As the Sun sets, a telescope opens its eye, preparing to peer beyond its shiny dome into the sky above. Today’s Picture of the Week was taken at La Silla, ESO’s first observatory, located near the outskirts of Chile’s Atacama Desert at 2400 metres above sea level. It features the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope — originally constructed by the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy and installed by ESO at La Silla Observatory — which has been observing the cosmos since 1983.
\r\nThough the 2.2-metre is small by today’s standards, it still does a lot of excellent work. The telescope hosts three instruments: a camera to pinpoint the location of gamma-ray bursts (the most energetic explosions in the Universe), a spectrograph that studies stars in detail, and a Wide Field Imager (WFI) to capture stunning images of celestial objects. The WFI, in particular, has produced dramatic visuals of colourful nebulae as well as inky black dust clouds hosting early star formation.
\r\nSince 2013 the 2.2-metre telescope has been solely used by the Max Planck Society plus Chilean astronomers. With its long-standing presence and distinctive silver dome, it still holds a special place in the hearts of many ESO astronomers, including the photographer Luca Sbordone: “I saw it first when I was an ESO student and spent a few weeks in La Silla and has been dear to me ever since.”
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","Credit":"ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-07-10T14:45:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : People"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/annlang26007c-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/annlang26007c-es-cl.tif","FileSize":268607078,"Dimensions":[8192,5464],"ProjectionType":"Tan","Checksum":"e4fa922a02642de9f4d2c247cf7834a674765d8cbcc2f20a3f18e4ff45c77675"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/annlang26007c-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":8363953,"Dimensions":[8192,5464],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/annlang26007c-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":160834,"Dimensions":[1280.0,854.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/annlang26007c-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":11828,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/annlang26007c-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":5384,"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":"annlang26007a-es-cl-en","Title":"Group photo taken during Minister Lincolao’s visit to ESO Headquarters","Description":"From left to right: Adrian Russell, ESO Director of Programmes, Beatrice Kioko, ESO Institutional Affairs Officer, Eduardo Garcés, ESO engineer, Felipe Pedreros, ESO Engineer, Javiera Cuevas, Minister Chief of Staff, Ximena Lincolao, Chile's Minister for Science, Technology, Knowledge, and Innovation, Xavier Barcons, ESO Director General, Jarle Brinchmann, ESO Director for Science, Sebastian Lemp, Chargé d'Affaires a.i. of the Embassy of Chile in Germany, and Sara Krauss, ESO Director of Engineering.
","Credit":"ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-07-10T14:45:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : People"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/annlang26007a-es-cl/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":50,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/original/annlang26007a-es-cl.tif","FileSize":53180148,"Dimensions":[3840,2306],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/large/annlang26007a-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":2149541,"Dimensions":[3840,2306],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/screen/annlang26007a-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":206472,"Dimensions":[1280.0,769.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/annlang26007a-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":13670,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/annlang26007a-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":5572,"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":"annlang26007b-es-cl-en","Title":"Minister Lincolao and ESO Director General Barcons during a visit to ESO Headquarters","Description":"From left to right: Ximena Lincolao, Minister for Science, Technology, Knowledge, and Innovation and ESO Director General Xavier Barcons.
","Credit":"ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-07-10T14:45:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : People"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/annlang26007b-es-cl/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":50,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/original/annlang26007b-es-cl.tif","FileSize":203243544,"Dimensions":[7106,4766],"ProjectionType":"Tan","Checksum":"d244aa791b7457193e251353ed69c1f8436874fb21cacadf2d508f685c1246d2"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/large/annlang26007b-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":5382289,"Dimensions":[7106,4766],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/screen/annlang26007b-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":170411,"Dimensions":[1280.0,859.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/annlang26007b-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":11956,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/annlang26007b-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":5342,"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":"ann26004a","Title":"Cover of the Annual Report 2025","Description":"Cover of the Annual Report 2025.
","Credit":"ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-07-08T14:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/ann26004a/","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/ann26004a.tif","FileSize":7579414,"Dimensions":[2480,3508],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/ann26004a.jpg","FileSize":1124583,"Dimensions":[2480,3508],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/ann26004a.jpg","FileSize":222598,"Dimensions":[1280.0,1811.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/ann26004a.jpg","FileSize":8959,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/ann26004a.jpg","FileSize":6057,"Dimensions":[60.0,85.0],"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":"_DSF9891-cc","Title":"Preparing for the Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory","Description":"The site of the upcoming Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory’s (CTAO’s) southern facility is being prepared in Chile’s Atacama Desert, following the groundbreaking ceremony that took place in December 2025. The CTAO, in which ESO is a founding partner, will be the world’s largest and most powerful gamma-ray observatory, providing new insights into the high-energy Universe. The southern array will also be the first gamma-ray observatory to be built in Chile. In the distance is ESO’s Paranal Observatory, the site of the Very Large Telescope and the Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy.
","Credit":"ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-07-07T13:14:31.855612Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory"],"Name":["Cherenkov Telescope Array","Paranal"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/_DSF9891-cc/","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/_DSF9891-cc.tif","FileSize":144043750,"Dimensions":[6000,4000],"ProjectionType":"Tan","Checksum":"45862053b650a3e34d4021be0dd9cd1b3bbc229820763e158d903ae8065ff0c8"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/_DSF9891-cc.jpg","FileSize":6790587,"Dimensions":[6000,4000],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/_DSF9891-cc.jpg","FileSize":283548,"Dimensions":[1280.0,854.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/_DSF9891-cc.jpg","FileSize":12317,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/_DSF9891-cc.jpg","FileSize":5017,"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":"DSC07594-cc","Title":"On top of the ELT!","Description":"ESO Directors and ELT team members stand on one of the platforms atop ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT). From left to right, these are: Davide Deiana (ELT Deputy Site Manager), Pascal Martinez (ELT Dome & Main Structure Project Manager), Guido Vecchia (ELT Site Manager), Xavier Barcons (ESO’s Director General), Adrian Russel (Director of Programmes), Thomas Klein (Director of La Silla Paranal Observatory), Andreas Kaufer (Director of Operations, upcoming ESO Director General), Roberto Tamai (ELT Programme Manager), Sara Kraus (Director of Engineering), Claudia Burger (Director of Administration), and Jarle Brinchmann (Director of Science). ESO’s Paranal Observatory is visible as the peak in the distance.
","Credit":"ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-07-07T13:12:27Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : People"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/DSC07594-cc/","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/DSC07594-cc.tif","FileSize":196493784,"Dimensions":[7008,4672],"ProjectionType":"Tan","Checksum":"54fef1586c3d3929c44cd21a8d9d0bb68833dd2e5bbb58f040331fc6786341c9"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/DSC07594-cc.jpg","FileSize":7540493,"Dimensions":[7008,4672],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/DSC07594-cc.jpg","FileSize":217588,"Dimensions":[1280.0,854.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/DSC07594-cc.jpg","FileSize":11810,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/DSC07594-cc.jpg","FileSize":4978,"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":"_DSF9609-cc","Title":"The home of ELT construction","Description":"ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) looms just 320 metres above the ELT basecamp, where construction staff are staying during the build. The flags of ESO’s member state and of ESO’s partner countries Chile and Australia, visible at the basecamp, were up on the occasion of the ESO Council visit in June 2026.
","Credit":"ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-07-07T13:11:49.326879Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory"],"Name":["Extremely Large Telescope"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/_DSF9609-cc/","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/_DSF9609-cc.tif","FileSize":144041976,"Dimensions":[4000,6000],"ProjectionType":"Tan","Checksum":"1d4b8521c47fba2f99e1fd10a47aa9bb8cf1c2870973b9e0acc06e3eca5877da"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/_DSF9609-cc.jpg","FileSize":8357683,"Dimensions":[4000,6000],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/_DSF9609-cc.jpg","FileSize":630676,"Dimensions":[1280.0,1920.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/_DSF9609-cc.jpg","FileSize":11360,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/_DSF9609-cc.jpg","FileSize":6728,"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":"_DSF8413-cc","Title":"Ready to hold the ELT’s main mirror","Description":"Behind a grid of metal support beams lies the giant structure that will hold the main mirror of ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), as well as the other mirrors of the telescope. The 3500-tonne structure was recently rotated for the first time — a key test to ensure the telescope will be able to point at all areas of the southern sky. The structure is dominated by the horizontal cell that will hold the 39-metre main mirror (M1) of the ELT. The vertical tower will hold the third, fourth and fifth mirrors in the ELT light path (M3, M4 and M5) while the secondary mirror (M2) will hang upside down from the metallic structure seen at the very top of the image. Once equipped with mirrors, and with science instruments on its side platforms, the full structure will weigh about 4600 tonnes.
","Credit":"ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-07-07T13:10:25.010268Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory : Telescope"],"Name":["Extremely Large Telescope"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/_DSF8413-cc/","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/_DSF8413-cc.tif","FileSize":144057612,"Dimensions":[4000,6000],"ProjectionType":"Tan","Checksum":"c406d872417a6040dbd192d99bbd9828ab99ffc1cf4e49cea74496945596c95a"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/_DSF8413-cc.jpg","FileSize":5802532,"Dimensions":[4000,6000],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/_DSF8413-cc.jpg","FileSize":547334,"Dimensions":[1280.0,1920.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/_DSF8413-cc.jpg","FileSize":16455,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/_DSF8413-cc.jpg","FileSize":7796,"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":"_DSF0776-cc","Title":"The dome of the ELT","Description":"ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) is currently under construction in Chile’s Atacama Desert. Work is progressing fast and several milestones have already been reached, including the movement of the ELT’s doors and the rotation of the main telescope structure.
