’Azur (France), researchers have mapped this debris, shown here in orange, and precisely characterised the central stars (marked in black).
\r\nImaging astronomical objects close to stars poses a challenge due to the overpowering effect of a star's brightness and, in fact, the stars themselves appear in black as their brightness saturated the detector of the instrument used to make this image. Fortunately, the SPHERE instrument on the VLT is well equipped to deal with large contrasts in light levels, enabling a detailed study of both the high luminosity stars and the faint surrounding nebula for the first time. Moreover, it can correct the blur caused by atmospheric turbulence, delivering very sharp images.
\r\nThe shape of the nebula reveals the significant impact the companion is having on the gas ejection of the dying star, introducing asymmetries and shifting the clouds of gas and dust away from a perfectly spherical shape. Further observations of star systems like this one allow scientists to better understand how the presence of companions affects the death of stars.
\r\nThe setting of today’s Picture of the Week is ESO’s flagship facility: the Paranal Observatory, located in the Chilean Atacama Desert. One of the Auxiliary Telescopes of ESO’s Very Large Telescope is still asleep, with its spherical dome closed. How bad, it misses this wonderful view of the Milky Way!
\r\nIn ancient times, people weren't too sure what the Milky Way was. They named it after its appearance — a milky band in the night sky. It was Galileo Galilei who first pointed a self-built small telescope at that structure. He realised that the Milky Way was formed of countless stars — a revolutionary discovery!
\r\nOur understanding of the Milky Way has advanced considerably: some 100 to 400 billion stars of all ages, masses and colours belong to it. Located in a spiral arm, 25 000 light years away from the centre, is our Sun, making the Milky Way our home galaxy. From this position, we can see the galactic centre very well, as shown in this picture taken by Chilean astrophotographer Alexis Trigo. Large lanes of dark clouds are visible. These dark nebulae block the light from the stars behind them, creating the illusion of fewer stars in that region.
\r\nViewing the glistening band of the Milky Way has been an incredible experience for ages. We have learned a lot about our home galaxy since then, but there is still so much more to uncover. It remains to be seen what revolutionary discoveries ESO’s upcoming Extremely Large Telescope will bring us.
","Credit":"A. Trigo/ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-02-16T05:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Milky Way : Sky Phenomenon : Night Sky : Milky Way","Unspecified : Technology : Observatory"],"Name":["Auxiliary Telescopes","Milky Way"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw2607a/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":70,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/potw2607a.tif","FileSize":10904710,"Dimensions":[4096,1658],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/potw2607a.jpg","FileSize":1663723,"Dimensions":[4096,1658],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/potw2607a.jpg","FileSize":161683,"Dimensions":[1280.0,519.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/potw2607a.jpg","FileSize":9775,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/potw2607a.jpg","FileSize":4241,"Dimensions":[60.0,25.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"DJI_0116","Title":"A massive mirror in a dramatic dome","Description":"Still under construction but looking almost complete: the dome of the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT). The telescope has earned this name because its main mirror will have a diameter of 39 metres, almost four times greater than the dimensions of the current largest telescope mirrors. The main mirror, along with the other telescope mirrors and optical instruments, are all housed inside the gigantic dome, measuring 93 metres wide and 80 metres tall. This massive machine is one of the largest projects ever undertaken in astronomy, with its first light planned for the end of this decade.
\r\nThis image, taken in November 2025, shows the construction progress from a drone shot.
","Credit":"ESO/G. Vecchia","PublicationDate":"2026-02-11T15:44:08.904542Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory"],"Name":["Extremely Large Telescope"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/DJI_0116/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":70,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/DJI_0116.tif","FileSize":101099738,"Dimensions":[5472,3078],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/DJI_0116.jpg","FileSize":4650855,"Dimensions":[5472,3078],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/DJI_0116.jpg","FileSize":237333,"Dimensions":[1280.0,720.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/DJI_0116.jpg","FileSize":13392,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/DJI_0116.jpg","FileSize":5239,"Dimensions":[60.0,34.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"DJI_0101","Title":"A massive mirror in a dramatic dome","Description":"Still under construction but looking almost complete: the dome of the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT). The telescope has earned this name because its main mirror will have a diameter of 39 metres, almost four times greater than the dimensions of the current largest telescope mirrors. The main mirror, along with the other telescope mirrors and optical instruments, are all housed inside the gigantic dome, measuring 93 metres wide and 80 metres tall. This massive machine is one of the largest projects ever undertaken in astronomy, with its first light planned for the end of this decade.
\r\nThis image, taken in November 2025, shows the construction progress from a drone shot.
","Credit":"ESO/G. Vecchia","PublicationDate":"2026-02-11T15:43:57.542052Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory"],"Name":["Extremely Large Telescope"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/DJI_0101/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":70,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/DJI_0101.tif","FileSize":101098306,"Dimensions":[5472,3078],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/DJI_0101.jpg","FileSize":4835953,"Dimensions":[5472,3078],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/DJI_0101.jpg","FileSize":228948,"Dimensions":[1280.0,720.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/DJI_0101.jpg","FileSize":13714,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/DJI_0101.jpg","FileSize":5460,"Dimensions":[60.0,34.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"DJI_0078","Title":"A doorway to the Universe","Description":"This drone shot of ESO's Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), taken in November 2025, shows the achievement of a key step in its construction: the movement of the giant doors intended to guard the telescope within. The operation of these doors must be tested to ensure they are able to respond quickly in the event of external conditions in the extreme desert environment that could damage the instruments within. Once the ELT is in operation the doors will be closed during the day to protect the interior from heat and dust, before opening at night — providing a doorway to a deeper exploration of our Universe.
\r\nThis image, taken in November 2025, shows the construction progress from a drone shot.
","Credit":"ESO/G. Vecchia","PublicationDate":"2026-02-11T15:43:48.303421Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory"],"Name":["Extremely Large Telescope"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/DJI_0078/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":70,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/DJI_0078.tif","FileSize":101097778,"Dimensions":[5472,3078],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/DJI_0078.jpg","FileSize":4217707,"Dimensions":[5472,3078],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/DJI_0078.jpg","FileSize":206741,"Dimensions":[1280.0,720.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/DJI_0078.jpg","FileSize":12563,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/DJI_0078.jpg","FileSize":5224,"Dimensions":[60.0,34.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"DJI_0048","Title":"A sneak peek into the interior of the ELT","Description":"In late 2025, during the evening sun, a drone captured this image of the interior of ESO's Extremely Large Telescope (ELT). It revealed the progress of construction with the ELT’s railing in place. Also visible on the right side of the image, is a semicircular plate, which is part of the altitude structure that will carry and hold all of the mirrors in place. Although the plate might look like a hand fan with holes, it serves an important purpose: to prevent temperature differences by allowing a smooth air flow from the mirrors to the ambient air.
\r\nCurrently, sunlight shines through the dome, but once the ELT’s construction is complete, starlight will illuminate the mirrors, enabling the ‘world’s biggest eye on the sky’ to unlock the secrets of the universe.
\r\nThis image, taken in November 2025, shows the construction progress from a drone shot.
","Credit":"ESO/G. Vecchia","PublicationDate":"2026-02-11T15:43:41.792740Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory"],"Name":["Extremely Large Telescope"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/DJI_0048/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":70,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/DJI_0048.tif","FileSize":101098920,"Dimensions":[5472,3078],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/DJI_0048.jpg","FileSize":4976695,"Dimensions":[5472,3078],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/DJI_0048.jpg","FileSize":245367,"Dimensions":[1280.0,720.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/DJI_0048.jpg","FileSize":14171,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/DJI_0048.jpg","FileSize":5326,"Dimensions":[60.0,34.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"DJI_0021","Title":"The world’s biggest “eyelids” to the sky","Description":"This aerial view of ESO's Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) was taken during a test of the operation of the doors, which will provide a 41 metre aperture when fully open. With each door weighing approximately 600 tonnes once completed, engineering the “eyelids” of the world’s biggest eye to the sky is no easy feat. Structural integrity under repeated motion and the ability to protect the interior from extreme environmental conditions will be achieved with features such as multiple rails and inflatable seals. This image also shows a glimpse of the spider-like structure at the top of the ELT, which will hold at its centre the telescope's secondary mirror — part of a five-mirror system that will deliver better image quality over a larger field of view.
\r\nThis image, taken in November 2025, shows the construction progress from a drone shot.
","Credit":"ESO/G. Vecchia","PublicationDate":"2026-02-11T15:43:32.690385Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory"],"Name":["Extremely Large Telescope"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/DJI_0021/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":70,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/DJI_0021.tif","FileSize":101099166,"Dimensions":[5472,3078],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/DJI_0021.jpg","FileSize":5791449,"Dimensions":[5472,3078],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/DJI_0021.jpg","FileSize":307247,"Dimensions":[1280.0,720.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/DJI_0021.jpg","FileSize":14713,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/DJI_0021.jpg","FileSize":5224,"Dimensions":[60.0,34.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"BlueMUSE","Title":"Blue Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (BlueMUSE)","Description":"Artist's impression of the BlueMUSE instrument to be installed on ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT).
","Credit":"BlueMUSE consortium","PublicationDate":"2026-02-10T12:10:09Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/BlueMUSE/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":10,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/BlueMUSE.tif","FileSize":1244688,"Dimensions":[2048,1365],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/BlueMUSE.jpg","FileSize":235323,"Dimensions":[2048,1365],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/BlueMUSE.jpg","FileSize":109493,"Dimensions":[1280.0,854.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/BlueMUSE.jpg","FileSize":8803,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/BlueMUSE.jpg","FileSize":4501,"Dimensions":[60.0,40.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"_Z8B8879","Title":"Placing the sensors of an ELT M1 segment","Description":"This photo was taken in the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT)'s Technical Facility (ETF). This is the site where all of the ELT's main mirror (M1) segments are coated, tested, and integrated. As part of the coating process, engineers need to remove the edge sensors and then put them back exactly where they belong.
","Credit":"ESO/G. Hüdepohl (atacamaphoto.com)","PublicationDate":"2026-02-09T12:29:20.177725Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/_Z8B8879/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":50,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/_Z8B8879.tif","FileSize":8046960,"Dimensions":[2000,1333],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/_Z8B8879.jpg","FileSize":474406,"Dimensions":[2000,1333],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/_Z8B8879.jpg","FileSize":187071,"Dimensions":[1280.0,854.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/_Z8B8879.jpg","FileSize":13525,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/_Z8B8879.jpg","FileSize":6082,"Dimensions":[60.0,40.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"_Z8B8885","Title":"ESO trainee in mirror coating process","Description":"This photo was taken in the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT)'s Technical Facility (ETF). This is the site where the ELT's main mirror (M1) segments are being cleaned and coated. Here we have one of the ‘Tu Oportunidad’ programme trainees, part of a UN Women and ESO second-chance education programme, who were present for part of the first coating and integration of an M1 mirror segment as part of their training in technical astronomical skills.
","Credit":"ESO/G. Hüdepohl (atacamaphoto.com)","PublicationDate":"2026-02-09T12:29:14.089553Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : People : Scientist"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/_Z8B8885/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":50,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/_Z8B8885.tif","FileSize":8046990,"Dimensions":[2000,1333],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/_Z8B8885.jpg","FileSize":466056,"Dimensions":[2000,1333],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/_Z8B8885.jpg","FileSize":194183,"Dimensions":[1280.0,854.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/_Z8B8885.jpg","FileSize":12554,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/_Z8B8885.jpg","FileSize":5420,"Dimensions":[60.0,40.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"_Z8B8908","Title":"Freshly coated ELT mirror","Description":"Here we have a freshly coated mirror preparing to go under assessment to make sure that it reflects well in multiple wavelengths of light. This photo was taken inside the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT)'s Technical Facility (ETF), where components for the future telescope will be tested, verified, and integrated.
","Credit":"ESO/G. Hüdepohl (atacamaphoto.com)","PublicationDate":"2026-02-09T12:29:08.215637Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology","Unspecified : People : Scientist"],"Name":["Mirror"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/_Z8B8908/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":50,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/_Z8B8908.tif","FileSize":8049364,"Dimensions":[2000,1333],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/_Z8B8908.jpg","FileSize":629925,"Dimensions":[2000,1333],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/_Z8B8908.jpg","FileSize":261451,"Dimensions":[1280.0,854.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/_Z8B8908.jpg","FileSize":16191,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/_Z8B8908.jpg","FileSize":6043,"Dimensions":[60.0,40.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"_Z8B8637","Title":"A peek inside the Extremely Large Telescope's technical facility","Description":"In this snapshot, we're looking into the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT)'s Technical Facility (ETF). It's here that components for the future telescope will be tested, verified, and integrated, and where mirrors and mirror segments will be (re)coated.