","Credit":"ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-07-07T13:09:31.711810Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory"],"Name":["Extremely Large Telescope"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/_DSF0776-cc/","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/_DSF0776-cc.tif","FileSize":144042240,"Dimensions":[6000,4000],"ProjectionType":"Tan","Checksum":"f2b3946879b8fdcd16bec6f3d68bfd45d9374e52aa6968a248ad116302efc52e"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/_DSF0776-cc.jpg","FileSize":6077562,"Dimensions":[6000,4000],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/_DSF0776-cc.jpg","FileSize":238610,"Dimensions":[1280.0,854.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/_DSF0776-cc.jpg","FileSize":12077,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/_DSF0776-cc.jpg","FileSize":5216,"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":"_DSF0406-cc","Title":"ELT Technical Facility","Description":"The ELT Technical facility at Paranal Observatory is the maintenance hub for ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), currently under construction in Chile’s Atacama Desert. The facility currently stores the mirror segments that will comprise the main mirror of the ELT. This giant warehouse, built on a 6500-square-metre parcel of land, was designed and constructed by Abengoa Chile.
","Credit":"ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-07-07T13:09:04.547399Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory : Facility"],"Name":["ELT Technical Facility"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/_DSF0406-cc/","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/_DSF0406-cc.tif","FileSize":144055520,"Dimensions":[6000,4000],"ProjectionType":"Tan","Checksum":"980234e287a63717d08f1a152b41be03601cbd5463f9ff26a3d43a3a919b3fdc"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/_DSF0406-cc.jpg","FileSize":5806440,"Dimensions":[6000,4000],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/_DSF0406-cc.jpg","FileSize":341091,"Dimensions":[1280.0,854.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/_DSF0406-cc.jpg","FileSize":17254,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/_DSF0406-cc.jpg","FileSize":5712,"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":"DSC07668-cc","Title":"The ELT against a stunning sky","Description":"A beautiful sky of pinks, blues, and purples provides a perfect backdrop to ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), currently under construction in Chile’s Atacama Desert. The ELT sits atop the mountain Cerro Armazones, at an incredible altitude of 3046 metres above sea level. An extra 18-metre height of rock was blasted off the top of the mountain to create the ELT’s level platform.
","Credit":"ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-07-07T13:07:42.293454Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory"],"Name":["Extremely Large Telescope"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/DSC07668-cc/","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/DSC07668-cc.tif","FileSize":196497918,"Dimensions":[7008,4672],"ProjectionType":"Tan","Checksum":"a0f3e603e3203511f16bfdb71a22e5f73693dedc3af97ac8d1f676c4916e5910"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/DSC07668-cc.jpg","FileSize":3205852,"Dimensions":[7008,4672],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/DSC07668-cc.jpg","FileSize":78129,"Dimensions":[1280.0,854.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/DSC07668-cc.jpg","FileSize":6186,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/DSC07668-cc.jpg","FileSize":4249,"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":"_DSF8171-cc","Title":"Moments before dusk at Paranal","Description":"The setting Sun peeks out between flagposts and Unit Telescope 2 of ESO’s Very Large Telescope at Paranal Observatory in Chile’s Atacama Desert.
","Credit":"ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-07-07T13:07:06.156134Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory"],"Name":["Very Large Telescope"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/_DSF8171-cc/","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/_DSF8171-cc.tif","FileSize":144049852,"Dimensions":[4000,6000],"ProjectionType":"Tan","Checksum":"fd1a1129fe8106526d8de08eddecd9e96e5bc5d04c5b355149243c6afe5aed5e"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/_DSF8171-cc.jpg","FileSize":4969483,"Dimensions":[4000,6000],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/_DSF8171-cc.jpg","FileSize":346665,"Dimensions":[1280.0,1920.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/_DSF8171-cc.jpg","FileSize":9967,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/_DSF8171-cc.jpg","FileSize":5997,"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":"_DSF8169-cc","Title":"Sunset at Paranal","Description":"The setting Sun peeks out between flagposts and Unit Telescope 2 of ESO’s Very Large Telescope at Paranal Observatory in Chile’s Atacama Desert. To the left and right are Unit Telescopes 1 and 3, respectively. The flags of ESO’s member state and of ESO’s partner countries Chile and Australia, visible in the background, were up on the occasion of the ESO Council visit in June 2026.
","Credit":"ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-07-07T13:06:43.757011Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory"],"Name":["Very Large Telescope"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/_DSF8169-cc/","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/_DSF8169-cc.tif","FileSize":144044590,"Dimensions":[6000,4000],"ProjectionType":"Tan","Checksum":"562943df68be82cb11dc3dbb88834d7c152c46dbbd01c78286e51b7b516b8cfc"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/_DSF8169-cc.jpg","FileSize":3331039,"Dimensions":[6000,4000],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/_DSF8169-cc.jpg","FileSize":139876,"Dimensions":[1280.0,854.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/_DSF8169-cc.jpg","FileSize":9843,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/_DSF8169-cc.jpg","FileSize":5044,"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":"eso2608b","Title":"VLT spectrum of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS","Description":"This image shows part of the spectrum of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, captured between 6 and 26 December 2025 with the UVES instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT). Using UVES, astronomers studied the spectral signatures of cyanide, a molecule comprised of a carbon atom and a nitrogen one. More precisely, they looked at their isotopic ratios: the relative amounts of different forms of the same atoms. These ratios are sensitive to the conditions under which 3I/ATLAS formed, and are not expected to change much as the comet travels through space.
\r\nThe spectrum shown here contains spectral features produced by 12C, an isotope of carbon with 6 protons and 6 neutrons, and 13C, which has 7 neutrons instead. These features are very faint, but astronomers know the exact wavelength regions where to look for them in the spectrum of the comet. Adding together several of these wavelength regions averages out the noise, making the real features pop out.
\r\nThe team performed similar measurements with two isotopes of nitrogen, 14N and 15N. By comparing the 12C/13C and 14N/15N ratios with those measured in Solar System comets and in the discs of material around young stars, the team concluded that 3I/ATLAS likely formed in the outskirts of the disc around a star older than the Sun.
","Credit":"ESO/C. Opitom, J. Manfroid et al. Comet image: O. Hainaut","PublicationDate":"2026-07-06T09:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Solar System : Interplanetary Body : Comet"],"Name":["3I/ATLAS"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2608b/","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/eso2608b.tif","FileSize":5169500,"Dimensions":[3672,2196],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/eso2608b.jpg","FileSize":570765,"Dimensions":[3672,2196],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/eso2608b.jpg","FileSize":89789,"Dimensions":[1280.0,766.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/eso2608b.jpg","FileSize":8975,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/eso2608b.jpg","FileSize":4626,"Dimensions":[60.0,36.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"}],"ObservationData":{"Spatial":{"ReferenceDimension":[3672.0,2196.0]}}}]},{"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":"eso2608c","Title":"VLT image of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS (18 February 2026)","Description":"This image of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS was taken on 18 February 2026 with the FORS2 instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT). It is a stack of several images spanning 13 minutes. As the comet moves on the sky, the stars appear as trails in the background.
","Credit":"ESO/O. Hainaut","PublicationDate":"2026-07-06T09:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Solar System : Interplanetary Body : Comet"],"Name":["3I/ATLAS"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2608c/","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/eso2608c.tif","FileSize":11809094,"Dimensions":[3238,1820],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/eso2608c.jpg","FileSize":386313,"Dimensions":[3238,1820],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/eso2608c.jpg","FileSize":62511,"Dimensions":[1280.0,720.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/eso2608c.jpg","FileSize":7963,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/eso2608c.jpg","FileSize":4267,"Dimensions":[60.0,34.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"}],"ObservationData":{"Spatial":{"ReferenceDimension":[3238.0,1820.0]}}}]},{"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":"eso2608a","Title":"VLT image of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS (18 January 2026)","Description":"This image of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS was taken on 18 January 2026 with the FORS2 instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT). It is a stack of several images spanning 14 minutes. As the comet moves on the sky, the stars appear as trails in the background.
","Credit":"ESO/O. Hainaut","PublicationDate":"2026-07-06T09:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Solar System : Interplanetary Body : Comet"],"Name":["3I/ATLAS"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2608a/","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/eso2608a.tif","FileSize":11677424,"Dimensions":[3236,1801],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/eso2608a.jpg","FileSize":420978,"Dimensions":[3236,1801],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/eso2608a.jpg","FileSize":55350,"Dimensions":[1280.0,713.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/eso2608a.jpg","FileSize":5563,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/eso2608a.jpg","FileSize":3866,"Dimensions":[60.0,34.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"}],"ObservationData":{"Spatial":{"ReferenceDimension":[3236.0,1801.0]}}}]},{"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":"potw2627a","Title":"And yet it moves!","Description":"Looking almost like an optical illusion, today’s Picture of the Week highlights why ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) is called that. This image was taken inside the telescope’s dome, with some of the ELT’s team standing above the massive structure that will hold its main mirror. This 39-metre-diameter reflective surface will comprise 798 mirror segments that will work together as a single mirror, in what will be the biggest optical telescope on Earth.
\r\nThis photo was taken when the ELT construction reached a momentous milestone. For the first time, the telescope’s structure was rotated around its vertical axis. ESO staff at the construction site, together with Ace/Cimolai’s team, who are leading the construction of the dome and main structure, rotated the telescope first by hand by a few centimetres, and then a full rotation using auxiliary motors. While this may seem small, the entire structure currently weighs around 3500 tonnes, which will further increase up to 4600 tonnes once the mirrors and science instruments are installed. The structure rests on a layer of oil just 80 microns thin that allows the telescope to rotate smoothly. Testing this motion is thus key to ensuring that this massive telescope can point at all areas of the southern sky.
\r\n“For me, this is a beautiful reminder of what can be achieved when people push in the same direction, literally and figuratively,” says Roberto Tamai, the ELT’s Programme Manager at ESO, shown on the right in this image. Marco Sciarra, Executive President of Cimolai, stands in the centre with Pascal Martinez, ESO Project Manager for the Dome and Main Structure, to the left.