","Credit":"ESO/G. Hüdepohl (atacamaphoto.com)","PublicationDate":"2026-02-09T12:29:01.374127Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory : Facility"],"Name":["ELT Technical Facility"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/_Z8B8637/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":50,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/_Z8B8637.tif","FileSize":7565324,"Dimensions":[1939,1292],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/_Z8B8637.jpg","FileSize":797294,"Dimensions":[1939,1292],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/_Z8B8637.jpg","FileSize":309614,"Dimensions":[1280.0,853.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/_Z8B8637.jpg","FileSize":16397,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/_Z8B8637.jpg","FileSize":5613,"Dimensions":[60.0,40.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"_Z8B8961","Title":"Future M1 mirror segments","Description":"This photo was taken inside the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT)'s Technical Facility (ETF). This is the site where all of the ELT's main mirror (M1) segments are cleaned, coated, and integrated for the future. Whilst the ELT is being constructed, the site is still receiving the mirror blanks before their first coating in the facility. Once they undergo the process, they are then stored here in special boxes on earthquake-proof shelving, until they will be installed on the telescope.
","Credit":"ESO/G. Hüdepohl (atacamaphoto.com)","PublicationDate":"2026-02-09T12:28:54.795685Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory : Facility"],"Name":["ELT Technical Facility"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/_Z8B8961/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":50,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/_Z8B8961.tif","FileSize":8049514,"Dimensions":[2000,1333],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/_Z8B8961.jpg","FileSize":909708,"Dimensions":[2000,1333],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/_Z8B8961.jpg","FileSize":361406,"Dimensions":[1280.0,854.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/_Z8B8961.jpg","FileSize":18137,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/_Z8B8961.jpg","FileSize":6176,"Dimensions":[60.0,40.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"_Z8B9109","Title":"Trainee and technician inspect M1 mirror blank","Description":"This photo was taken in 2024 inside the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT)'s Technical Facility (ETF). This site is where the ELT main mirror (M1) segments are cleaned, coated, and integrated. Here we have a technician inspecting an M1 segment blank alongside a trainee from the ‘Tu Oportunidad’ programme, a UN Women and ESO second-chance education programme.
","Credit":"ESO/G. Hüdepohl (atacamaphoto.com)","PublicationDate":"2026-02-09T12:27:15.321727Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology","Unspecified : People : Scientist"],"Name":["Mirror"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/_Z8B9109/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":50,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/_Z8B9109.tif","FileSize":8047526,"Dimensions":[2000,1333],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/_Z8B9109.jpg","FileSize":564123,"Dimensions":[2000,1333],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/_Z8B9109.jpg","FileSize":220594,"Dimensions":[1280.0,854.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/_Z8B9109.jpg","FileSize":13892,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/_Z8B9109.jpg","FileSize":5622,"Dimensions":[60.0,40.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"_Z8B8349","Title":"ELT mirror blank undergoing cleanliness control","Description":"This is a photo taken in 2024 inside the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT)'s Technical Facility (ETF) in Paranal, Chile. It shows a segment of the ELT main mirror going through a step in the coating process. In this machine, a cleanliness control is done to ensure the mirror surface is free of impurities before the actual coating (applying incredibly thin layers of chrome, silver, and silicon are applied atom by atom) is performed.
","Credit":"ESO/G. Hüdepohl (atacamaphoto.com)","PublicationDate":"2026-02-09T12:27:08.481860Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology"],"Name":["Mirror"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/_Z8B8349/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":50,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/_Z8B8349.tif","FileSize":8048316,"Dimensions":[2000,1333],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/_Z8B8349.jpg","FileSize":575015,"Dimensions":[2000,1333],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/_Z8B8349.jpg","FileSize":204487,"Dimensions":[1280.0,854.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/_Z8B8349.jpg","FileSize":12373,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/_Z8B8349.jpg","FileSize":5669,"Dimensions":[60.0,40.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"_Z8B8305","Title":"ELT mirror blank undergoes a cleanliness control","Description":"This is a photo taken inside the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT)'s Technical Facility (ETF) in Paranal, Chile in 2024. It shows a segment of the ELT main mirror going through a step in the coating process. In this machine, a cleanliness control is done to ensure the mirror surface is free of impurities before the actual coating (applying incredibly thin layers of chrome, silver, and silicon are applied atom by atom) is performed.
","Credit":"ESO/G. Hüdepohl (atacamaphoto.com)","PublicationDate":"2026-02-09T12:27:02.556951Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology","Unspecified : People : Scientist"],"Name":["Mirror"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/_Z8B8305/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":50,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/_Z8B8305.tif","FileSize":8351018,"Dimensions":[2000,1382],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/_Z8B8305.jpg","FileSize":627311,"Dimensions":[2000,1382],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/_Z8B8305.jpg","FileSize":260737,"Dimensions":[1280.0,885.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/_Z8B8305.jpg","FileSize":14976,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/_Z8B8305.jpg","FileSize":5824,"Dimensions":[60.0,42.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"DJI_0385","Title":"Flying over the ELT Technical Facility","Description":"This image, taken in 2020, is a bird's-eye view of the ELT Technical Facility (ETF) in Paranal, Chile (bottom left). This facility will serve as a site for integrating and verifying ELT components before they join the telescope.
","Credit":"ESO/G. Hüdepohl (atacamaphoto.com)","PublicationDate":"2026-02-09T12:26:03.041399Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory : Facility"],"Name":["ELT Technical Facility"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/DJI_0385/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":50,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/DJI_0385.tif","FileSize":37029882,"Dimensions":[4056,3040],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/DJI_0385.jpg","FileSize":3878793,"Dimensions":[4056,3040],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/DJI_0385.jpg","FileSize":342278,"Dimensions":[1280.0,960.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/DJI_0385.jpg","FileSize":15300,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/DJI_0385.jpg","FileSize":5876,"Dimensions":[60.0,45.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"DJI_0385-cu","Title":"Flying over the ELT Technical Facility","Description":"This image, taken in 2020, is a bird's-eye view of the ELT Technical Facility (ETF) in Paranal, Chile. This facility will serve as a site for integrating and verifying ELT components before they join the telescope. It will also be the site where ELT mirrors are cleaned and recoated before being placed back on the telescope.
","Credit":"ESO/G. Hüdepohl (atacamaphoto.com)","PublicationDate":"2026-02-09T12:25:55.085815Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory : Facility"],"Name":["ELT Technical Facility"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/DJI_0385-cu/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":50,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/DJI_0385-cu.tif","FileSize":11099858,"Dimensions":[2258,1634],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/DJI_0385-cu.jpg","FileSize":1118368,"Dimensions":[2258,1634],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/DJI_0385-cu.jpg","FileSize":301565,"Dimensions":[1280.0,927.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/DJI_0385-cu.jpg","FileSize":14154,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/DJI_0385-cu.jpg","FileSize":5755,"Dimensions":[60.0,44.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"Capture-04","Title":"ELT Technical Facility at ESO's Paranal Observatory","Description":"On the right of this image, taken in 2020, is the ELT Technical Facility (ETF) in Paranal, Chile. This facility will serve as a site for integrating and verifying ELT components before they join the telescope. It will also be the site where ELT mirrors are cleaned and recoated before being placed back on the telescope
","Credit":"ESO/G. Hüdepohl (atacamaphoto.com)","PublicationDate":"2026-02-09T12:25:32.286928Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory : Facility"],"Name":["ELT Technical Facility"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/Capture-04/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":50,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/Capture-04.tif","FileSize":3308944,"Dimensions":[1209,904],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/Capture-04.jpg","FileSize":252493,"Dimensions":[1209,904],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/Capture-04.jpg","FileSize":245053,"Dimensions":[1280.0,958.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/Capture-04.jpg","FileSize":10633,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/Capture-04.jpg","FileSize":5193,"Dimensions":[60.0,45.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"potw2606a","Title":"The marvels of Paranal","Description":"Today’s Picture of the Week shows the full scope of Paranal’s beauty. Cerro Paranal in Chile’s Atacama Desert, the mountain peak home to ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), is a site of many marvels. And this panoramic image taken by Chilean astrophotographer Alexis Trigo certainly captures them all.
\r\nRight in front, one of the movable Auxiliary Telescopes (ATs) stands tall. While this \"relatively\" small 1.8-m telescope has its eyes shut, its bigger siblings, the Unit Telescopes (UTs), each with an 8.2-m mirror, are scanning the sky. The lasers emerging from the UTs each create a bright artificial star on the sky, so the shifts and swirls of the atmosphere can be measured and corrected to deliver sharp data.
\r\nThe UT4 telescope, seen here to the right, had been equipped with four lasers for several years already. But in November 2025, when this image was taken, additional lasers were being tested in the other three UTs. These new lasers are part of an upgrade to the VLT Interferometer (VLTI) and its GRAVITY instrument, called GRAVITY+. The four UTs can work together as a huge virtual telescope, and these new lasers will allow them to observe much fainter objects than before.
\r\nBut the telescopes are not the only marvel that stands out in this picture: the dark sky in the background is just as striking, with the centre of the Milky Way shining to the left. This view is unfortunately polluted by many “scratches” caused by satellite megaconstellations, a growing threat for astronomy that ESO is working hard to mitigate.
","Credit":"A. Trigo/ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-02-09T05:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Milky Way : Sky Phenomenon : Night Sky : Milky Way","Unspecified : Sky Phenomenon : Night Sky : Night glow","Unspecified : Technology : Observatory"],"Name":["Auxiliary Telescopes","Laser Guide Star","Milky Way","VLT Unit Telescopes"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw2606a/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":70,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/potw2606a.tif","FileSize":4158992,"Dimensions":[2048,1070],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/potw2606a.jpg","FileSize":802862,"Dimensions":[2048,1070],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/potw2606a.jpg","FileSize":218545,"Dimensions":[1280.0,669.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/potw2606a.jpg","FileSize":9947,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/potw2606a.jpg","FileSize":4589,"Dimensions":[60.0,32.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"annlang26002c-es-cl-en","Title":"Minister Bär and delegation at the ELT","Description":"Dorothee Bär, Federal Minister of Research, Technology and Space of Germany, Markus Blume, Bavarian State Minister for Science and the Arts, Thomas Reiter, a former European Space Agency astronaut currently heading the Space Department at the German Federal Minister of Research, Technology and Space, Carsten Körber, a Member of the German Bundestag, Susanne Fries-Gaier, German Ambassador to Chile, Matthias Steinmetz, scientific chairman of the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP) and a German representative in the ESO Council, and Patrick Cramer, President of the Max Planck Society visited ESO's Paranal Observatory in February 2025. Here, the group, including ESO staff, poses for a photo in frib ESO's Extremely Large Telescope.
","Credit":"ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-02-06T11:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : People"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/annlang26002c-es-cl/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":50,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/annlang26002c-es-cl.tif","FileSize":19785824,"Dimensions":[3896,2504],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/annlang26002c-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":3094087,"Dimensions":[3896,2504],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/annlang26002c-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":266246,"Dimensions":[1280.0,823.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/annlang26002c-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":13096,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/annlang26002c-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":5686,"Dimensions":[60.0,39.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"annlang26002b-es-cl-en","Title":"Federal Minister Bär and State Minister Blume at the ETF","Description":"Dorothee Bär, Federal Minister of Research, Technology and Space of Germany (third from right), Markus Blume, Bavarian State Minister for Science and the Arts (fourth from right), and a high-profile delegation visit the ELT Technical Facility during a trip to Paranal in February 2026. Here the distinguished guests had the chance to see a segment of the primary mirror of ESO's Extremely Large Telescope (ELT).