\r\nThe ELT, expected for first light later this decade, will be a gamechanger in astronomical research, as the world’s ‘biggest eye on the sky’. Besides its exceptional size, its cutting-edge instruments will allow us to understand our Universe better than ever before.
\r\nThis image shows satellites crossing the night sky above the northern Atacama Desert in Chile, over a period of just one hour. It is a stack of a time-lapse video taken on 15 October 2025 about two hours after sunset. A few streaks are caused by planes, and can be easily identified by their blinking-coloured lights, but most trails are due to satellites.
\r\nIn the foreground we see the dome of ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), the world’s largest optical/infrared telescope, currently under construction atop Cerro Armazones. Behind it we see the lasers of ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) at Paranal Observatory, 22 km away from the ELT.
","Credit":"F. Kamphues, ESO/M. Kornmesser","PublicationDate":"2026-07-01T12:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Sky Phenomenon : Night Sky : Trail : Satellite"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2607a/","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/eso2607a.tif","FileSize":41246368,"Dimensions":[6048,4024],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/eso2607a.jpg","FileSize":6388275,"Dimensions":[6048,4024],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/eso2607a.jpg","FileSize":359230,"Dimensions":[1280.0,852.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/eso2607a.jpg","FileSize":10762,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/eso2607a.jpg","FileSize":4687,"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":"eso2607c","Title":"Predicted amount of scattered light caused by Reflect Orbital’s planned 50 000 satellites","Description":"This image illustrates how sunlight scattered by Reflect Orbital’s space mirrors would increase the overall brightness of the sky above ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT).
\r\nThe left image was captured with an all-sky camera on a moonless night on 16 May 2026. North is up, and West is to the right. The domes hosting the four 8-m telescopes of the VLT can be seen to the top-right.
\r\nThe image to the right is a simulation showing how much brighter the sky would be with Reflect Orbital’s full constellation of 50 000 mirrors. Even though the mirrors are not pointing directly at the observatory, they still diffuse light sideways, which is then further scattered by the atmosphere. As a result, the sky would be up to three to four times brighter.
","Credit":"ESO/O. Hainaut","PublicationDate":"2026-07-01T12:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Sky Phenomenon : Night Sky : Trail : Satellite"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2607c/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":25,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/eso2607c.tif","FileSize":97173248,"Dimensions":[17500,8750],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/eso2607c.jpg","FileSize":21090975,"Dimensions":[17500,8750],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/eso2607c.jpg","FileSize":95328,"Dimensions":[1280.0,640.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/eso2607c.jpg","FileSize":6973,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/eso2607c.jpg","FileSize":4194,"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":"eso2607b","Title":"Predicted number of satellites above the VLT with 1 million SpaceX satellites in orbit","Description":"This diagram shows the number of satellites that would be visible above ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) if SpaceX launches their planned constellation of 1 million satellites.
\r\nThe calculations were done about two hours after sunset, well into the truly dark part of the night. The grey dots are satellites in the Earth’s shadow and therefore invisible, whereas the coloured dots are illuminated satellites. The orange dots, almost 2000 of them, correspond to satellites brighter than magnitude 7 –– the faintest brightness visible to the naked eye from extremely dark locations. The red dots, more than 200, are satellites brighter than magnitude 5, which corresponds to the faintest objects visible to the naked eye from a suburban location.
","Credit":"ESO/O. Hainaut","PublicationDate":"2026-07-01T12:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Sky Phenomenon : Night Sky : Trail : Satellite"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2607b/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":25,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/eso2607b.tif","FileSize":8700888,"Dimensions":[4000,4000],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/eso2607b.jpg","FileSize":4523080,"Dimensions":[4000,4000],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/eso2607b.jpg","FileSize":478419,"Dimensions":[1280.0,1280.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/eso2607b.jpg","FileSize":19530,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/eso2607b.jpg","FileSize":6539,"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":"potw2626a","Title":"Gateway to the Milky Way","Description":"At first glance, it may look as though we’re about to enter the Milky Way. However, today’s Picture of the Week actually features the road sign indicating the entrance to the ALMA Observatory, in Chile’s Atacama Desert. The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), which is operated by ESO together with international partners, studies the light from the coldest corners of the Universe.
\r\nWater vapour in Earth’s atmosphere readily absorbs the millimetre and submillimetre wavelengths of radiation that ALMA observes. This is why ALMA is located in one of the driest and highest places on Earth, on the Chajnantor Plateau in the Andes, at an impressive altitude of 5000 metres.
\r\nALMA has given us some of the most detailed images of our Milky Way, showing among other things filaments of dense clouds of gas and dust at its core. Unlike our eyes, or a camera like the one that took this photo, ALMA uses a technique called interferometry that allows us to see fine details of distant celestial objects. By combining the light captured with each of the 66 high-precision antennas in its array, ALMA works as a single telescope with a diameter equal to the farthest distance between antennas.
\r\nWhile not being able to physically reach the glowing band of our galaxy seen in this picture, images like the ones produced by ALMA are some of the closest \"gateways” we have to admire the Milky Way and its constituents.
","Credit":"J. Looten/ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-06-29T04:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Milky Way : Sky Phenomenon : Night Sky : Milky Way","Unspecified : Technology : Observatory"],"Name":["Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw2626a/","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/potw2626a.tif","FileSize":62695800,"Dimensions":[4480,6720],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/potw2626a.jpg","FileSize":9763127,"Dimensions":[4480,6720],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/potw2626a.jpg","FileSize":718090,"Dimensions":[1280.0,1920.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/potw2626a.jpg","FileSize":11566,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/potw2626a.jpg","FileSize":6315,"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":"annlocal26004g-es-cl","Title":"Cooperativa Ciencia recibiendo premio “Universo STEM”","Description":"Emilia Aguilar y Javiera Mateluna de Cooperativa Ciencia, recibiendo reconocimiento “Universo STEM”, otorgado por Nadia Politis, directora de comunicaciones del Instituto Milenio BASE.
","Credit":"N. Schafer/ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-06-26T16:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : People"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/chile/images/annlocal26004g-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/annlocal26004g-es-cl.tif","FileSize":17006150,"Dimensions":[3936,2624],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/annlocal26004g-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":2583626,"Dimensions":[3936,2624],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/annlocal26004g-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":215905,"Dimensions":[1280.0,854.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/annlocal26004g-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":13963,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/annlocal26004g-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":6024,"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":"annlocal26004b-es-cl","Title":"Autoridades en premiación “Universo STEM”","Description":"De izquierda a derecha: Javiera Vergara, encargada de alianzas y movilización de recursos de ONU Mujeres en Chile; Eevamaija Voullo, encargada y coordinadora de cultura y comunicaciones de la Embajada de Finlandia en Chile; Embajadora Andrea Droppelman, jefa de división de energía, educación, innovación, y astronomía del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de Chile; Carolina Rossi, subsecretaria de ciencia, tecnología, conocimiento e innovación; Itziar de Gregorio, representante de ESO en Chile; Zandra Maulén, alcaldesa de El Monte.
","Credit":"N. Schafer/ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-06-26T16:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : People"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/chile/images/annlocal26004b-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/annlocal26004b-es-cl.tif","FileSize":16109218,"Dimensions":[3936,2624],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/annlocal26004b-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":2283969,"Dimensions":[3936,2624],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/annlocal26004b-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":193238,"Dimensions":[1280.0,854.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/annlocal26004b-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":13838,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/annlocal26004b-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":6138,"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":"annlocal26004e-es-cl","Title":"INACAP Mujeres STEM recibiendo premio “Universo STEM”","Description":"INACAP Mujeres STEM recibiendo reconocimiento “Universo STEM”, otorgado por Patricia Guajardo, ingeniera de instrumentación en ESO.
","Credit":"N. Schafer/ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-06-26T16:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : People"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/chile/images/annlocal26004e-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/annlocal26004e-es-cl.tif","FileSize":10239068,"Dimensions":[3008,2000],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/annlocal26004e-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":1637509,"Dimensions":[3008,2000],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/annlocal26004e-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":237442,"Dimensions":[1280.0,852.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/annlocal26004e-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":15274,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/annlocal26004e-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":6168,"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":"annlocal26004a-es-cl","Title":"Ganadoras, autoridades e invitadas en las oficinas de Vitacura de ESO","Description":"Ganadoras de reconocimiento “Universo STEM”, autoridades e invitadas posando juntos a las banderas de los Estados Miembros de ESO en las oficinas de ESO en Vitacura, Santiago.
","Credit":"N. Schafer/ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-06-26T16:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : People"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/chile/images/annlocal26004a-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/annlocal26004a-es-cl.tif","FileSize":14483060,"Dimensions":[3296,2197],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/annlocal26004a-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":2546231,"Dimensions":[3296,2197],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/annlocal26004a-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":303806,"Dimensions":[1280.0,854.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/annlocal26004a-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":15211,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/annlocal26004a-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":5712,"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":"annlocal26004d-es-cl","Title":"Niñas Pro recibiendo premio “Universo STEM”","Description":"Organización Niñas Pro recibiendo reconocimiento “Universo STEM”, otorgado por Gabriela Castillo, directora ejecutiva de ONG Ingeniosas.
","Credit":"N. Schafer/ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-06-26T16:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : People"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/chile/images/annlocal26004d-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/annlocal26004d-es-cl.tif","FileSize":18165402,"Dimensions":[3936,2624],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/annlocal26004d-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":2878614,"Dimensions":[3936,2624],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/annlocal26004d-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":236046,"Dimensions":[1280.0,854.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/annlocal26004d-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":14594,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/annlocal26004d-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":6133,"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":"annlocal26004c-es-cl","Title":"Paulina Bocaz de PROVOCA recibiendo premio “Universo STEM”","Description":"Paulina Bocaz, representante de AUI/NRAO en Chile y líder de la iniciativa PROVOCA, recibiendo su reconocimiento de “Universo STEM”, presentado por María Teresa Ruiz, astrónoma y premio nacional de ciencias exactas.