","Credit":"ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-02-06T11:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : People"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/annlang26002b-es-cl/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":50,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/annlang26002b-es-cl.tif","FileSize":17253640,"Dimensions":[3936,2624],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/annlang26002b-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":2480100,"Dimensions":[3936,2624],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/annlang26002b-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":284706,"Dimensions":[1280.0,854.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/annlang26002b-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":17228,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/annlang26002b-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":5902,"Dimensions":[60.0,40.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"annlang26002a-es-cl-en","Title":"German Federal Minister of Research, Technology and Space and Bavarian State Minister for Science and the Arts at Paranal","Description":"Dorothee Bär, Federal Minister of Research, Technology and Space of Germany (centre), Markus Blume, Bavarian State Minister for Science and the Arts (fourth from right), Thomas Reiter, a former European Space Agency astronaut currently heading the Space Department at the German Federal Minister of Research, Technology and Space (fifth from left), Carsten Körber, a Member of the German Bundestag (third from right), Susanne Fries-Gaier, German Ambassador to Chile (second from left), Matthias Steinmetz, scientific chairman of the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP) and a German representative in the ESO Council (third from left), and Patrick Cramer, President of the Max Planck Society (second from right) visited ESO's Paranal Observatory in February 2025. Here, the visitors pose for a photo at the Very Large Telescope platform with ESO Director General Xavier Barcons (fourth from left) and Andreas Kaufer, ESO Director of Operations and future Director General (fifth from left).
","Credit":"ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-02-06T11:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : People"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/annlang26002a-es-cl/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":50,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/annlang26002a-es-cl.tif","FileSize":17939780,"Dimensions":[3936,2552],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/annlang26002a-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":2811627,"Dimensions":[3936,2552],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/annlang26002a-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":237079,"Dimensions":[1280.0,830.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/annlang26002a-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":12548,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/annlang26002a-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":5454,"Dimensions":[60.0,39.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"annlang26002d-es-cl-en","Title":"Ministers pose for a photo at the ELT","Description":"Dorothee Bär, Federal Minister of Research, Technology and Space of Germany, Markus Blume, Bavarian State Minister for Science and the Arts, Thomas Reiter, a former European Space Agency astronaut currently heading the Space Department at the German Federal Minister of Research, Technology and Space, Carsten Körber, a Member of the German Bundestag, Susanne Fries-Gaier, German Ambassador to Chile, Matthias Steinmetz, scientific chairman of the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP) and a German representative in the ESO Council, and Patrick Cramer, President of the Max Planck Society visited ESO's Paranal Observatory in February 2025. Here, Federal Minister Bär (centre left), State Minister Blume (right) and Patrick Cramer (left) pose for a photo with ESO Director General Xavier Barcons (centre right) inside the dome of the under-construction Extremely Large Telescope.
","Credit":"ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-02-06T11:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : People"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/annlang26002d-es-cl/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":50,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/annlang26002d-es-cl.tif","FileSize":20335660,"Dimensions":[3936,2624],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/annlang26002d-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":2897039,"Dimensions":[3936,2624],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/annlang26002d-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":321516,"Dimensions":[1280.0,854.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/annlang26002d-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":18672,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/annlang26002d-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":6216,"Dimensions":[60.0,40.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"potw2605a","Title":"The heart of the ELT","Description":"Today's Picture of the Week gives an exclusive view into the heart of ESO's Extremely Large Telescope (ELT). While the exterior appears to be almost ready for action, work is ongoing inside to complete the telescope’s structure, illuminated here by the Sun shining through the open, gigantic doors.
\r\nThis structure is the heart of the ELT and will host the telescope’s mirrors, which will gather the light and send it to the instruments at the sides of the telescope. At the bottom part of the structure, the cell for the main mirror is visible. The tube above connects the main mirror structure with the top ring — the spider structure that holds the secondary mirror crown. Three additional mirrors will be hosted in a tower at the centre of the main mirror, not seen here. Once the light reaches one of the platforms at the side of the telescope, an extra mirror will redirect it to one of the several scientific instruments that will analyse it.
\r\nWith its 39-metre-diameter, the main mirror will be the largest ever for an optical telescope, making the ELT the biggest eye on the night sky. Consequently, the technical requirements are as extreme as the ELT's name suggests. Everything about this telescope is larger than anything built before, making it the prototype that must perform perfectly, to enable us to explore the universe deeper and sharper than ever before.
","Credit":"ESO/J. C. Muñoz-Mateos","PublicationDate":"2026-02-02T05:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory"],"Name":["Extremely Large Telescope"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw2605a/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":70,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/potw2605a.tif","FileSize":24798048,"Dimensions":[4032,2816],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/potw2605a.jpg","FileSize":4329737,"Dimensions":[4032,2816],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/potw2605a.jpg","FileSize":480728,"Dimensions":[1280.0,894.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/potw2605a.jpg","FileSize":18678,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/potw2605a.jpg","FileSize":5994,"Dimensions":[60.0,42.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"ann26001c","Title":"Participants at the BlueMUSE signing ceremony","Description":"Participants at the signing ceremony for BlueMUSE, an upcoming instrument for ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT).
","Credit":"ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-01-30T15:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : People"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/ann26001c/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":50,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/ann26001c.tif","FileSize":49063966,"Dimensions":[7620,4216],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/ann26001c.jpg","FileSize":6757663,"Dimensions":[7620,4216],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/ann26001c.jpg","FileSize":200474,"Dimensions":[1280.0,709.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/ann26001c.jpg","FileSize":14477,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/ann26001c.jpg","FileSize":5223,"Dimensions":[60.0,34.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"ann26001b","Title":"BlueMUSE project team at the instrument signing ceremony","Description":"The BlueMUSE project team pose for a photo at the instrument signing ceremony. Céline Reylé, the Deputy Director for Science for Astronomy and Astrophysics at the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) and Xavier Barcons (Director General, ESO) are in the foreground. BlueMUSE is an upcoming instrument for ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT)
","Credit":"ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-01-30T15:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : People"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/ann26001b/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":50,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/ann26001b.tif","FileSize":34132764,"Dimensions":[6158,3916],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/ann26001b.jpg","FileSize":4732432,"Dimensions":[6158,3916],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/ann26001b.jpg","FileSize":241629,"Dimensions":[1280.0,814.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/ann26001b.jpg","FileSize":13887,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/ann26001b.jpg","FileSize":5623,"Dimensions":[60.0,39.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"ann26001a","Title":"Signing of the BlueMUSE instrument agreement","Description":"Céline Reylé, the Deputy Director for Science for Astronomy and Astrophysics at the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) and Xavier Barcons (Director General, ESO) sign the contract for BlueMUSE, an upcoming instrument for ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT)
","Credit":"ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-01-30T15:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : People"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/ann26001a/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":50,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/ann26001a.tif","FileSize":30657740,"Dimensions":[6225,4276],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/ann26001a.jpg","FileSize":4055767,"Dimensions":[6225,4276],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/ann26001a.jpg","FileSize":234759,"Dimensions":[1280.0,880.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/ann26001a.jpg","FileSize":13789,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/ann26001a.jpg","FileSize":5782,"Dimensions":[60.0,42.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"potw2604a","Title":"Young or old? — There’s both","Description":"Today’s Picture of the Week represents an unexpected full circle moment. The depicted object, known as Ve 7–27, was long believed to be a planetary nebula — the end phase of a sun-like star’s life. But ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) has shown that it’s actually a still-forming baby star.
\r\nFor years the true nature of this nebula had been debated, but the VLT’s MUSE instrument has now captured the first detailed image of this object. It shows that Ve 7-27 is shooting energetic jets with knots or ‘bullets’ along them, which is typical for newborn stars. “Instead of being the “last breath” of a dying star, Ve 7-27 is a newborn one,“ says Janette Suherli, a PhD candidate at the University of Manitoba, Canada and first author of the study that revealed this surprising finding.
\r\nBut there’s an actual dead star lurking just nearby. The compact yellowish-green smudge to the centre-left of this image hosts a neutron star produced when a massive star exploded as a supernova. This nebula is part of a larger cloud ejected by the explosion, the Vela Junior supernova remnant. The MUSE observations revealed that the baby star Ve 7-27 is embedded in the material expelled by this supernova. The distance to Vela Junior had never been precisely constrained before, but now we know this object is close to Ve 7-27. Since Ve 7-27 is known to be about 4500 light-years away, so is Vela Junior. Pinpointing the distance to Vela Junior means we now finally know its size, how fast it is expanding, how energetic it is, and how long ago the supernova exploded, solving decades of inconsistencies. The discovery therefore gives insights to not only the energetic baby star but also the true nature of Vela Junior and represents an “outstanding case of stellar birth and stellar death co-existing side by side in the same environment,” as Suherli describes.
\r\nNot all rings are forged in fantasy, my precious! For astronomers, they are found in space. The ones in today’s Picture of the Week are debris discs: the leftovers of planet formation around other stars.
\r\nEven our Solar System has a debris disc, known as the Kuiper Belt, where numerous asteroids and comets encircle the Sun beyond Neptune’s orbit. It is believed that the influence of large planets like Neptune prevented the dust and pebbles in this region from clumping together and forming larger bodies. Therefore, debris discs can be seen as remnants of planetary formation, and studying those around other stars is key to understanding the birth of planetary systems.
\r\nUsing the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), a team of astronomers has obtained high-resolution images of 24 debris discs around other stars. The orange images in this Picture of the Week show the distribution of dust in these discs, and the blue ones the distribution of gas in 6 of them.
\r\nThe origin of gas in debris discs is debated: it could be leftover primordial gas that was present around the star from the beginning, or gas released later on as dust grains collided with each other. The debris disc around the star HD 121617, shown here in the two images at the top-right, is very interesting in this regard. The dust ring (orange) is brighter on one side, indicating a higher concentration of dust grains there. The team found that a vortex of gas could trap dust particles there, but only if the density of gas is very high. Such a high density of gas would be more consistent with this gas being of primordial origin. Further analysis of the full sample of debris discs will tell us more about the secrets of these precious rings.
\r\nLogos of ESO, Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de Chile, Ministerio de Ciencia de Chile, Gobierno Regional de Antofagasta and Gobierno Regional de Coquimbo.
","Credit":"ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-01-16T14:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/annlocal25009a-es-cl/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":10,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/annlocal25009a-es-cl.tif","FileSize":1196788,"Dimensions":[3594,2295],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/annlocal25009a-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":536758,"Dimensions":[3594,2295],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/annlocal25009a-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":100620,"Dimensions":[1280.0,818.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/annlocal25009a-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":9054,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/annlocal25009a-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":5143,"Dimensions":[60.0,39.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"eso2601c","Title":"Wide-field view (DSS) of the area of the sky around the star RXJ0528+2838","Description":"This image from the Digitized Sky Survey (DSS) shows the region of the sky around the dead star RXJ0528+2838, which is located at the very centre of the image.
","Credit":"ESO/Digitized Sky Survey 2. Acknowledgement: D. De Martin","PublicationDate":"2026-01-12T10:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Milky Way : Star"],"Name":["1RXS J052832.5+283824"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2601c/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":70,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/eso2601c.tif","FileSize":267315806,"Dimensions":[11667,11667],"ProjectionType":"Observation","Checksum":"4e31d09e805eaedcc6c8d620ad751b484a3ea843cfc07fac098b6600fe44b0de"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/eso2601c.jpg","FileSize":43854043,"Dimensions":[11667,11667],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/eso2601c.jpg","FileSize":544749,"Dimensions":[1280.0,1280.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/eso2601c.jpg","FileSize":9236,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/eso2601c.jpg","FileSize":4984,"Dimensions":[60.0,60.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"}],"ObservationData":{"Spatial":{"ReferenceDimension":[11667.0,11667.0]}}}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"eso2601a","Title":"VLT image of a dead star creating a shock wave as it moves through space","Description":"The central square image, taken with the MUSE instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope, shows shock waves around the dead star RXJ0528+2838. When a star moves through space it can push away nearby material creating a so-called bow shock, which in this image is glowing in red, green and blue. The colours represent hydrogen, nitrogen and oxygen, respectively. These shocks are usually produced by a strong outflow expelled from the star. However, in the case of RXJ0528+2838 –– a white dwarf with a Sun-like companion –– astronomers discovered that the shock wave can’t be explained by any known mechanism. Some hidden energy source, perhaps magnetic fields, could be the answer to this mystery.
","Credit":"ESO/K. Iłkiewicz and S. Scaringi et al. Background: PanSTARRS","PublicationDate":"2026-01-12T10:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Milky Way : Star : Circumstellar Material : Outflow"],"Name":["1RXS J052832.5+283824"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2601a/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":70,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/eso2601a.tif","FileSize":24912658,"Dimensions":[3840,2160],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/eso2601a.jpg","FileSize":827747,"Dimensions":[3840,2160],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/eso2601a.jpg","FileSize":109188,"Dimensions":[1280.0,720.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/eso2601a.jpg","FileSize":9730,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/eso2601a.jpg","FileSize":5093,"Dimensions":[60.0,34.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"}],"ObservationData":{"Spatial":{"ReferenceDimension":[3840.0,2160.0]}}}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"eso2601b","Title":"VLT image of a dead star creating a shock wave as it moves through space","Description":"The central square image, taken with the MUSE instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope, shows shock waves around the dead star RXJ0528+2838. When a star moves through space it can push away nearby material creating a so-called bow shock, which in this image is glowing in red, green and blue. The colours represent hydrogen, nitrogen and oxygen, respectively. These shocks are usually produced by a strong outflow expelled from the star. However, in the case of RXJ0528+2838 –– a white dwarf with a Sun-like companion –– astronomers discovered that the shock wave can’t be explained by any known mechanism. Some hidden energy source, perhaps magnetic fields, could be the answer to this mystery.