","Credit":"N. Schafer/ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-06-26T16:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : People"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/chile/images/annlocal26004c-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/annlocal26004c-es-cl.tif","FileSize":9249092,"Dimensions":[3008,2000],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/annlocal26004c-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":1446253,"Dimensions":[3008,2000],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/annlocal26004c-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":196321,"Dimensions":[1280.0,852.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/annlocal26004c-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":13372,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/annlocal26004c-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":6055,"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":"annlocal26004f-es-cl","Title":"Francisca Calderón de Bakanas de Taltal recibiendo premio “Universo STEM”","Description":"Francisca Calderón, de la organización Bakanas de Taltal, recibiendo reconocimiento “Universo STEM”, otorgado por Küyenray Rupayan, creadora de KüMente.
","Credit":"N. Schafer/ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-06-26T16:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : People"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/chile/images/annlocal26004f-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/annlocal26004f-es-cl.tif","FileSize":16073764,"Dimensions":[3936,2624],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/annlocal26004f-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":2459280,"Dimensions":[3936,2624],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/annlocal26004f-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":203559,"Dimensions":[1280.0,854.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/annlocal26004f-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":13429,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/annlocal26004f-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":5930,"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":"DJI_0700","Title":"ELT METIS Adaptive Optics undergoes tests at Heidelberg, Germany","Description":"The Mid-infrared ELT Imager and Spectrograph (METIS), a first-generation instrument that will operate on ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) is being built by an international consortium of scientific institutions. Here we see the METIS Adaptive Optics Module at the integration hall of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (MPIA, in Heidelberg, Germany), a leading METIS consortium member. Two MPIA staff members working on this project, Markus Feldt and Thomas Bertram, stand next to a telescope simulator (in black) and the METIS Adaptive Optics test stand.
","Credit":"D. Elsässer","PublicationDate":"2026-06-23T07:30:03.957937Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory : Instrument"],"Name":["METIS (Mid-infrared ELT Imager)"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/DJI_0700/","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_0700.tif","FileSize":68269576,"Dimensions":[3894,2920],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/DJI_0700.jpg","FileSize":2727710,"Dimensions":[3894,2920],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/DJI_0700.jpg","FileSize":298873,"Dimensions":[1280.0,960.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/DJI_0700.jpg","FileSize":15596,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/DJI_0700.jpg","FileSize":6034,"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_0696","Title":"ELT METIS Adaptive Optics undergoes tests at Heidelberg, Germany (top view)","Description":"The Mid-infrared ELT Imager and Spectrograph (METIS), a first-generation instrument that will operate on ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) is being built by an international consortium of scientific institutions. Here we see the METIS Adaptive Optics Module at the integration hall of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (MPIA, in Heidelberg, Germany), a leading METIS consortium member. Two MPIA staff members working on this project, Markus Feldt and Thomas Bertram, stand next to a telescope simulator (in black) and the METIS Adaptive Optics test stand.
","Credit":"D. Elsässer","PublicationDate":"2026-06-23T07:29:15.946476Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory : Instrument"],"Name":["METIS (Mid-infrared ELT Imager)"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/DJI_0696/","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_0696.tif","FileSize":69053582,"Dimensions":[3916,2937],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/DJI_0696.jpg","FileSize":2821584,"Dimensions":[3916,2937],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/DJI_0696.jpg","FileSize":286732,"Dimensions":[1280.0,960.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/DJI_0696.jpg","FileSize":14421,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/DJI_0696.jpg","FileSize":5974,"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":"ann26003b","Title":"Participants at the 2GDSM contract signature","Description":"On 22 June 2026, Daniele Gallieni of A.D.S. International (centre right), Roberto Biasi of Microgate (centre left) and ESO Director General Xavier Barcons (centre) signed a contract between ESO and AdOptica, a consortium made up of Microgate and A.D.S. International, for the production of a next-generation deformable secondary mirror for ESO’s Very Large Telescope. Many ESO staff members involved in this project were present at the ceremony.
","Credit":"ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-06-22T14:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : People"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/ann26003b/","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/ann26003b.tif","FileSize":200849812,"Dimensions":[7499,4463],"ProjectionType":"Tan","Checksum":"8d8e0dbb6bd9e6c1435a6185879d39844ad6b8e26ed50ee41992849a7cbc090d"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/ann26003b.jpg","FileSize":8366946,"Dimensions":[7499,4463],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/ann26003b.jpg","FileSize":222213,"Dimensions":[1280.0,762.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/ann26003b.jpg","FileSize":14485,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/ann26003b.jpg","FileSize":5449,"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":"ann26003a","Title":"Signing of the 2GDSM contract","Description":"On 22 June 2026, Daniele Gallieni of A.D.S. International (left), Roberto Biasi of Microgate (centre) and ESO Director General Xavier Barcons signed a contract between ESO and AdOptica, a consortium made up of Microgate and A.D.S. International, for the production of a next-generation deformable secondary mirror for ESO’s Very Large Telescope.
","Credit":"ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-06-22T14:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : People"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/ann26003a/","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/ann26003a.tif","FileSize":194944942,"Dimensions":[7022,4626],"ProjectionType":"Tan","Checksum":"9adf28b2b68a4ba5fdd07093e387b88eb54f5496b90cf415e69b1e35e12a09f5"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/ann26003a.jpg","FileSize":7995018,"Dimensions":[7022,4626],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/ann26003a.jpg","FileSize":267415,"Dimensions":[1280.0,844.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/ann26003a.jpg","FileSize":13219,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/ann26003a.jpg","FileSize":5472,"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":"potw2625a","Title":"Unblurring the skies above the ELT","Description":"While this might look like a frame from a sci-fi movie, today’s Picture of the Week displays one of the very real lasers built for ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), under construction in Chile. This laser, shown here undergoing tests at ESO’s Headquarters in Germany, will be an essential part of the ELT.
\r\nOne of the biggest obstacles that ground-based telescopes have to overcome is the turbulence in Earth's atmosphere. Even for telescopes on sites with the clearest night skies, this turbulence distorts images and blurs details of the cosmic objects we observe. To counter this, scientists developed a method called adaptive optics, where deformable mirrors adjust their shape to correct for distortion in real time. To accurately measure the distortion, powerful 22-watt laser beams are shone through the Earth’s atmosphere, exciting sodium atoms around 90 kilometres high, creating artificial “stars” close to the observed object. By correcting the blurriness, the finer details of very faint objects can be studied.
\r\nThese lasers are the result of years of collaboration between ESO and industrial partners. The laser sources were built by TOPTICA (Germany) and MPBC (Canada), whereas the projection systems that beam the lasers into the sky are built by TNO and Demcon (The Netherlands). Three of these lasers are already in operation at our Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI), while the remaining 6 will be installed on the ELT, aiming for first light later this decade.
\r\nFrom left to right: Fred Kamphues (TNO), Raquel Shida (ESO, Department of Communication), and Bart Speet (TNO).
","Credit":"ESO/TNO/Demcon/Fred Kamphues","PublicationDate":"2026-06-22T04:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology"],"Name":["Laser Guide Star"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw2625a/","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/potw2625a.tif","FileSize":43238282,"Dimensions":[6048,4024],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/potw2625a.jpg","FileSize":5282161,"Dimensions":[6048,4024],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/potw2625a.jpg","FileSize":254361,"Dimensions":[1280.0,852.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/potw2625a.jpg","FileSize":16376,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/potw2625a.jpg","FileSize":6458,"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":"potw2624a","Title":"Tunnel vision","Description":"This evocative Picture of the Week transports you into one of the tunnels found below ESO’s Paranal Observatory in Chile’s Atacama Desert. The black and white lines draw you to focus on a lone figure at the end, a member of a group that forms one of the cornerstones of ESO: our observatories’ engineers. Whether they are inspecting the tunnels, shown here, maintaining the mirrors of the telescopes, or fixing the instruments that can capture faint cosmic objects, they are indispensable in the development and running of ESO’s facilities.
\r\nTunnels such as this one connect the Unit Telescopes (UTs), which comprise the Very Large Telescope (VLT), to the control building where the VLT and its instruments are operated by observing teams. Each tunnel carries power and network cables, as well as pipes that channel liquid to cool various systems inside each UT. The tunnels can be also used to access the UTs when it is too windy outside. This photograph points towards the wall of UT1, also named ‘Antu’, meaning Sun in the Mapuche language of the indigenous people of central-southern Chile.
\r\nThe pipes on the ceiling, concealed cabling on the walls, and reflections on the floor also convey a slightly eerie atmosphere. The photographer, ESO astronomer Luca Sbordone, says “as a science fiction fan, I love the tunnels, they have a very ‘spaceship’ feeling. For the best experience, go through them with lights off and just a flashlight. So far, no drooling, man-eating aliens in the Paranal tunnels. But I'm not giving up hope!”
","Credit":"L. Sbordone/ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-06-15T04:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory","Unspecified : People : Scientist"],"Name":["VLT Unit Telescopes"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw2624a/","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/potw2624a.tif","FileSize":238924408,"Dimensions":[5152,7728],"ProjectionType":"Tan","Checksum":"fc28f4dd5daf27e4cd8a742279cab8abffd8645c6b037e07c69195aa183aff3d"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/potw2624a.jpg","FileSize":16235821,"Dimensions":[5152,7728],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/potw2624a.jpg","FileSize":501086,"Dimensions":[1280.0,1920.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/potw2624a.jpg","FileSize":15111,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/potw2624a.jpg","FileSize":6659,"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":"DSC01326","Title":"ESO Council in Chile in June 2026","Description":"Representatives from the ESO Council and ESO management met in Vitacura, Santiago, Chile in June 2026.