","Credit":"ESO/K. Iłkiewicz and S. Scaringi et al.","PublicationDate":"2026-01-12T10:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Milky Way : Star : Circumstellar Material : Outflow"],"Name":["1RXS J052832.5+283824"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2601b/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":70,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/eso2601b.tif","FileSize":5285288,"Dimensions":[945,927],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/eso2601b.jpg","FileSize":141867,"Dimensions":[945,927],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/eso2601b.jpg","FileSize":110731,"Dimensions":[1280.0,1256.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/eso2601b.jpg","FileSize":7280,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/eso2601b.jpg","FileSize":5110,"Dimensions":[60.0,59.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"}],"ObservationData":{"Spatial":{"ReferenceDimension":[945.0,927.0]}}}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"eso2601d","Title":"Wide-field view (PanSTARRS) of the area of the sky around the star RXJ0528+2838","Description":"This image from the PanSTARRS survey shows the region of the sky around the dead star RXJ0528+2838, which is located at the very centre of the image.
","Credit":"PanSTARRS","PublicationDate":"2026-01-12T10:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Milky Way : Star"],"Name":["1RXS J052832.5+283824"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2601d/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":70,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/eso2601d.tif","FileSize":147033840,"Dimensions":[7000,7000],"ProjectionType":"Observation","Checksum":"ffc057c0a877f60fbfa6b7635663ded8bf65a2c0d43a6ad07dcf904ef392b7b7"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/eso2601d.jpg","FileSize":11883855,"Dimensions":[7000,7000],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/eso2601d.jpg","FileSize":459826,"Dimensions":[1280.0,1280.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/eso2601d.jpg","FileSize":15790,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/eso2601d.jpg","FileSize":5443,"Dimensions":[60.0,60.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"}],"ObservationData":{"Spatial":{"ReferenceDimension":[7000.0,7000.0]}}}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"potw2602a","Title":"\"I was completely overwhelmed...\"","Description":"“ ...by the beauty of it all, to the point of forgetting everything around me,” says Julien Looten, a French astrophotographer. During his visit of ESO's Very Large Telescope in Cerro Paranal, Chile, he captured this extraordinary snapshot. Today’s Picture of the Week reveals the astonishing impression he gained of one of the world's darkest skies on Earth.
\r\nThis 360-degree panorama shows the Milky Way arching above an Auxiliary Telescope of the VLT, with the two Magellanic Clouds next to it. The faint green and red shimmer along the horizon is airglow, light naturally emitted by the atmosphere and only visible under very dark skies. Adding to the scene, one of the Unit Telescopes of the VLT projects laser beams into the sky to correct for blurring caused by atmospheric turbulence. To the left, the zodiacal light can also be seen, stretching like a white brush into the sky.
\r\n“Coming from northern France, where the sky is often cloudy and spoiled by light pollution, the contrast upon arriving in Chile was breathtaking: a sky of absolute purity, free from artificial light, with the galactic bulge shining right at the zenith…” Julien says. “ESO gave us a truly unique opportunity, and that night will remain etched in our memory as one of the most beautiful of our lives.”
","Credit":"J. Looten/ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-01-12T05:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Milky Way : Sky Phenomenon : Night Sky : Milky Way","Local Universe : Galaxy : Size : Dwarf","Unspecified : Sky Phenomenon : Night Sky : Zodiacal Light","Unspecified : Sky Phenomenon : Night Sky : Night glow","Unspecified : Technology : Observatory"],"Name":["Auxiliary Telescopes","Large Magellanic Cloud","Laser Guide Star","Milky Way","Small Magellanic Cloud","Very Large Telescope","Zodiacal light"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw2602a/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":70,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/potw2602a.tif","FileSize":126689888,"Dimensions":[13676,7207],"ProjectionType":"Tan","Checksum":"9a9e01781bf358e10a93f1474738ed5813c74234f8f2c6b2848f5407a74a21b1"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/potw2602a.jpg","FileSize":16252627,"Dimensions":[13676,7207],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/potw2602a.jpg","FileSize":151326,"Dimensions":[1280.0,675.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/potw2602a.jpg","FileSize":9133,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/potw2602a.jpg","FileSize":4492,"Dimensions":[60.0,32.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"potw2601a","Title":"Survey gives astronomers a latte to think about","Description":"Creating a star is hard work, and the process is not very efficient. Current knowledge suggests that a stellar nursery must have a minimum density of gas and dust for a star to form. Only 1-2% of all the gas and dust in these clouds is utilised to ignite a star. But could even denser regions be more efficient at forming stars?
\r\nIn today's Picture of the Week, we’re looking at GAL316, one of the many stellar nurseries a team of astronomers observed to answer this question. This region is part of a survey called CAFFEINE – an astronomer’s best friend – carried out using the ArTéMiS camera at the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX), a radio-telescope in the Chajnantor plateau. Now operated by the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy, this telescope captures the faint glow of cold gas clouds, seen here as a blue glow. This glow has been overlaid on a starry background captured with ESO’s VISTA telescope.
\r\nResults from the study show that, unlike astronomers, who get more efficient with a bit of caffeine, the densest regions observed with this CAFFEINE survey seemed no more efficient at producing stars than any other stellar nursery above the minimum density.
","Credit":"ESO/M. Mattern, P. André et al. Background: VVV","PublicationDate":"2026-01-05T05:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Milky Way : Nebula : Type : Star Formation"],"Name":["GAL316"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw2601a/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":70,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/potw2601a.tif","FileSize":1277646,"Dimensions":[652,701],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/potw2601a.jpg","FileSize":325795,"Dimensions":[652,701],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/potw2601a.jpg","FileSize":417645,"Dimensions":[1280.0,1377.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/potw2601a.jpg","FileSize":16901,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/potw2601a.jpg","FileSize":6228,"Dimensions":[60.0,65.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"}],"ObservationData":{"Spatial":{"ReferenceDimension":[652.0,701.0]}}}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"potw2550a","Title":"Young stars blow bubbles?","Description":"We know that a star’s childhood is turbulent: growing via a disc of gas and dust, the same disc from which planets form. Young stars also experience outbursts, expelling material via fast jets that regulate how much material is left to feed the young stars and form planets around it. Today’s Picture of the Week shows one of those jets interacting with the surrounding material.
\r\nThe background image, taken with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, shows the young star SVS 13, located in the star-forming region NGC 1333 about 1000 light-years away. This star is expelling gas in the form of clumps known as “molecular bullets”. The insets show observations of one of those “bullets” taken with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), in which ESO is a partner. Each frame displays gas moving at different speeds, ranging from 35 km/s (red) to 97 km/s (blue).
\r\nThis series of images is similar to a medical tomography, and allows astronomers to reconstruct the 3D shape of the rings and shells of gas that the jet creates as it interacts with its environment. “This is the first time such a degree of fine detail has been reached, thanks to the exquisite sensitivity achieved in our study with ALMA,” said Guillermo Blazquez-Calero, lead author of the study recently published in Nature Astronomy. This will help astronomers understand the not-so-peaceful infancy of stars and how planets form around them.
\r\nA group of ESO and CTAO representatives, as well as Chilean authorities and regional representatives pose for a group photo near a monument at the CTAO-South site, where a symbolic time capsule was buried during the facility’s groundbreaking ceremony. From left to right: Thomas Klein, ESO Director of La Silla Paranal Observatory; Ricardo Díaz, Governor of the Antofagasta Region; Alejandra Pizarro, Director of the Chilean National Agency for Research and Development (ANID); Stuart McMuldroch, CTAO Director General; Xavier Barcons, ESO Director General; Valeska Molina, Regional Secretary of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation for Antofagasta Region; Francisco Colomer, Chair of the CTAO ERIC Council; and Volker Heinz, CTAO Construction Programme Manager.
","Credit":"ESO/CHEPOX","PublicationDate":"2025-12-18T13:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : People"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2521a/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":50,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/eso2521a.tif","FileSize":32050546,"Dimensions":[4000,2667],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/eso2521a.jpg","FileSize":3217357,"Dimensions":[4000,2667],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/eso2521a.jpg","FileSize":308406,"Dimensions":[1280.0,854.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/eso2521a.jpg","FileSize":14441,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/eso2521a.jpg","FileSize":5578,"Dimensions":[60.0,41.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"eso2521b","Title":"Commemorative plaque at the CTAO-South site","Description":"Closeup of the plaque at the CTAO-South commemorating the start of the construction works.
","Credit":"ESO/CHEPOX","PublicationDate":"2025-12-18T13:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : People"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2521b/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":28,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/eso2521b.tif","FileSize":31962882,"Dimensions":[4000,2660],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/eso2521b.jpg","FileSize":2905297,"Dimensions":[4000,2660],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/eso2521b.jpg","FileSize":304427,"Dimensions":[1280.0,852.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/eso2521b.jpg","FileSize":13575,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/eso2521b.jpg","FileSize":5463,"Dimensions":[60.0,40.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"eso2521c","Title":"Time capsule being buried at the CTAO-South site","Description":"To commemorate the start of the CTAO-South construction works, a time capsule was buried at the site. It was filled with elements from Chile and CTAO partners, as well as scientific items, representing good wishes and goals for the telescopes now under construction. The capsule was buried next to a monument that was later unveiled.
","Credit":"ESO/CHEPOX","PublicationDate":"2025-12-18T13:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : People"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2521c/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":28,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/eso2521c.tif","FileSize":31962556,"Dimensions":[2660,4000],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/eso2521c.jpg","FileSize":2729206,"Dimensions":[2660,4000],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/eso2521c.jpg","FileSize":595262,"Dimensions":[1280.0,1925.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/eso2521c.jpg","FileSize":14673,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/eso2521c.jpg","FileSize":6922,"Dimensions":[60.0,91.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"ann25011d","Title":"SOXS observations of the supernova SN2025advo","Description":"This image shows the spectrum — light intensity as a function of wavelength — of the supernova SN2025advo, obtained with the new SOXS instrument on ESO's New Technology Telescope. The supernova, discovered by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System on 17 November 2025, is located in a galaxy some 200 million light years away.
\r\nThe inset shows a colour image of the host galaxy, taken with the SOXS acquisition camera, with the position of the supernova highlighted. The observations were taken on 14 December 2025 and cover the entire 350-2000 nm spectral range (4,800 s exposure).
","Credit":"ESO/S. Campana (INAF)","PublicationDate":"2025-12-16T15:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Local Universe : Star : Evolutionary Stage : Supernova"],"Name":["SN2025advo"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/ann25011d/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":10,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/ann25011d.tif","FileSize":2305604,"Dimensions":[2999,2185],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/ann25011d.jpg","FileSize":692409,"Dimensions":[2999,2185],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/ann25011d.jpg","FileSize":107941,"Dimensions":[1280.0,933.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/ann25011d.jpg","FileSize":7756,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/ann25011d.jpg","FileSize":4512,"Dimensions":[60.0,44.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"}],"ObservationData":{"Spatial":{"ReferenceDimension":[3000.0,2000.0]}}}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"ann25011b","Title":"SOXS instrument","Description":"The Son Of X-Shooter (SOXS) is a new instrument on ESO’s New Technology Telescope at the La Silla Observatory in Chile. It’s a unique spectrograph that can be used to quickly observe transient cosmic events, at large distances or closer to home. Designed to see, simultaneously, in both optical and near-infrared wavelengths, SOXS is inspired by the X-shooter instrument currently operating on ESO’s Very Large Telescope.