","Credit":"ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-06-10T10:38:50.002217Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : People"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/DSC01326/","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/DSC01326.tif","FileSize":19500210,"Dimensions":[3119,2079],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/DSC01326.jpg","FileSize":1905643,"Dimensions":[3119,2079],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/DSC01326.jpg","FileSize":312718,"Dimensions":[1280.0,854.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/DSC01326.jpg","FileSize":15602,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/DSC01326.jpg","FileSize":5858,"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":"potw2623a","Title":"Celebrating the birth of new stars... and the VST!","Description":"Imagine for a moment you are lying back, gazing up at the red-orange celestial clouds in today’s Picture of the Week. What shapes do you see? A chicken pecking seeds on the ground, the head of a dragon, or something else entirely?
\r\nThese pareidolia-inducing clouds are a pair of nebulae — collections of dust and gas in interstellar space — called Gum 10 and Gum 11. Visible mostly from the southern hemisphere, they are part of a larger complex, in which stars are born. Gum 10 is the brightest cloud that occupies most of the image, whereas Gum 11 is the fainter, detached cloud to the bottom-left. Their bright glow comes from a special interaction between hydrogen and the hot massive stars in each nebula. These stars emit ultraviolet light, which has enough energy to tear electrons away from their atoms, forming ions. These electrons eventually recombine with hydrogen ions, which causes the emission of the specific shade of red light seen in this image. The black lines in the nebula come from dust that blocks the light behind it.
\r\nThis image was taken with the VLT Survey Telescope (VST), which celebrates the 15th anniversary of its first light today! The VST project was a joint venture between ESO and the Capodimonte Astronomical Observatory (OAC), part of the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF). Today the VST is solely managed by INAF and is hosted by ESO at its Paranal Observatory in Chile. The data behind this picture comes from a project called VPHAS+, which uses the VST to scan across the plane of our Milky Way galaxy, intended to better understand the lifecycle of stars.
\r\nESO engineer Jalo Nousiainen working with ESO’s GPU-based High-order adaptive OpticS Testbench (GHOST), a system designed to improve the performance of adaptive optics corrections to counteract atmospheric blur.
","Credit":"ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-06-03T12:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : People : Scientist"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/DSC_1393/","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/DSC_1393.tif","FileSize":53327326,"Dimensions":[5357,3316],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/DSC_1393.jpg","FileSize":3497611,"Dimensions":[5357,3316],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/DSC_1393.jpg","FileSize":187986,"Dimensions":[1280.0,793.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/DSC_1393.jpg","FileSize":14193,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/DSC_1393.jpg","FileSize":5646,"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":"DSC_1353","Title":"ESO’s NGCII detector controller","Description":"ESO engineer Mathias Richerzhagen working on ESO’s New General Controller 2 (NGCII), designed to control all types of astronomical detectors, both optical and infrared ones.
","Credit":"ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-06-03T12:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : People : Scientist"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/germany/images/DSC_1353/","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/DSC_1353.tif","FileSize":73046856,"Dimensions":[6048,4024],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/DSC_1353.jpg","FileSize":4291691,"Dimensions":[6048,4024],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/DSC_1353.jpg","FileSize":182281,"Dimensions":[1280.0,852.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/DSC_1353.jpg","FileSize":13770,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/DSC_1353.jpg","FileSize":5700,"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":"DSC_1273","Title":"ESO’s NGCII detector controller","Description":"ESO engineer Mathias Richerzhagen working on ESO’s New General Controller 2 (NGCII), designed to control all types of astronomical detectors, both optical and infrared ones.
","Credit":"ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-06-03T12:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : People : Scientist"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/DSC_1273/","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/DSC_1273.tif","FileSize":73043168,"Dimensions":[6048,4024],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/DSC_1273.jpg","FileSize":3611366,"Dimensions":[6048,4024],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/DSC_1273.jpg","FileSize":147729,"Dimensions":[1280.0,852.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/DSC_1273.jpg","FileSize":12554,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/DSC_1273.jpg","FileSize":5540,"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":"DSC_1411","Title":"ESO’s GPU-based adaptive optics","Description":"ESO engineer Jalo Nousiainen working with ESO’s GPU-based High-order adaptive OpticS Testbench (GHOST), a system designed to improve the performance of adaptive optics corrections to counteract atmospheric blur.
","Credit":"ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-06-03T12:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : People : Scientist"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/DSC_1411/","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/DSC_1411.tif","FileSize":73049948,"Dimensions":[4024,6048],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/DSC_1411.jpg","FileSize":4779391,"Dimensions":[4024,6048],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/DSC_1411.jpg","FileSize":366077,"Dimensions":[1280.0,1924.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/DSC_1411.jpg","FileSize":15671,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/DSC_1411.jpg","FileSize":8592,"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":"DSC_1284","Title":"ESO’s NGCII detector controller","Description":"ESO engineer Mathias Richerzhagen working on ESO’s New General Controller 2 (NGCII), designed to control all types of astronomical detectors, both optical and infrared ones.
","Credit":"ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-06-03T12:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : People : Scientist"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/germany/images/DSC_1284/","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/DSC_1284.tif","FileSize":67924668,"Dimensions":[3982,5683],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/DSC_1284.jpg","FileSize":3997373,"Dimensions":[3982,5683],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/DSC_1284.jpg","FileSize":325609,"Dimensions":[1280.0,1827.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/DSC_1284.jpg","FileSize":12845,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/DSC_1284.jpg","FileSize":7705,"Dimensions":[60.0,86.0],"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-de-en","Title":"ESO’s GPU-based adaptive optics","Description":"ESO engineer Jalo Nousiainen working with ESO’s GPU-based High-order adaptive OpticS Testbench (GHOST), a system designed to improve the performance of adaptive optics corrections to counteract atmospheric blur.
","Credit":"ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-06-03T12:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : People : Scientist"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/annlang26001b-de/","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-de.tif","FileSize":56826818,"Dimensions":[5334,3549],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/annlang26001b-de.jpg","FileSize":3412771,"Dimensions":[5334,3549],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/annlang26001b-de.jpg","FileSize":161633,"Dimensions":[1280.0,852.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/annlang26001b-de.jpg","FileSize":13175,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/annlang26001b-de.jpg","FileSize":6095,"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-de-en","Title":"ESO’s NGCII detector controller","Description":"ESO engineer Mathias Richerzhagen working on ESO’s New General Controller 2 (NGCII), designed to control all types of astronomical detectors, both optical and infrared ones.
","Credit":"ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-06-03T12:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : People : Scientist"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/annlang26001a-de/","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-de.tif","FileSize":73050072,"Dimensions":[6048,4024],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/annlang26001a-de.jpg","FileSize":5545758,"Dimensions":[6048,4024],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/annlang26001a-de.jpg","FileSize":265008,"Dimensions":[1280.0,852.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/annlang26001a-de.jpg","FileSize":15551,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/annlang26001a-de.jpg","FileSize":5893,"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":"eso2606a","Title":"Artist’s impression of an exoplanet with a magnetic field","Description":"This illustration shows magnetic activity in an exoplanet. The planet is a gas giant like Jupiter, but it’s very close to its host star and tidally locked: one side always faces the star and is scorching hot, whereas the other side is extremely cold. This steep temperature difference creates fast winds that blow from the day side to the night side. The planet’s magnetic field, shown here with blue lines, can slow these winds down.
","Credit":"ESO/M. Kornmesser, L. Calçada","PublicationDate":"2026-06-02T09:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Milky Way : Planet"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2606a/","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/eso2606a.tif","FileSize":23789902,"Dimensions":[7680,4320],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/eso2606a.jpg","FileSize":2679748,"Dimensions":[7680,4320],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/eso2606a.jpg","FileSize":121020,"Dimensions":[1280.0,720.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/eso2606a.jpg","FileSize":10317,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/eso2606a.jpg","FileSize":5042,"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":"eso2606b","Title":"How magnetic fields govern winds in exoplanets","Description":"This diagram illustrates how astronomers can infer the strength of magnetic fields in exoplanets from their effect on the winds on these planets.
\r\nThe planets shown here are gas giants like Jupiter, but they are tidally locked: one side is constantly facing the star and is therefore much hotter than the other side. This temperature difference drives powerful winds from the day side to the night side. We expect these winds to be faster on planets that are hotter overall, as they have more energy to power the winds. This is shown in the top row of the diagram: the hotter planet to the right has faster winds, indicated here with a speed meter.
\r\nThe winds carry charged particles –– ions and electrons –– like a giant, planet-sized electrical circuit. The magnetic field of the planet dissipates the energy of these particles, slowing down the wind. This effect is more pronounced in hotter planets: the higher temperatures break down more molecules into ions and electrons, making the wind more susceptible to this magnetic drag. This is shown in the bottom row of the diagram, where the hotter planet to the right ends up having slower winds than the colder planet.
\r\nUsing spectrographs astronomers can measure the temperature and wind speed on exoplanets. A trend of decreasing wind speed with increasing temperature can betray the presence of magnetic fields on these planets.
","Credit":"ESO/M. Kornmesser, L. Calçada","PublicationDate":"2026-06-02T09:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Milky Way : Planet"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2606b/","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/eso2606b.tif","FileSize":7782612,"Dimensions":[4128,4128],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/eso2606b.jpg","FileSize":1215047,"Dimensions":[4128,4128],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/eso2606b.jpg","FileSize":154026,"Dimensions":[1280.0,1280.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/eso2606b.jpg","FileSize":9920,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/eso2606b.jpg","FileSize":5954,"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":"potw2622b","Title":"VLT image of the protoplanetary disc around AB Aurigae (annotated)","Description":"This image, taken with the SPHERE instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) shows a disc of material around the young star AB Aurigae, where planets might be forming. Similar observations taken over the course of four years show the disc rotating around the star. The image to the right has been processed to highlight certain features of the disc, such as spiral arms and radial shadows cast by dense clumps of material. The shadows are indicated here with arrows.
\r\nThis image, taken with the SPHERE instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) shows a disc of material around the young star AB Aurigae, where planets might be forming. Similar observations taken over the course of four years show the disc rotating around the star. The image to the right has been processed to highlight certain features of the disc, such as spiral arms and radial shadows cast by dense clumps of material.
\r\nFour laser beams shine across the magnificent Southern sky, one produced by each Unit Telescope (UT) of ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), here working together as part of the VLT Interferometer (VLTI). When a thin layer of clouds passes through the lasers, their interaction creates a glowing bead of light on each beam. The shape of the four bright spots is a mirror image of the layout of the four UTs, the source of the lasers, shown in this overlay. These spots were a happy accident, as the lasers themselves target a much higher layer in our atmosphere: 90 kilometres above the Earth’s surface.
\r\nFour laser beams shine across the magnificent Southern sky in today’s Picture of the Week. Glowing beads of light, one on each beam, are created by a thin layer of clouds crossing the path of the lasers and hint at the source of these beams. Emitted by the four Unit Telescopes (UTs) of ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), here working together as part of the VLT Interferometer (VLTI), the shape of the four bright spots mirrors the layout of the UTs. But these spots were a happy accident caused by clouds that happened to be in the way — the lasers themselves target a much higher layer in our atmosphere.
\r\nAs of November 2025, all four UTs are equipped with lasers, as part of a series of significant upgrades to the VLTI named GRAVITY+. Each laser creates an artificial “star”, 90 kilometres above the Earth’s surface, used to detect how the moving atmosphere distorts incoming light. This enables a telescope to make real-time corrections that cancel out the atmosphere’s blurring effect. “Unblurred” light from the four UTs can then be combined to make detailed observations of distant cosmic objects. This upgrade has unlocked the entire Southern sky to the VLTI by allowing the system to observe much fainter objects than before.
\r\nIn this image the telescopes, and the lasers, are pointing to the centre of our galaxy, the region around the supermassive black hole Sagittarius A*. If you look closely at the apex of the laser triangle you may be able to discern the four tiny artificial stars created by the beams. Deeper observations at the heart of the Milky Way are a key science motivation for GRAVITY+, in particular to understand the properties of our supermassive black hole.
\r\n“For me, this image is an accomplishment,” says photographer and ESO astronomer Anthony Berdeu, who has worked on the GRAVITY+ project since 2022. “These were intense, challenging but fascinating years where I had the chance to work with great and talented people in the consortium and at ESO,” he reflects. After years of hard work implementing the upgrades, “the first night the lasers were shined to point at the galactic centre, I had to be on the VLT platform to take a picture.” His photograph captures not just the four lasers — appearing to pierce the dark patch where cosmic dust clouds mask the galactic centre — but also the bright band of the Milky Way to the lower right and the Lagoon and Trifid nebulae (both around 5000 light years away) to the left. Additionally, Berdeu got a “nice surprise” when passing thin clouds intercepted the lasers, producing an outline of the UTs in gold spots, “adding some drama to the scene.”
\r\nHave you ever wondered how a telescope keeps its mirrors in the best condition to observe the cosmos? In today’s Picture of the Week, a truck carefully carries one of the mirrors of ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), wrapped to protect it from the harsh environment of Chile’s Atacama Desert. Its destination is the recoating facility that keeps the mirrors of this telescope perfectly shiny.
\r\nDespite being housed in enclosures that protect them from the extreme desert conditions during the day, telescope mirrors are still exposed at night, and therefore they need to be cleaned and recoated to keep their reflectivity. Dust that accumulates on the surface is regularly removed by spraying frozen carbon dioxide. Then, every 18 months or so, the mirror receives a new aluminium coating. For that, the mirror has to be removed from the telescope and slowly transported downhill to the recoating facility, a couple of kilometres away at basecamp. As the mirror is driven along, it is closely monitored by ESO staff walking alongside the transportation truck. ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) — currently under construction — also watches silently from Cerro Armazones, seen in the background of this image.
\r\nAt the recoating facility, the 8.2-metre mirror is separated from its supporting cell, a structure that protects the mirror and maintains its shape, and cleaned to remove contaminants that could damage the coating process. The thin aluminium layer, crucial for the mirror’s reflectivity, is removed with a chemical wash and replaced with a new one. After a process that takes about 8 days, including tests to verify the results, the restored mirror is then driven back up to the VLT, where it can get back to work, collecting light from deep space.
","Credit":"L. Sbordone/ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-05-18T04:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology"],"Name":["Cerro Armazones","Extremely Large Telescope","Mirror","Very Large Telescope"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw2620a/","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/potw2620a.tif","FileSize":238940010,"Dimensions":[7728,5152],"ProjectionType":"Tan","Checksum":"34f5b0317c1c65bb9a1a880482d44fe305b5809c130416c3b47eceadb542ab30"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/potw2620a.jpg","FileSize":10862449,"Dimensions":[7728,5152],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/potw2620a.jpg","FileSize":263077,"Dimensions":[1280.0,854.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/potw2620a.jpg","FileSize":10556,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/potw2620a.jpg","FileSize":4843,"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":"potw2619a","Title":"Adapted for extremes","Description":"Today’s Picture of the Week features two distinct families: a collection of ALMA antennas and a trio of vicuñas , a type of camelid, related to llamas and alpacas. Unlike in almost every way, the subjects of this image are linked by their extremely hostile home environment, high up in the Chilean Andes.
\r\nThe Chajnantor plateau, site of the Atacama Large Millimetre/submillimetre Array (ALMA) shown here, is 5000 metres above sea level, making it one of the driest places on Earth. The aridity is perfect for observations with ALMA, which searches for cosmic signals from the cold Universe that are readily absorbed by moist air. But the low number of cloudy days, along with a thin atmosphere, produces harsh conditions, pushing the limits of both engineering and evolution.
\r\nThe ALMA receivers –– the devices that catch signals from space –– are enclosed in cryostats that keep them very cold, protecting them against the drastic day-to-night temperature swings of the desert. The antennas are designed to withstand extremely strong winds, up to 100 kilometres an hour. ALMA’s electronics are cooled with extra-fast spinning fans to account for the thinner air. For the workers, like technicians and engineers who maintain the site, portable medical oxygen is mandatory on the plateau to limit the risk of high-altitude sickness.
\r\nLike ALMA, vicuñas, are also well-suited to these extreme conditions. They have several adaptations to cope with low oxygen density, including an increased ability to bind oxygen to red blood cells and hearts 50% heavier than similar-sized mammals. Vicuñas are also protected from large temperature variations with their dense fleece of fine hairs, which traps warm air to insulate them during cold nights and forms a breathable barrier to prevent overheating during the day.
","Credit":"S. Otarola/ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-05-11T04:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory"],"Name":["ALMA AOS","Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw2619a/","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/potw2619a.tif","FileSize":72270414,"Dimensions":[7360,4912],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/potw2619a.jpg","FileSize":9279341,"Dimensions":[7360,4912],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/potw2619a.jpg","FileSize":245405,"Dimensions":[1280.0,855.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/potw2619a.jpg","FileSize":9745,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/potw2619a.jpg","FileSize":4675,"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":"potw2618a","Title":"A concrete aperture","Description":"A circular hole creates a perfect frame for today's Picture of the Week, taken during sunset at ESO's Paranal Observatory in Chile. The opening — which resembles the aperture of a camera, or the pupil of an eye — abstracts the site into shapes. \"I can't help noticing that spheres and circles are everywhere in astronomical architecture,\" reflects the photographer, ESO astronomer Luca Sbordone. The two visible round cutouts, and spherical dome in the distance, resonate with the planets, moons, and stars we find when we look deep into the cosmos.
\r\nThe circles are found around the bases of the enclosures for each of the four Unit Telescopes (UTs) that make up ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT). The cutouts are part of structural supports for the observing floor of the 8.2 metre telescopes. While the openings helped to create this stunning composition, they also serve a practical purpose. They reduce the amount of concrete required in constructing supports, as well as providing better airflow and thermal inertia around the telescopes — minimising any adverse effects that could distort observations.
\r\nThis image was taken below the UT3 telescope and, to the right, the edge of the UT2 telescope is visible. In the distance is an Auxiliary Telescope (AT), one of four moveable telescopes that feeds light into the VLT Interferometer. Half illuminated by the setting Sun, the AT's round enclosure looks like a quarter Moon.
","Credit":"ESO/L. Sbordone","PublicationDate":"2026-05-04T04:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory"],"Name":["Auxiliary Telescopes","VLT Unit Telescopes"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw2618a/","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/potw2618a.tif","FileSize":205927912,"Dimensions":[6764,5073],"ProjectionType":"Tan","Checksum":"0b7d7df512c8f24709718b853c62db6b81dfabd9f4fc7906dbca7770ff5f6a6e"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/potw2618a.jpg","FileSize":5692233,"Dimensions":[6764,5073],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/potw2618a.jpg","FileSize":313664,"Dimensions":[1280.0,960.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/potw2618a.jpg","FileSize":9892,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/potw2618a.jpg","FileSize":4536,"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":"potw2617a","Title":"The sunset shines on the ELT","Description":"Today's Picture of the Week shows ESO's Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), glowing in the sunset light of the Chilean Atacama Desert and surrounded by massive cranes hard at work to get this telescope up and running. As of April 2026, when this image was taken, the ELT is over 70% complete.
\r\nThis soon-to-be telescope is located at the top of Cerro Armazones, the mountain that casts a triangular shadow in the background of this drone image. At 3046 metres above sea level, and with very dry conditions, the ELT is in the perfect location for astronomical observations under one of the most pristine skies on Earth. Its dome, planned to be fully completed in 2027, protects the telescope and its sensitive components from the extreme desert environment, and from the Sun during daytime. At night, its two massive sliding doors will open to allow the telescope to observe the night sky, while still protecting it from the wind.
\r\nInside the dome, the construction of the main structure of what will be the world's largest optical and near-infrared telescope is very advanced. With the first light planned for the end of the decade, the ELT and its groundbreaking 39-metre main mirror will take on some of the biggest challenges in astronomy and, ultimately, help us understand our place in the Universe.