","Credit":"P. Schipani/INAF","PublicationDate":"2025-12-16T15:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory : Instrument"],"Name":["SOXS"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/ann25011b/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":70,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/ann25011b.tif","FileSize":16049916,"Dimensions":[3753,2826],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/ann25011b.jpg","FileSize":2756983,"Dimensions":[3753,2826],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/ann25011b.jpg","FileSize":338462,"Dimensions":[1280.0,964.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/ann25011b.jpg","FileSize":15031,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/ann25011b.jpg","FileSize":5900,"Dimensions":[60.0,46.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"ann25011c","Title":"SOXS close-up","Description":"The Son Of X-Shooter (SOXS) is a new instrument on ESO’s New Technology Telescope at the La Silla Observatory in Chile. It’s a unique spectrograph that can be used to quickly observe transient cosmic events, at large distances or closer to home. Designed to see, simultaneously, in both optical and near-infrared wavelengths, SOXS is inspired by the X-shooter instrument currently operating on ESO’s Very Large Telescope. Here we see a close-up of the instrument.
","Credit":"S. Campana/INAF","PublicationDate":"2025-12-16T15:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory : Instrument"],"Name":["SOXS"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/ann25011c/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":70,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/ann25011c.tif","FileSize":36614868,"Dimensions":[3024,4032],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/ann25011c.jpg","FileSize":3473946,"Dimensions":[3024,4032],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/ann25011c.jpg","FileSize":675923,"Dimensions":[1280.0,1707.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/ann25011c.jpg","FileSize":18107,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/ann25011c.jpg","FileSize":8173,"Dimensions":[60.0,80.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"ann25010a","Title":"IAU CPS and ESO sign agreement","Description":"On 9 Dec, ESO signed an agreement with the International Astronomy Union (IAU)’s Centre for the Protection of the Dark and Quiet Sky (CPS) to become a contributing partner. The agreement was signed by the ESO Director General Xavier Barcons (left) and Piero Benvenuti (right), IAU CPS Director during a high-level event on the protection of astronomical sites in Vienna.
","Credit":"A. Daniels (SKAO)","PublicationDate":"2025-12-10T13:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : People"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/ann25010a/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":50,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/ann25010a.tif","FileSize":36608550,"Dimensions":[4032,3024],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/ann25010a.jpg","FileSize":2827790,"Dimensions":[4032,3024],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/ann25010a.jpg","FileSize":354161,"Dimensions":[1280.0,960.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/ann25010a.jpg","FileSize":16126,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/ann25010a.jpg","FileSize":6148,"Dimensions":[60.0,45.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"ann25010b","Title":"IAU CPS and ESO sign agreement","Description":"On 9 Dec, ESO signed an agreement with the International Astronomy Union (IAU)’s Centre for the Protection of the Dark and Quiet Sky (CPS) to become a contributing partner. The agreement was signed by the ESO Director General Xavier Barcons (left) and Piero Benvenuti (right), IAU CPS Director during a high-level event on the protection of astronomical sites in Vienna.
","Credit":"A. Daniels (SKAO)","PublicationDate":"2025-12-10T13:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : People"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/ann25010b/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":36,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/ann25010b.tif","FileSize":36608454,"Dimensions":[4032,3024],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/ann25010b.jpg","FileSize":2775093,"Dimensions":[4032,3024],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/ann25010b.jpg","FileSize":358094,"Dimensions":[1280.0,960.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/ann25010b.jpg","FileSize":15674,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/ann25010b.jpg","FileSize":6081,"Dimensions":[60.0,45.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"SeasonsGreetings2025_landscape_EN","Title":"Seasons Greetings 2025","Description":"The European Southern Observatory wishes you happy holidays and a great start for the year 2026!
","Credit":"ESO","PublicationDate":"2025-12-09T21:45:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/SeasonsGreetings2025_landscape_EN/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":10,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/SeasonsGreetings2025_landscape_EN.tif","FileSize":2870784,"Dimensions":[1920,1080],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/SeasonsGreetings2025_landscape_EN.jpg","FileSize":514641,"Dimensions":[1920,1080],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/SeasonsGreetings2025_landscape_EN.jpg","FileSize":180127,"Dimensions":[1280.0,720.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/SeasonsGreetings2025_landscape_EN.jpg","FileSize":12656,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/SeasonsGreetings2025_landscape_EN.jpg","FileSize":5082,"Dimensions":[60.0,34.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"potw2549a","Title":"Endless expanse","Description":"This view of the seemingly endless expanses of the Chilean Atacama Desert is definitely worth to be today’s Picture of the Week. The silver full Moon shines bright in the beautiful gradient evening sky. Below it, to the right, the giant dome of ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) glows with the golden sunset light.
\r\nThe ELT is perched atop Cerro Armazones, at an altitude of 3046 m. The dome might look small in the image, but the full 30-minute walk via the set of stairs from the entrance of the dome to its top, indicates its gigantic size: 80 m high and 93 m wide. Weighing about 6100 tonnes, the dome is designed to protect the telescope and its mirrors, including the 39-m wide primary mirror — the biggest eye on the sky.
\r\nTo the left of Cerro Armazones the last sunbeams of the evening cast a dark triangular shadow: Cerro Paranal, home to ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), from where this picture was taken by Luca Sbordone, ESO staff astronomer. It’s no wonder that this site hosts so many professional telescopes, as it boasts the darkest skies on Earth. Chile is in fact home to all of ESO’s observatories, thanks to a long-lasting partnership that goes back more than 60 years — may it be as timeless and inspiring as this view.
","Credit":"L. Sbordone/ESO","PublicationDate":"2025-12-08T05:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Solar System : Planet : Satellite","Unspecified : Technology : Observatory"],"Name":["Extremely Large Telescope","Moon"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw2549a/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":70,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/potw2549a.tif","FileSize":201597818,"Dimensions":[7728,4347],"ProjectionType":"Tan","Checksum":"875cda25b32a3a02284f0ae48cec35b3a73d7d373e365f209fdecd4b1d8f1589"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/potw2549a.jpg","FileSize":4701418,"Dimensions":[7728,4347],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/potw2549a.jpg","FileSize":62408,"Dimensions":[1280.0,720.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/potw2549a.jpg","FileSize":5533,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/potw2549a.jpg","FileSize":4066,"Dimensions":[60.0,34.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"ann25008c","Title":"Participants at the MOSAIC signing ceremony","Description":"Participants at the signing ceremony for the Multi-Object Spectrograph (MOSAIC), an instrument for ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope, pose for a photo.
","Credit":"ESO","PublicationDate":"2025-12-01T15:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : People"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/ann25008c/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":40,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/ann25008c.tif","FileSize":196812276,"Dimensions":[7012,4677],"ProjectionType":"Tan","Checksum":"87649efef814ea38e6e2cc91035d4715c6ccacaf01a4a6431cf9f8f0470bac03"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/ann25008c.jpg","FileSize":7282756,"Dimensions":[7012,4677],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/ann25008c.jpg","FileSize":186752,"Dimensions":[1280.0,854.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/ann25008c.jpg","FileSize":12600,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/ann25008c.jpg","FileSize":5094,"Dimensions":[60.0,41.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"ann25008e","Title":"The ELT at the summit of the mountain","Description":"ESO's Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) sits majestically atop Cerro Armazones. Located in the Chilean Andes, this mountain is over 3000 metres above sea level. This location will enable the ELT to explore the wonders of the cosmos, as the uniquely dark night sky promises optimal observing conditions, far away from sources of light pollution. In this image, the ELT’s dome appears completely closed, making its construction look almost finished — but the cranes indicate that construction is still ongoing.
\r\nAstronomers eagerly anticipate the ELT’s first light, which is planned for the end of this decade. It is to be expected that the ELT will revolutionise astronomy in a fundamental way, much as Galileo did, when he first pointed his telescope at the night sky.
\r\nThis image is a drone shot, taken in November of 2025, showing the construction progress.
","Credit":"G. Vecchia/ESO","PublicationDate":"2025-12-01T15:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory"],"Name":["Extremely Large Telescope"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/ann25008e/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":50,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/ann25008e.tif","FileSize":101098210,"Dimensions":[5472,3078],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/ann25008e.jpg","FileSize":5659073,"Dimensions":[5472,3078],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/ann25008e.jpg","FileSize":259323,"Dimensions":[1280.0,720.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/ann25008e.jpg","FileSize":13755,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/ann25008e.jpg","FileSize":5483,"Dimensions":[60.0,34.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"ann25008b","Title":"MOSAIC project team at the instrument signing ceremony","Description":"The MOSAIC project team (Roser Pello, Mathieu Puech, Myriam Rodrigues, Hermine Schnetler, Patrick Caillier, Alessandro Meoli, Oliver Pfuhl, Cyrielle Blanc) at the signing ceremony for the instrument. Alain Schuhl (Deputy Chief Executive Officer for Science, CNRS) and Xavier Barcons (Director General, ESO) are in the foreground.
","Credit":"ESO","PublicationDate":"2025-12-01T15:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : People"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/ann25008b/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":40,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/ann25008b.tif","FileSize":141938462,"Dimensions":[5954,3972],"ProjectionType":"Tan","Checksum":"bce9fc6fa24d1230b3058c0c2e936f22b36e1d8780c5ac9995efca44ad8cea57"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/ann25008b.jpg","FileSize":5828819,"Dimensions":[5954,3972],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/ann25008b.jpg","FileSize":239032,"Dimensions":[1280.0,854.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/ann25008b.jpg","FileSize":12904,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/ann25008b.jpg","FileSize":5265,"Dimensions":[60.0,41.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"ann25008a","Title":"Signing of the MOSAIC instrument agreement","Description":"Alain Schuhl (Deputy Chief Executive Officer for Science, CNRS) and Xavier Barcons (Director General, ESO) sign the contract for the Multi-Object Spectrograph (MOSAIC), an instrument for ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope.
","Credit":"ESO","PublicationDate":"2025-12-01T15:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : People"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/ann25008a/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":40,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/ann25008a.tif","FileSize":178410954,"Dimensions":[6676,4453],"ProjectionType":"Tan","Checksum":"60339c82dce38b526b53ca459805b76c9ad5583d736a2394e83016bb8634d2c9"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/ann25008a.jpg","FileSize":7859811,"Dimensions":[6676,4453],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/ann25008a.jpg","FileSize":250723,"Dimensions":[1280.0,854.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/ann25008a.jpg","FileSize":12478,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/ann25008a.jpg","FileSize":5292,"Dimensions":[60.0,41.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"potw2548a","Title":"In preparation for the dark night","Description":"Before the night emerges, ESO’s Paranal Observatory glows in the colourful light of the Chilean sunset. Today’s Picture of the Week was taken by French photographer Julien Looten, who captured the Very Large Telescope (VLT) right as the Sun set, creating a pinkish band — the Venus belt.
\r\nThe Venus belt, unlike the name suggests, is not related to the planet Venus. It is an atmospheric phenomenon caused by the scattering of the Sun’s light when it either rises or sets, visible on the opposite side of the sky. As sunlight reaches the far end of the atmosphere, small particles scatter it back towards the observer, creating a pinkish band. The dark band right below it is the shadow of the Earth cast on to the sky as the Sun sinks below the horizon on the opposite side.
\r\nLooten caught this moment in a panorama right after sunset, before the arrival of the night when “the excitement was at its peak”, he explains. The same way the photographer prepared to capture the clearest night skies above the Chilean Atacama Desert, the telescopes of the Paranal Observatory got ready to observe the mysteries of the cosmos.
","Credit":"J. Looten/ESO","PublicationDate":"2025-12-01T05:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Sky Phenomenon : Light Phenomenon"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw2548a/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":70,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/potw2548a.tif","FileSize":53195364,"Dimensions":[10989,3676],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/potw2548a.jpg","FileSize":4996352,"Dimensions":[10989,3676],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/potw2548a.jpg","FileSize":82240,"Dimensions":[1280.0,429.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/potw2548a.jpg","FileSize":8101,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/potw2548a.jpg","FileSize":4303,"Dimensions":[60.0,21.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"potw2547a","Title":"A telescope fist bump in the sky","Description":"Only by working together as a team can all of ESO’s 8 m telescopes become the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) — and today’s Picture of the Week captures this teamwork perfectly. The photograph, taken by Juan Beltrán, an instrumentation technician at ESO’s Paranal Observatory in Chile, marks the beginning of a new interferometry era.
\r\nMost of the time these so-called Unit Telecopes (UTs) work as standalone telescopes, each one observing a different object. But they can also point at the same target, combining their light with interferometry to obtain the same level of detail of a huge 130 m virtual telescope. This requires measuring and correcting the effects of Earth’s atmosphere, which was previously done through bright reference stars, hard to find next to the object one wants to study.