\r\nThis drone image, taken in April 2026, shows a stunning view above the dome of ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), under construction atop Cerro Armazones, a mountain in Chile’s Atacama Desert. The sliding doors are partially open, showing the top of the telescope’s main structure inside. The catwalks running along the edges of the sliding doors convey the sheer size of the 80-m high dome.
\r\nThis photo, taken in April 2026, shows a drone shot of ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), under construction in Chile’s Atacama Desert. The telescope’s massive dome will house the telescope and its sensitive components, protecting them from the extreme desert environment. During the night, its two sliding doors will open to allow observations of the night sky.
","Credit":"ESO/G. Vecchia","PublicationDate":"2026-04-23T09:18:25Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory"],"Name":["Extremely Large Telescope"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/DJI_0733/","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_0733.tif","FileSize":24271660,"Dimensions":[5472,3078],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/DJI_0733.jpg","FileSize":4342154,"Dimensions":[5472,3078],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/DJI_0733.jpg","FileSize":226821,"Dimensions":[1280.0,720.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/DJI_0733.jpg","FileSize":12875,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/DJI_0733.jpg","FileSize":5148,"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_0718","Title":"The catwalks on the ELT’s dome","Description":"This photo, taken in April 2026, shows a close-up shot of the dome of ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), under construction in Chile’s Atacama Desert. The dome’s two sliding doors are partially open, showing the catwalks running along their edges. It will house the telescope and its sensitive components, protecting them from the extreme desert environment.
","Credit":"ESO/G. Vecchia","PublicationDate":"2026-04-23T09:18:19Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory"],"Name":["Extremely Large Telescope"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/DJI_0718/","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_0718.tif","FileSize":28448434,"Dimensions":[5472,3078],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/DJI_0718.jpg","FileSize":5337374,"Dimensions":[5472,3078],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/DJI_0718.jpg","FileSize":310475,"Dimensions":[1280.0,720.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/DJI_0718.jpg","FileSize":16848,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/DJI_0718.jpg","FileSize":5505,"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_0715","Title":"The sliding doors of the ELT’s dome","Description":"This photo, taken in April 2026, shows a close-up shot of the dome of ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), under construction in Chile’s Atacama Desert. The dome’s two sliding doors are partially open, showing the catwalks running along their edges. It will house the telescope and its sensitive components, protecting them from the extreme desert environment.
","Credit":"ESO/G. Vecchia","PublicationDate":"2026-04-23T09:18:13Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory"],"Name":["Extremely Large Telescope"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/DJI_0715/","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_0715.tif","FileSize":21498376,"Dimensions":[5472,3078],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/DJI_0715.jpg","FileSize":3690510,"Dimensions":[5472,3078],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/DJI_0715.jpg","FileSize":184049,"Dimensions":[1280.0,720.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/DJI_0715.jpg","FileSize":11567,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/DJI_0715.jpg","FileSize":5050,"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_0711","Title":"The main structure of the ELT, seen from above","Description":"This photo, taken in April 2026, shows a drone shot of the frame of ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), under construction in Chile’s Atacama Desert. This main structure will host the telescope’s 5 mirrors, and is designed to keep the telescope stable under all conditions, including high winds during observations and earthquakes.
","Credit":"ESO/G. Vecchia","PublicationDate":"2026-04-23T09:18:07Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory"],"Name":["Extremely Large Telescope"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/DJI_0711/","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_0711.tif","FileSize":27504900,"Dimensions":[5472,3078],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/DJI_0711.jpg","FileSize":4648357,"Dimensions":[5472,3078],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/DJI_0711.jpg","FileSize":302911,"Dimensions":[1280.0,720.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/DJI_0711.jpg","FileSize":17029,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/DJI_0711.jpg","FileSize":5485,"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_0706","Title":"Drone image of the ELT’s dome","Description":"This photo, taken in April 2026, shows a drone shot of ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), under construction in Chile’s Atacama Desert. The telescope’s massive dome will house the telescope and its sensitive components, protecting them from the extreme desert environment. During the night, its two sliding doors will open to allow observations of the night sky.
\r\n","Credit":"ESO/G. Vecchia","PublicationDate":"2026-04-23T09:18:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory"],"Name":["Extremely Large Telescope"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/DJI_0706/","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_0706.tif","FileSize":23554228,"Dimensions":[5472,3078],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/DJI_0706.jpg","FileSize":4076255,"Dimensions":[5472,3078],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/DJI_0706.jpg","FileSize":208728,"Dimensions":[1280.0,720.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/DJI_0706.jpg","FileSize":12412,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/DJI_0706.jpg","FileSize":5242,"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_0677","Title":"Bird’s eye view of the ELT’s dome","Description":"
This photo, taken in April 2026, shows a drone shot of ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), under construction in Chile’s Atacama Desert. The telescope’s massive dome will house the telescope and its sensitive components, protecting them from the extreme desert environment. During the night, its two sliding doors will open to allow observations of the night sky.
","Credit":"ESO/G. Vecchia","PublicationDate":"2026-04-23T09:17:54Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory"],"Name":["Extremely Large Telescope"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/DJI_0677/","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_0677.tif","FileSize":29253784,"Dimensions":[5472,3078],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/DJI_0677.jpg","FileSize":5363587,"Dimensions":[5472,3078],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/DJI_0677.jpg","FileSize":277812,"Dimensions":[1280.0,720.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/DJI_0677.jpg","FileSize":15051,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/DJI_0677.jpg","FileSize":5589,"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_0675","Title":"The sunset at the ELT construction site","Description":"This photo, taken in April 2026, shows a drone shot of ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), under construction in Chile’s Atacama Desert. Located at the top of Cerro Armazones, this massive dome will house the telescope and its sensitive components, protecting them from the extreme desert environment. Its two sliding doors will open during the night, allowing observations of the night sky.
","Credit":"ESO/G. Vecchia","PublicationDate":"2026-04-23T09:17:48Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory"],"Name":["Extremely Large Telescope"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/DJI_0675/","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_0675.tif","FileSize":21636898,"Dimensions":[5472,3078],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/DJI_0675.jpg","FileSize":3801373,"Dimensions":[5472,3078],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/DJI_0675.jpg","FileSize":174892,"Dimensions":[1280.0,720.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/DJI_0675.jpg","FileSize":10956,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/DJI_0675.jpg","FileSize":5049,"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":"annlang26005a-es-cl-en","Title":"President of the Czech Republic and Chilean Minister of Foreign Affairs at ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope","Description":"Petr Pavel, President of the Czech Republic (centre left), his wife Eva Pavlová (left), Francisco Pérez Mackenna, Chilean Minister of Foreign Affairs (right), and Xavier Barcons, ESO’s Director General (centre right) pose in front of ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope in Chile.
","Credit":"ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-04-20T14:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory","Unspecified : People"],"Name":["Extremely Large Telescope"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/annlang26005a-es-cl/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":20,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/annlang26005a-es-cl.tif","FileSize":14764550,"Dimensions":[3502,2334],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/annlang26005a-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":2492862,"Dimensions":[3502,2334],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/annlang26005a-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":271390,"Dimensions":[1280.0,854.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/annlang26005a-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":13421,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/annlang26005a-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":5655,"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":"annlang26005b-es-cl-en","Title":"Czech and Chilean delegations at ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope","Description":"A large group including Petr Pavel, President of the Czech Republic, his wife Eva Pavlová, and Francisco Pérez Mackenna, Chilean Minister of Foreign Affairs, pose in front of ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope with Xavier Barcons, ESO’s Director General, and other ESO staff.
","Credit":"ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-04-20T14:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory","Unspecified : People"],"Name":["Extremely Large Telescope"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/annlang26005b-es-cl/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":20,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/annlang26005b-es-cl.tif","FileSize":16325244,"Dimensions":[3904,2603],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/annlang26005b-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":2803907,"Dimensions":[3904,2603],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/annlang26005b-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":259504,"Dimensions":[1280.0,854.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/annlang26005b-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":13037,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/annlang26005b-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":5438,"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":"annlang26005c-es-cl-en","Title":"Czech and Chilean delegations visit ESO’s Very Large Telescope","Description":"Petr Pavel, President of the Czech Republic, and Francisco Pérez Mackenna, Chilean Minister of Foreign Affairs, inside the Unit Telescope 4, one of the four 8-m units of ESO’s Very Large Telescope.
","Credit":"ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-04-20T14:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory : Telescope","Unspecified : People"],"Name":["Very Large Telescope"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/annlang26005c-es-cl/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":20,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/annlang26005c-es-cl.tif","FileSize":20902402,"Dimensions":[3936,2624],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/annlang26005c-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":3454917,"Dimensions":[3936,2624],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/annlang26005c-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":370368,"Dimensions":[1280.0,854.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/annlang26005c-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":18694,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/annlang26005c-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":5926,"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":"annlang26005d-es-cl-en","Title":"President of the Czech Republic and Chilean Minister of Foreign Affairs at ESO’s Paranal Observatory","Description":"Petr Pavel, President of the Czech Republic (centre left), his wife Eva Pavlová (left), Francisco Pérez Mackenna, Chilean Minister of Foreign Affairs (right), and Xavier Barcons, ESO’s Director General (centre right) pose at ESO’s Paranal Observatory, home to the Very Large Telescope.
","Credit":"ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-04-20T14:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory","Unspecified : People"],"Name":["Very Large Telescope"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/annlang26005d-es-cl/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":20,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/annlang26005d-es-cl.tif","FileSize":21309696,"Dimensions":[3936,2624],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/annlang26005d-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":2986295,"Dimensions":[3936,2624],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/annlang26005d-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":224827,"Dimensions":[1280.0,854.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/annlang26005d-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":11425,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/annlang26005d-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":5016,"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":"potw2616a","Title":"Aiming at a cosmic tarantula","Description":"It might look like we started a space war, but we didn't. This isn't a scene from Star Wars either. What we're looking at is the Tarantula Nebula. And those beams come from the lasers installed on the telescopes that comprise ESO's Very Large Telescope Interferometer.