\r\nAs part of the GRAVITY+ upgrade, new lasers were installed in the previously unequipped UTs. These lasers create artificial stars high up in the atmosphere, near the observation target on sky, that can be used to correct atmospheric turbulence. Now that the lasers are ready, the observations are not limited to natural bright reference stars anymore, opening the whole southern sky to the VLTI. And the GRAVITY+ trial run in early November blessed us with the mesmerising view of all four lasers pointing to one target on the sky, as if they were fist bumping as a team.
\r\n“I couldn't believe I was photographing a circumpolar startrail in Paranal; without a doubt, one of the most incredible experiences I've had as a photographer,” says Osvaldo Castillo, the Chilean astrophotographer responsible for this stunning Picture of the Week.
\r\nThis circular motion of the stars is caused by the rotation of the Earth around its axis. The point at which Earth's rotation axis extends to in the sky is called a celestial pole, which in today's image is the centre around which all these stars seem to move or trail — hence, the name circumpolar startrail.
\r\nOsvaldo was able to capture this hypnotising motion at ESO’s Paranal Observatory in Chile. With the tip of one of the Auxiliary Telescopes almost perfectly aligning with the southern celestial pole, it seems as if the sky revolves around the telescope, making it the centre of attention.
\r\nBut capturing these circular startrails is no easy task. Multiple images must be taken over several hours with a long exposure time — a slight misalignment can completely ruin the outcome, as the final trails are only visible when the individual images come together. And since the telescope moves as it points to different locations, different shots need to be taken for the foreground and background. Osvaldo explains that he took “almost 300 images and you can't see the result immediately. Fortunately, the calculation and orientation to the South were accurate.\" Lucky for us! We now get to enjoy this mesmerizing Picture of the Week.
","Credit":"O. Castillo/ESO","PublicationDate":"2025-11-17T05:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Sky Phenomenon : Night Sky : Trail : Star","Unspecified : Technology : Observatory"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw2546a/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":70,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/potw2546a.tif","FileSize":52412184,"Dimensions":[3940,5922],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/potw2546a.jpg","FileSize":10608385,"Dimensions":[3940,5922],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/potw2546a.jpg","FileSize":937295,"Dimensions":[1280.0,1924.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/potw2546a.jpg","FileSize":15599,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/potw2546a.jpg","FileSize":7633,"Dimensions":[60.0,91.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"eso2520b","Title":"The supernova SN 2024ggi in the NGC 3621 galaxy","Description":"This image shows the location of the supernova SN 2024ggi in the NGC 3621 galaxy. It was taken on 11 April 2024, just 26 hours after the initial detection of the supernova. The image was obtained with the FORS2 instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT). Among other capabilities, FORS2 allows to obtain spectra in polarised light. This technique, called spectropolarimetry, provides crucial information about the shape of the explosion even though it appears as a single point as seen from Earth.
","Credit":"ESO/Y. Yang et al.","PublicationDate":"2025-11-12T19:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Local Universe : Star : Evolutionary Stage : Supernova"],"Name":["NGC 3621","SN 2024ggi"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2520b/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":70,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/eso2520b.tif","FileSize":9557036,"Dimensions":[1676,947],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/eso2520b.jpg","FileSize":373111,"Dimensions":[1676,947],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/eso2520b.jpg","FileSize":145854,"Dimensions":[1280.0,724.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/eso2520b.jpg","FileSize":8010,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/eso2520b.jpg","FileSize":4086,"Dimensions":[60.0,34.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"}],"ObservationData":{"Spatial":{"ReferenceDimension":[1676.0,947.0]}}}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"eso2520a","Title":"Artist’s impression of the initial shape of a supernova explosion","Description":"This artist’s impression shows a star going supernova. About 22 million light-years away the supernova, SN 2024ggi, exploded in the galaxy NGC 3621. Using the ESO’s Very Large Telescope, astronomers managed to capture the very early stage of the supernova when the blast was breaking through the star’s surface. Observing the breakout so early on — 26 hours after the supernova was first detected — revealed its true shape. The supernova broke out in an olive-like form. This marks the first ever observation of the shape of a supernova explosion at this very early stage.
","Credit":"ESO/L. Calçada","PublicationDate":"2025-11-12T19:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Local Universe : Star : Evolutionary Stage : Supernova"],"Name":["NGC 3621","SN 2024ggi"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2520a/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":70,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/eso2520a.tif","FileSize":45025196,"Dimensions":[5000,3000],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/eso2520a.jpg","FileSize":1194499,"Dimensions":[5000,3000],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/eso2520a.jpg","FileSize":53092,"Dimensions":[1280.0,768.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/eso2520a.jpg","FileSize":6196,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/eso2520a.jpg","FileSize":4336,"Dimensions":[60.0,36.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"eso2519b","Title":"Artificial stars created by lasers as the VLTI pointed at the Tarantula Nebula","Description":"This photograph, taken from the platform at Paranal Observatory in early November, shows lasers pointing in the direction of the Tarantula Nebula as ESO’s Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) observed this target. The observations were conducted as part of commissioning activities related to the GRAVITY+ upgrade to the VLTI, which here is combining light from four eight-metre telescopes. With the installation of a laser at each of the telescopes, a bright ‘fake’ star is created 90 km above Earth’s surface by each laser, enabling the correction of atmospheric blur.
","Credit":"ESO/A. Berdeu","PublicationDate":"2025-11-10T11:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory"],"Name":["Laser Guide Star","Very Large Telescope Interferometer"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2519b/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":70,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/eso2519b.tif","FileSize":16910628,"Dimensions":[3956,2637],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/eso2519b.jpg","FileSize":1564875,"Dimensions":[3956,2637],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/eso2519b.jpg","FileSize":100584,"Dimensions":[1280.0,854.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/eso2519b.jpg","FileSize":7120,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/eso2519b.jpg","FileSize":4299,"Dimensions":[60.0,40.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"eso2519c","Title":"Closer view of the four lasers for the VLTI","Description":"This photograph shows four lasers at ESO’s Paranal Observatory, each one launched from one of the four eight-metre telescopes on site. The launch of these lasers represents a significant milestone for ESO’s Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI), which combines light from these eight-metre telescopes, and the GRAVITY+ project — a large and complex upgrade to the VLTI. With the installation of a laser at each of the eight-metre telescopes, a bright ‘fake’ star is created 90 km above Earth’s surface by each laser, enabling the correction of atmospheric blur anywhere on the sky. This unlocks the whole southern sky to the VLTI and enhances the observing power dramatically.
\r\nThis long-exposure photograph was taken in early November by ESO astronomer Anthony Berdeu.
","Credit":"A. Berdeu/ESO","PublicationDate":"2025-11-10T11:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory"],"Name":["Laser Guide Star","Very Large Telescope Interferometer"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2519c/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":70,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/eso2519c.tif","FileSize":58886534,"Dimensions":[6960,4640],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/eso2519c.jpg","FileSize":6850891,"Dimensions":[6960,4640],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/eso2519c.jpg","FileSize":198867,"Dimensions":[1280.0,854.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/eso2519c.jpg","FileSize":11419,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/eso2519c.jpg","FileSize":5072,"Dimensions":[60.0,40.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"eso2519e","Title":"Binary star imaged by GRAVITY+","Description":"This image, one of the first obtained with VLTI/GRAVITY+ working with four lasers, shows a binary star in the central region of the Tarantula Nebula, a star-forming region in the Large Magellanic Cloud. The binary was originally thought to be an extremely massive star, but the new observations now reveal that it is a binary. This showcases the stunning capabilities and scientific potential of the upgraded VLTI.
\r\nThe background image is a wide-field view of the Tarantula nebula taken with the 1.5 Danish telescope at ESO’s La Silla Observatory. The first inset shows a closeup of the central stellar cluster obtained with ESO’s Very Large Telescope at Paranal Observatory. We then see an even closer look taken with the GRAVITY+ acquisition camera, and finally the binary star itself. The small ellipse in this last inset represents the resolution of GRAVITY+.
","Credit":"ESO/GRAVITY+ Collaboration. Background images: ESO/IDA/Danish 1.5 m/R. Gendler, C. C. Thöne, C. Féron, and J.-E. Ovaldsen/P. Crowther/C.J. Evans","PublicationDate":"2025-11-10T11:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Local Universe : Star : Grouping : Binary","Local Universe : Nebula : Type : Star Formation"],"Name":["Tarantula Nebula"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2519e/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":70,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/eso2519e.tif","FileSize":19077612,"Dimensions":[3877,3953],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/eso2519e.jpg","FileSize":3162602,"Dimensions":[3877,3953],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/eso2519e.jpg","FileSize":377829,"Dimensions":[1280.0,1306.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/eso2519e.jpg","FileSize":15261,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/eso2519e.jpg","FileSize":6446,"Dimensions":[60.0,62.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"}],"ObservationData":{"Spatial":{"ReferenceDimension":[3000.0,2000.0]}}}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"eso2519a","Title":"Four lasers for the VLTI","Description":"This photograph shows four lasers at ESO’s Paranal Observatory, each one launched from one of the four eight-metre telescopes on site. The launch of these lasers represents a significant milestone for ESO’s Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI), which combines light from these eight-metre telescopes, and the GRAVITY+ project — a large and complex upgrade to the VLTI. With the installation of a laser at each of the eight-metre telescopes, a bright ‘fake’ star is created 90 km above Earth’s surface by each laser, enabling the correction of atmospheric blur anywhere on the sky. This unlocks the whole southern sky to the VLTI and enhances the observing power dramatically.
\r\nThis long-exposure photograph was taken in early November by ESO astronomer Anthony Berdeu on a nearly full-moon night. The moon is visible on the left of the image.
","Credit":"A. Berdeu/ESO","PublicationDate":"2025-11-10T11:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory"],"Name":["Laser Guide Star","Very Large Telescope Interferometer"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2519a/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":70,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/eso2519a.tif","FileSize":172499556,"Dimensions":[15396,6723],"ProjectionType":"Tan","Checksum":"6d0facf6cc8e5264ce127dd9921293a7bb2ee628cd5e1279bcb548d090df64ae"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/eso2519a.jpg","FileSize":19010295,"Dimensions":[15396,6723],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/eso2519a.jpg","FileSize":131062,"Dimensions":[1280.0,559.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/eso2519a.jpg","FileSize":10570,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/eso2519a.jpg","FileSize":4686,"Dimensions":[60.0,27.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"eso2519d","Title":"View of the four lasers from the ALPACA camera","Description":"This black and white image shows the four lasers pointing at the observation target of ESO’s Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI), which is combining light from the four eight-metre telescopes visible at the bottom of the image for this observation. The launch of these lasers represents a significant milestone for the VLTI and the GRAVITY+ project — a large and complex upgrade to the interferometer. The lasers each create a bright ‘fake’ star 90 km above Earth’s surface, enabling the correction of atmospheric blur.
\nThis photograph was taken in early November on a nearly full-moon night by ALPACA, the ALL-sky Paranal Apical CAmera, a device used to monitor the sky observing conditions. The moon is visible to the right.
\nThe lasers appear curved in this photograph due to a projection effect.
","Credit":"ESO","PublicationDate":"2025-11-10T11:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory"],"Name":["Laser Guide Star","Very Large Telescope Interferometer"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2519d/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":70,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/eso2519d.tif","FileSize":170824892,"Dimensions":[13369,6619],"ProjectionType":"Tan","Checksum":"18adab58224e3919dad9bb562b34db8ed318561666eb0d7d0bfe9f66e3941721"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/eso2519d.jpg","FileSize":2356487,"Dimensions":[13369,6619],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/eso2519d.jpg","FileSize":50610,"Dimensions":[1280.0,634.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/eso2519d.jpg","FileSize":5787,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/eso2519d.jpg","FileSize":3819,"Dimensions":[60.0,30.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"potw2545a","Title":"A dance of two pairs","Description":"While the two largest satellite galaxies of the Milky Way — the Magellanic Clouds — shine upon the Chilean Desert, two Auxiliary Telescopes that feed light into ESO’s Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) point up to the sky, unravelling the mysteries of the cosmos. In today’s Picture of the Week, French photographer Julien Looten wanted to capture the interplay of cosmic and technological pairs.
\r\nThe Magellanic Clouds are two dwarf galaxies that accompany our Milky Way through the cosmos. Indigenous cultures in the southern hemisphere often named them after water wells. At the same time the Auxiliary Telescopes are somewhat companions of the larger VLT’s Unit Telescopes, exploring the vastness of the universe. In the background we see the extremely faint but colourful airglow of Earth's atmosphere.
\r\nAll together this image shows the “immensity of the cosmos”, as Looten explains, in contrast to the human silhouette on the right side of the picture. It reminds us of how small we are as humans compared to the sizes of cosmic objects and the telescopes we observe them with. While we have the ability to study the greatness of the universe, our passage on Earth is fleeting — sometimes all we can or should do is watch and admire.
","Credit":"J. Looten/ESO","PublicationDate":"2025-11-10T05:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Local Universe : Galaxy : Type : Irregular","Local Universe : Galaxy : Grouping : Pair","Unspecified : Sky Phenomenon : Night Sky : Night glow","Unspecified : Technology : Observatory : Telescope"],"Name":["Auxiliary Telescopes","Large Magellanic Cloud","Small Magellanic Cloud"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw2545a/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":70,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/potw2545a.tif","FileSize":35213358,"Dimensions":[4276,5701],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/potw2545a.jpg","FileSize":4508481,"Dimensions":[4276,5701],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/potw2545a.jpg","FileSize":379600,"Dimensions":[1280.0,1707.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/potw2545a.jpg","FileSize":7975,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/potw2545a.jpg","FileSize":5154,"Dimensions":[60.0,80.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"eso2518b","Title":"The RCW 94/95 nebulae in visible light","Description":"This image shows a cloud of gas and dust, shaped like a cosmic bat. The image was obtained in visible light with the VLT Survey Telescope (VST), hosted at ESO’s Paranal Observatory in Chile. The intense red glow comes from hydrogen atoms ionised by the intense radiation of young stars within the cloud.
\r\nThe most prominent clouds here are RCW 94, which represents the right wing of the bat, and RCW 95, which forms the body, while the other parts of the bat have no official designation.
","Credit":"ESO/VPHAS+ team","PublicationDate":"2025-10-31T08:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Milky Way : Nebula : Type : Star Formation","Milky Way : Nebula : Appearance : Emission : H II Region"],"Name":["RCW 94","RCW 95"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2518b/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":70,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/eso2518b.tif","FileSize":1655637052,"Dimensions":[21870,12617],"ProjectionType":"Observation","Checksum":"05e2a1c7834c345426794055cfe47b3a73fd19692e33dc8a5db300bc18d90c51"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/eso2518b.jpg","FileSize":65742515,"Dimensions":[21870,12617],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/eso2518b.jpg","FileSize":340370,"Dimensions":[1280.0,739.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/eso2518b.jpg","FileSize":14481,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/eso2518b.jpg","FileSize":5165,"Dimensions":[60.0,35.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"}],"ObservationData":{"Spatial":{"ReferenceDimension":[21870.0,12617.0]}}}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"eso2518c","Title":"The RCW 94/95 nebulae infrared light","Description":"\r\n
This image shows the nebulae RCW 94 (right) and RCW 95 (centre) in infrared light, as seen by ESO’s Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA) at the Paranal Observatory in Chile.
","Credit":"ESO/VVV team","PublicationDate":"2025-10-31T08:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Milky Way : Nebula : Type : Star Formation","Milky Way : Nebula : Appearance : Emission : H II Region"],"Name":["RCW 94","RCW 95"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2518c/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":70,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/eso2518c.tif","FileSize":1655634640,"Dimensions":[21870,12617],"ProjectionType":"Tan","Checksum":"6963c703982770990d53c32b934a1e7bcbd92f0dce0a7a319f7b9dea647fbe3b"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/eso2518c.jpg","FileSize":95895901,"Dimensions":[21870,12617],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/eso2518c.jpg","FileSize":362769,"Dimensions":[1280.0,739.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/eso2518c.jpg","FileSize":12823,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/eso2518c.jpg","FileSize":4727,"Dimensions":[60.0,35.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"eso2518d","Title":"Wide-field view around the RCW 94/95 nebulae","Description":"This image from the Digitized Sky Survey (DSS) shows the region of the sky around the RCW 94 and RCW 95 nebulae, seen here at the centre of the image. The nebulae are part of a larger complex of clouds resembling a bat, with RCW 94 representing the right wing and RCW 95 the body, respectively.
","Credit":"ESO/Digitized Sky Survey 2","PublicationDate":"2025-10-31T08:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Milky Way : Nebula : Type : Star Formation","Milky Way : Nebula : Appearance : Emission : H II Region"],"Name":["RCW 94","RCW 95"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2518d/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":70,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/eso2518d.tif","FileSize":921177560,"Dimensions":[12401,12380],"ProjectionType":"Observation","Checksum":"ea4f09fab8d1b55ef2789651126e3505209d12eeabb8208a7c4a55244595a5a0"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/eso2518d.jpg","FileSize":60782330,"Dimensions":[12401,12380],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/eso2518d.jpg","FileSize":812766,"Dimensions":[1280.0,1278.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/eso2518d.jpg","FileSize":13769,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/eso2518d.jpg","FileSize":5977,"Dimensions":[60.0,60.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"}],"ObservationData":{"Spatial":{"ReferenceDimension":[12401.0,12380.0]}}}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"eso2518a","Title":"The RCW 94/95 nebulae in visible and infrared light","Description":"This image shows a cloud of gas and dust, shaped like a cosmic bat. The image was obtained mostly in visible light with the VLT Survey Telescope (VST), hosted at ESO’s Paranal Observatory in Chile. The intense red glow comes from hydrogen atoms ionised by the intense radiation of young stars within the cloud. The image also includes additional infrared data captured by ESO’s Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA), also at Paranal.
\r\nThe most prominent clouds here are RCW 94, which represents the right wing of the bat, and RCW 95, which forms the body, while the other parts of the bat have no official designation.
","Credit":"ESO/VPHAS+ team/VVV team","PublicationDate":"2025-10-31T08:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Milky Way : Nebula : Type : Star Formation","Milky Way : Nebula : Appearance : Emission : H II Region"],"Name":["RCW 94","RCW 95"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2518a/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":70,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/eso2518a.tif","FileSize":1655640118,"Dimensions":[21870,12617],"ProjectionType":"Observation","Checksum":"26e33fa6ae4573e991df0258512ce5d7b2f11d412a10a4d82fca7ba22eb6d64a"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/eso2518a.jpg","FileSize":73370274,"Dimensions":[21870,12617],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/eso2518a.jpg","FileSize":363823,"Dimensions":[1280.0,739.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/eso2518a.jpg","FileSize":14650,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/eso2518a.jpg","FileSize":5170,"Dimensions":[60.0,35.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"}],"ObservationData":{"Spatial":{"ReferenceDimension":[21870.0,12617.0]}}}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"eso2518e","Title":"The RCW 94/95 nebulae in the Circinus and Norma constellations","Description":"This chart shows the location of the RCW 94 and RCW 95 nebulae between the Circinus and Norma constellations. This map shows most of the stars visible to the unaided eye under good conditions. The location of the nebulae is marked with a red circle.
","Credit":"ESO, IAU and Sky & Telescope","PublicationDate":"2025-10-31T08:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified"],"Name":["Circinus constellation","Norma Constellation","RCW 94","RCW 95"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2518e/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":10,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/eso2518e.tif","FileSize":33458284,"Dimensions":[3338,3338],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/eso2518e.jpg","FileSize":637183,"Dimensions":[3338,3338],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/eso2518e.jpg","FileSize":167535,"Dimensions":[1280.0,1280.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/eso2518e.jpg","FileSize":13474,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/eso2518e.jpg","FileSize":5424,"Dimensions":[60.0,60.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"eso2517a","Title":"Andreas Kaufer at Paranal","Description":"Andreas Kaufer, Director of Operations, in front of the Very Large Telescope's Unit Telescope 2.
","Credit":"ESO/Max Alexander","PublicationDate":"2025-10-27T13:30:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : People : Scientist"],"Name":["ESO Director General"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2517a/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":50,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/eso2517a.tif","FileSize":43322862,"Dimensions":[5120,2816],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/eso2517a.jpg","FileSize":2063138,"Dimensions":[5120,2816],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/eso2517a.jpg","FileSize":127768,"Dimensions":[1280.0,704.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/eso2517a.jpg","FileSize":10462,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/eso2517a.jpg","FileSize":4854,"Dimensions":[60.0,33.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"potw2543a","Title":"The magic of a pristine sky","Description":"Today's Picture of the Week portrays the Milky Way arching over ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT). Indulged in memories, the French astrophotographer Julien Looten, who capture this image, explains: “this picture has symbolic value for me, as it marked the closing of the night.”
\r\nThree of the four VLT Unit Telescopes are centred under the Milky Way, while the fourth is hidden on the right side of the image. The smaller telescope in the background, to the right, is the VLT Survey Telescope (VST).
\r\nThe sky appears split in two: a greenish haze on the left side and a reddish one on the right. This so-called airglow is caused by chemical processes in the upper layers of Earth's atmosphere. Depending on the type of atoms or molecules excited, the glow can exhibit different colours.
\r\nAirglow is extremely faint and only noticeable in the darkest regions on Earth, such as the Chilean Atacama Desert, where the VLT is located. Artificial lights from even distant sources greatly outshine the faint airglow. Preserving these pristine skies is not only key to enable cutting-edge research, but also to allow more people to experience the magic of a perfectly dark night, like Julien Looten did with this image.
","Credit":"J. Looten/ESO","PublicationDate":"2025-10-27T05:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Milky Way : Sky Phenomenon : Night Sky : Milky Way","Unspecified : Sky Phenomenon : Night Sky : Night glow","Unspecified : Technology : Observatory"],"Name":["Milky Way","Very Large Telescope","VLT Survey Telescope","VLT Unit Telescopes"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw2543a/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":70,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/potw2543a.tif","FileSize":89363780,"Dimensions":[10000,6093],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/potw2543a.jpg","FileSize":11564739,"Dimensions":[10000,6093],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/potw2543a.jpg","FileSize":174258,"Dimensions":[1280.0,780.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/potw2543a.jpg","FileSize":9217,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/potw2543a.jpg","FileSize":4683,"Dimensions":[60.0,37.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"last_look_fibre_positioner","Title":"The 4MOST fibre positioner","Description":"The 4MOST fibre positioner. Each optical fibre is mounted on a spine that can be tilted to point at a specific astronomical object. The light collected by each fibre is then directed to spectrographs that split it into its constituent colours. Thanks to this design, 4MOST can take spectra of 2400 objects simultaneously.
","Credit":"Roelof de Jong","PublicationDate":"2025-10-21T12:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory : Instrument"],"Name":["4MOST"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/last_look_fibre_positioner/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":70,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/last_look_fibre_positioner.tif","FileSize":16145528,"Dimensions":[4032,3024],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/last_look_fibre_positioner.jpg","FileSize":3092158,"Dimensions":[4032,3024],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/last_look_fibre_positioner.jpg","FileSize":407357,"Dimensions":[1280.0,960.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/last_look_fibre_positioner.jpg","FileSize":17756,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/last_look_fibre_positioner.jpg","FileSize":5703,"Dimensions":[60.0,45.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"ann25007b","Title":"4MOST first-light field-of-view","Description":"On October 18, the 4MOST instrument used its 2400 fibres for the first time to analyse the light from different cosmic objects. The spectrograph, which is installed on ESO’s VISTA telescope, observed a large patch of sky containing two prominent objects: the Sculptor Galaxy and the globular cluster NGC288. This image shows the hexagonal 4MOST field-of-view and the many objects (marked with different coloured dots for different types of objects) it analysed in its first test observations. 4MOST collected a spectrum for each of these individual objects, allowing us to study their properties such as chemical composition or temperature.
","Credit":"AIP/Background: Harshwardhan Pathak/Telescope Live","PublicationDate":"2025-10-21T12:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Milky Way : Star : Grouping : Cluster : Globular","Local Universe : Galaxy"],"Name":["NGC 288","Sculptor Galaxy"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/ann25007b/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":70,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/ann25007b.tif","FileSize":29315376,"Dimensions":[7050,5000],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/ann25007b.jpg","FileSize":5421621,"Dimensions":[7050,5000],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/ann25007b.jpg","FileSize":303877,"Dimensions":[1280.0,908.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/ann25007b.jpg","FileSize":13498,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/ann25007b.jpg","FileSize":4670,"Dimensions":[60.0,43.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"}],"ObservationData":{"Spatial":{"ReferenceDimension":[3000.0,2000.0]}}}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"ann25007f","Title":"4MOST team at Paranal during first light","Description":"This photograph, taken at the control room of ESO's Paranal Observatory, shows part of the 4MOST team closely watching the first data captured by the instrument as the first test observations were performed.
","Credit":"AIP/R. de Jong","PublicationDate":"2025-10-21T12:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : People : Scientist"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/ann25007f/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":50,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/ann25007f.tif","FileSize":20684320,"Dimensions":[6000,4000],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/ann25007f.jpg","FileSize":3266274,"Dimensions":[6000,4000],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/ann25007f.jpg","FileSize":128448,"Dimensions":[1280.0,854.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/ann25007f.jpg","FileSize":11810,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/ann25007f.jpg","FileSize":5396,"Dimensions":[60.0,40.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"4MOST_spectra","Title":"First 4MOST spectra","Description":"Spectra obtained during the 4MOST first light on October 18 2025. Each bright horizontal line is the spectrum of a different astronomical object.
","Credit":"ESO","PublicationDate":"2025-10-21T12:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology"],"Name":["4MOST"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/4MOST_spectra/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":70,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/4MOST_spectra.tif","FileSize":8181032,"Dimensions":[3386,2012],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/4MOST_spectra.jpg","FileSize":1882608,"Dimensions":[3386,2012],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/4MOST_spectra.jpg","FileSize":281370,"Dimensions":[1280.0,761.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/4MOST_spectra.jpg","FileSize":15522,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/4MOST_spectra.jpg","FileSize":5727,"Dimensions":[60.0,36.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"ann25007e","Title":"4MOST fibers inside VISTA","Description":"This photograph, taken from the back of the VISTA, show some of the fibers of the 4MOST instrument inside the telescope.
","Credit":"ESO/J. Muñoz","PublicationDate":"2025-10-21T12:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory : Instrument"],"Name":["4MOST"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/ann25007e/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":70,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/ann25007e.tif","FileSize":923676,"Dimensions":[800,600],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/ann25007e.jpg","FileSize":188103,"Dimensions":[800,600],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/ann25007e.jpg","FileSize":281467,"Dimensions":[1280.0,960.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/ann25007e.jpg","FileSize":18056,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/ann25007e.jpg","FileSize":6369,"Dimensions":[60.0,45.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"ann25007a","Title":"4MOST at VISTA","Description":"This image shows ESO's VISTA telescope and its 4MOST instrument.
","Credit":"AIP/A. Saviauk","PublicationDate":"2025-10-21T12:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory : Instrument"],"Name":["4MOST"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/ann25007a/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":70,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/ann25007a.tif","FileSize":19769628,"Dimensions":[4032,3024],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/ann25007a.jpg","FileSize":4101918,"Dimensions":[4032,3024],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/ann25007a.jpg","FileSize":490352,"Dimensions":[1280.0,960.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/ann25007a.jpg","FileSize":18734,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/ann25007a.jpg","FileSize":6276,"Dimensions":[60.0,45.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"potw2542a","Title":"A pink speckle in the southern sky","Description":"Today’s Picture of the Week showcases the mesmerising dark sky above ESO’s Paranal Observatory in Chile. The sky in the southern hemisphere is home to unique jewels like the Magellanic Clouds and one particularly special eye-catcher in this image: the Carina Nebula.
\r\nThe Carina Nebula — a massive star-forming region — is visible here as a big pink spot right above one of the four Auxiliary Telescopes of ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT). This sight was a unique one for the French photographer Julien Looten, who captured the image. “It was an unforgettable moment,“ he said about finally seeing the Carina Nebula with his own eyes, as such a view is not possible from the northern hemisphere. But Paranal’s location in the southern hemisphere and its uniquely dark skies make it possible to capture this breathtaking view.
\r\nThis nebula is home to Eta Carinae, a pair of massive short-lived stars that are shedding off large amounts of material. The structure of this cloud has been studied in detail with the VLT Interferometer, by linking together three Auxiliary Telescopes like the one in this image to create a huge “virtual” telescope. The catastrophic demise of Eta Carinae contrasts with the quiet of the Atacama Desert, all nicely coming together in harmony in this beautiful picture of the southern sky.
","Credit":"J. Looten/ESO","PublicationDate":"2025-10-20T04:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Milky Way : Nebula : Type : Star Formation","Milky Way : Sky Phenomenon : Night Sky : Milky Way","Local Universe : Galaxy : Size : Dwarf","Unspecified : Technology : Observatory"],"Name":["Auxiliary Telescopes","Carina Nebula","Large Magellanic Cloud","Milky Way","Paranal"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw2542a/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":70,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/potw2542a.tif","FileSize":40734100,"Dimensions":[4000,6000],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/potw2542a.jpg","FileSize":6516080,"Dimensions":[4000,6000],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/potw2542a.jpg","FileSize":511930,"Dimensions":[1280.0,1920.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/potw2542a.jpg","FileSize":8182,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/potw2542a.jpg","FileSize":5245,"Dimensions":[60.0,90.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"Way_of_Water_corrections-01","Title":"Steps in the journey of water","Description":"This diagram follows the path of water from clouds where stars are born all the way down to planetary systems. Step 1: water molecules first form in giant clouds of gas and dust. Oxygen atoms, shown here as blue circles, sit on dust grains. When they interact with free-floating hydrogen atoms (yellow) they form water molecules. Some of these hydrogen atoms (gray) are actually a heavier isotope called deuterium. Step 2: as the star-forming cloud collapses, the central region heats up, sublimating some of the water ice into gas, which makes it easier to detect. But the bulk of the water remains frozen on dust grains. Step 3: due to the initial rotation of the cloud, a flat disc forms around the star. Dust grains start to coagulate and form larger solid bodies. Step 4: a planetary system is now formed, containing planets, comets and asteroids orbiting around the central star.
","Credit":"ESO/M. Duffek","PublicationDate":"2025-10-15T09:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Nebula : Type : Star Formation"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/Way_of_Water_corrections-01/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":10,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/Way_of_Water_corrections-01.tif","FileSize":719314,"Dimensions":[5334,3334],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/Way_of_Water_corrections-01.jpg","FileSize":1148268,"Dimensions":[5334,3334],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/Way_of_Water_corrections-01.jpg","FileSize":115844,"Dimensions":[1280.0,801.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/Way_of_Water_corrections-01.jpg","FileSize":11107,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/Way_of_Water_corrections-01.jpg","FileSize":5422,"Dimensions":[60.0,38.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"potw2541a","Title":"Black holes don’t suck, they get fed!","Description":"Today’s Picture of the Week gives us a closer look at how black holes in the centre of galaxies feast. As some of you already know, the common belief that black holes simply suck in anything that comes near them, is wrong. Material can only fall into a black hole when it’s slowed down somehow — so what's pumping the brakes?
\r\nTo answer this question, a team of astronomers led by Wout Goesaert, now a PhD candidate at Leiden University, the Netherlands, mapped how molecular gas is distributed in the Circinus galaxy, about 13 million light-years away. The galaxy is shown in the top left corner in visible light. The two insets are images taken with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), in which ESO is a partner. Gas is streaming towards the black hole through two spiral arms that are embedded in the disc, seen in the innermost regions of the top-right picture. These arms feed the doughnut-shaped cloud around the black hole seen at the bottom.
\r\nThe gravitational influence of the spiral arms perturbs the motion of the molecular gas, which falls right into the monster's mouth, the same way a satellite would fall onto Earth if its orbit was disturbed. The feeding process is very inefficient though: the team found that about 90% of the material does not end up in the black hole but is rather spat back out, like a massive toddler refusing to eat.
\r\nEmbedded in the vast expanses of the Chilean Atacama Desert and watched over by a mountain, we can see some antennas emerging from the desert. In this stunning Picture of the Week, the spotlight is on ALMA, a facility which is operated by ESO and its international partners.
\r\nAs its name suggests, the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array does not work with visible light: it observes longer millimetre wavelengths that are invisible to the human eye. ALMA operates between infrared radiation and radio waves, enabling us to study cosmic sources that are cooler than stars. It lets us explore the cold side of the Universe, like clouds of gas and dust where stars form or planet-forming discs, but also the distant side, like far-away galaxies, where endless unanswered questions wait for us to be discovered.
\r\nThis image shows some of ALMA’s 66 antennas, which can be moved around and arranged in different configurations where the maximum distance between antennas can vary from 150 metres to 16 kilometres. The antennas work together in perfect harmony with a technology called interferometry, which is used to create a virtual large telescope that allows astronomers to see incredibly small details. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts!
\r\nALMA antennas are located on the Chajnantor plateau, 5000 m above sea level. The high altitude and dry climate are essential to observe at millimetre wavelengths, which are heavily absorbed by water vapour in the atmosphere. ALMA is guarded by the 5916 m high Licancabur volcano in the background. Fun fact: a lake sits in its crater at the top, making it one of the highest lakes in the world!
","Credit":"Y. Villalon/ESO","PublicationDate":"2025-10-06T04:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory"],"Name":["Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw2540a/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":70,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/potw2540a.tif","FileSize":145009610,"Dimensions":[6016,4016],"ProjectionType":"Tan","Checksum":"957459b35ea6a71cdfaf50b65c0914cd025a2c4b5742b83f617d0be0b22e6fa2"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/potw2540a.jpg","FileSize":4586607,"Dimensions":[6016,4016],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/potw2540a.jpg","FileSize":273338,"Dimensions":[1280.0,855.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/potw2540a.jpg","FileSize":13432,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/potw2540a.jpg","FileSize":5446,"Dimensions":[60.0,41.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"eso2516b","Title":"Location in the sky of the rogue planet Cha 1107-7626 (infrared)","Description":"This infrared image, taken with ESO’s Visible and Infrared Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA) shows the position in the sky of the rogue planet Cha 1107-7626. The planet is a dot located exactly at the centre of the frame.
","Credit":"ESO/Meingast et al.","PublicationDate":"2025-10-02T12:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Milky Way : Planet"],"Name":["Cha 1107-7626"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2516b/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":70,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/eso2516b.tif","FileSize":236274146,"Dimensions":[9576,9576],"ProjectionType":"Observation","Checksum":"29db2fb5b74cd69682b79f254a98dde5f8d4f96a4f012c44d6862f47c1930c48"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/eso2516b.jpg","FileSize":34691464,"Dimensions":[9576,9576],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/eso2516b.jpg","FileSize":428146,"Dimensions":[1280.0,1280.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/eso2516b.jpg","FileSize":10519,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/eso2516b.jpg","FileSize":4956,"Dimensions":[60.0,60.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"}],"ObservationData":{"Facility":["Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy","Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy","Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy"],"Instrument":["VIRCAM","VIRCAM","VIRCAM"],"Spectral":{"ColorAssignment":["Blue","Green","Red"],"Band":["J","H","Ks"],"Bandpass":["J","H","Ks"],"CentralWavelength":[1250,1650,2150]},"Spatial":{"CoordinateFrame":"ICRS","ReferenceValue":[166.782,-76.4423888],"ReferenceDimension":[9576.0,9576.0],"ReferencePixel":[4788.5,4788.5],"Scale":[-9.25951929391e-05,9.25951929391e-05],"Rotation":67.091919483972,"CoordsystemProjection":"TAN","Equinox":"J2000"}}}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"eso2516a","Title":"Illustration of the rogue planet Cha 1107-7626","Description":"This artist’s impression shows Cha 1107-7626. Located about 620 light-years away, this rogue planet is about 5-10 times more massive than Jupiter and doesn’t orbit a star. It is eating up material from a disc around it and, using ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), astronomers have discovered that it is now doing so at a rate of six billion tonnes per second –– the fastest ever found for any kind of planet. The team suspects that strong magnetic fields could be funnelling material towards the planet, something only seen in stars.
\r\nWhen the infalling material reaches the planet it heats up its surface, creating a bright hot spot. The X-shooter spectrograph on ESO’s VLT detected a marked brightening in mid-2025, and found a clear fingerprint that this was caused by infalling gas. The observations show that the planet is now accreting matter about 8 times faster than a few months before.
","Credit":"ESO/L. Calçada/M. Kornmesser","PublicationDate":"2025-10-02T12:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Milky Way : Planet"],"Name":["Cha 1107-7626"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2516a/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":78,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/eso2516a.tif","FileSize":49794220,"Dimensions":[3840,2160],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/eso2516a.jpg","FileSize":680095,"Dimensions":[3840,2160],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/eso2516a.jpg","FileSize":80690,"Dimensions":[1280.0,720.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/eso2516a.jpg","FileSize":8484,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/eso2516a.jpg","FileSize":4767,"Dimensions":[60.0,34.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]}]}