\r\nThe VLTI combines the light from several telescopes to create a “virtual” telescope with a mirror as large as the separation between them, allowing astronomers to discern very small details. For the telescopes to combine their light properly, we need to correct the distortions introduced by atmospheric turbulence.
\r\nIn November 2025, as part of an extensive upgrade called GRAVITY+, new lasers were installed on the 8-m telescopes that comprise the VLTI. Each laser in this image comes from a different telescope, all pointing at the same target. The lasers excite sodium atoms high up in Earth’s atmosphere, creating artificial stars that can be seen here at the end of the laser beams. These stars are then used to measure atmospheric turbulence in real time.
\r\nThe Tarantula Nebula was one of the first targets of this new system. This Picture of the Week is not itself a VLTI image of the target, but a photograph taken outside of the telescopes by astronomer Anthony Berdeu, who took part in the GRAVITY+ testing activities. This image beautifully bridges near and far-away objects: the lasers launched by the four telescopes, the artificial stars they create 90 km above the ground, and the Tarantula Nebula, nestled in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a dwarf galaxy orbiting the Milky Way some 160 000 light-years away.
","Credit":"A. Berdeu/ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-04-20T04:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Local Universe : Nebula : Type : Star Formation","Local Universe : Nebula : Appearance : Emission : H II Region","Unspecified : Technology"],"Name":["Laser Guide Star","Tarantula Nebula"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw2616a/","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/potw2616a.tif","FileSize":34314874,"Dimensions":[4909,3682],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/potw2616a.jpg","FileSize":5020186,"Dimensions":[4909,3682],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/potw2616a.jpg","FileSize":388176,"Dimensions":[1280.0,961.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/potw2616a.jpg","FileSize":12823,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/potw2616a.jpg","FileSize":5314,"Dimensions":[60.0,46.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"}],"ObservationData":{"Spatial":{"ReferenceDimension":[4909.0,3682.0]}}}]},{"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":"potw2615a","Title":"Taxi, please!","Description":"You might be wondering why an ALMA antenna is being driven around by this yellow truck in today's Picture of the Week. Like a huge taxi, this vehicle was specifically designed to transport the antennas around the Chajnantor plateau in the Chilean Andes.
\r\nThe Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), an international collaboration in which ESO is a partner, consists of 66 antennas that work together like a single gigantic telescope. The antennas can be rearranged into different layouts, allowing ALMA to discern different levels of detail. The distance between the antennas ranges from a few tens of metres, ideal to observe diffuse structures, to a maximum of 16 kilometres, perfect to study really small details.
\r\nThis is when the yellow trucks come into play. There are two identical ALMA transporters, named Otto and Lore, which were provided by ESO and manufactured by the company Scheuerle Fahrzeugfabrik GmbH. These vans must be powerful enough to carry an antenna weighting over 100 tons, but also accurate enough to position them with a precision of a few millimetres.
\r\nA group of visitors gathers on the platform of the Very Large Telescope (VLT). Three Unit Telescopes (UT) can be seen in the photo.
","Credit":"ESO/N.Schafer","PublicationDate":"2026-04-10T15:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory","Unspecified : People"],"Name":["Very Large Telescope"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/annlang26004a-es-cl/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":32,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/annlang26004a-es-cl.tif","FileSize":34032074,"Dimensions":[6000,4000],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/annlang26004a-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":5337247,"Dimensions":[6000,4000],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/annlang26004a-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":172384,"Dimensions":[1280.0,854.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/annlang26004a-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":9462,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/annlang26004a-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":4775,"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":"annlang26004b-es-cl-en","Title":"Night tour at Paranal Observatory","Description":"A guide explains aspects of the Very Large Telescope to visitors inside one of the Telescope Units (UT).
","Credit":"ESO/N.Schafer","PublicationDate":"2026-04-10T15:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : People"],"Name":["Very Large Telescope"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/annlang26004b-es-cl/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":32,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/annlang26004b-es-cl.tif","FileSize":51674190,"Dimensions":[6000,4000],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/annlang26004b-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":8041624,"Dimensions":[6000,4000],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/annlang26004b-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":197469,"Dimensions":[1280.0,854.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/annlang26004b-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":16146,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/annlang26004b-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":6112,"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":"eso2605a","Title":"The PoET main telescope","Description":"The Paranal solar ESPRESSO Telescope (PoET) will collect sunlight and redirect it to ESO’s ESPRESSO instrument, which will obtain highly detailed spectra of both the entire Sun and specific regions such as sunspots. These observations will be key to understanding the ‘noise’ that similar features in other stars introduce in observations aimed at detecting exoplanets around them.
\r\nPoET’s main telescope, seen here being lowered into its dome, has a 60-cm mirror. PoET also has a second smaller telescope that collects light from the entire disc of the Sun.
","Credit":"ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-04-09T12:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory : Telescope"],"Name":["Paranal solar ESPRESSO Telescope"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2605a/","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/eso2605a.tif","FileSize":33152944,"Dimensions":[6960,3904],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/eso2605a.jpg","FileSize":4601110,"Dimensions":[6960,3904],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/eso2605a.jpg","FileSize":180939,"Dimensions":[1280.0,718.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/eso2605a.jpg","FileSize":14670,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/eso2605a.jpg","FileSize":5685,"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":"eso2605c","Title":"The mirror cell of the PoET main telescope","Description":"This cell contains the 60-cm mirror of the main telescope of PoET, which will collect sunlight from specific regions on the Sun’s disc.
\r\nPoET, which stands for Paranal solar ESPRESSO Telescope, is a project hosted at ESO’s Paranal Observatory in Northern Chile.
","Credit":"ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-04-09T12:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory : Telescope"],"Name":["Paranal solar ESPRESSO Telescope"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2605c/","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/eso2605c.tif","FileSize":36786878,"Dimensions":[6960,3904],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/eso2605c.jpg","FileSize":4693961,"Dimensions":[6960,3904],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/eso2605c.jpg","FileSize":111149,"Dimensions":[1280.0,718.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/eso2605c.jpg","FileSize":10288,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/eso2605c.jpg","FileSize":4803,"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":"eso2605e","Title":"The PoET dome","Description":"This white hut is the dome of the Paranal solar ESPRESSO Telescope (PoET). Its roof opens by sliding along rails, allowing the telescope inside to point at the Sun. The sunlight it collects is redirected via optical fibres to ESO’s ESPRESSO instrument, located in the low building behind the hut. ESPRESSO is a high-resolution spectrograph, normally fed with light from distant stars collected by one or several of the 8-m units of ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), hosted inside the grey domes seen here in the background. PoET on the other hand will feed ESPRESSO with sunlight, allowing astronomers to study the Sun with the same level of detail they study other stars.
","Credit":"ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-04-09T12:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory"],"Name":["Paranal solar ESPRESSO Telescope"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2605e/","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/eso2605e.tif","FileSize":37787538,"Dimensions":[6960,3904],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/eso2605e.jpg","FileSize":4930446,"Dimensions":[6960,3904],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/eso2605e.jpg","FileSize":170405,"Dimensions":[1280.0,718.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/eso2605e.jpg","FileSize":11900,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/eso2605e.jpg","FileSize":5262,"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":"eso2605b","Title":"The mount of the PoET telescope","Description":"The fork mount that will hold the PoET main telescope is seen here being lowered into the telescope’s dome –– the low white hut behind the truck. This mount will allow the telescope to point at the Sun and track it as it moves across the sky. The domes of three of the Unit Telescopes that make up ESO’s Very Large Telescope are visible in the background.
\r\nPoET, which stands for Paranal solar ESPRESSO Telescope, is a project hosted at ESO’s Paranal Observatory in Northern Chile.
","Credit":"ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-04-09T12:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory : Telescope"],"Name":["Paranal solar ESPRESSO Telescope"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2605b/","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/eso2605b.tif","FileSize":39120040,"Dimensions":[6960,3904],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/eso2605b.jpg","FileSize":5064377,"Dimensions":[6960,3904],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/eso2605b.jpg","FileSize":160635,"Dimensions":[1280.0,718.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/eso2605b.jpg","FileSize":12310,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/eso2605b.jpg","FileSize":5323,"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":"eso2605d","Title":"The PoET telescope pointing at the Sun","Description":"The Paranal solar ESPRESSO Telescope (PoET) is seen here pointing at the Sun. The main telescope has a 60 cm mirror that collects light from small regions of the solar disc and redirects it via optical fibres to ESO’s ESPRESSO spectrograph in a nearby building. ESPRESSO then splits this sunlight into its constituent colours in great detail.
\r\nThe grey box above the main tube contains a smaller telescope with a 6 cm lens. This smaller telescope will gather light from the entire solar disc and redirect it to ESPRESSO. A third smaller telescope with a 5 cm lens, located also inside this box, will take images of the Sun’s disc. The box also contains a device to measure the turbulence caused by Earth’s atmosphere.
","Credit":"A. Cabral/IA","PublicationDate":"2026-04-09T12:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory : Telescope"],"Name":["Paranal solar ESPRESSO Telescope"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2605d/","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/eso2605d.tif","FileSize":22290586,"Dimensions":[4000,6000],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/eso2605d.jpg","FileSize":3214714,"Dimensions":[4000,6000],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/eso2605d.jpg","FileSize":295678,"Dimensions":[1280.0,1920.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/eso2605d.jpg","FileSize":12458,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/eso2605d.jpg","FileSize":6961,"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":"eso2605f","Title":"First solar spectra captured by PoET","Description":"This image shows some of the first data captured by the Paranal solar ESPRESSO Telescope (PoET). PoET simultaneously gathers sunlight from the entire solar disc and from small regions within it, and sends it via optical fibres to the ESPRESSO spectrograph, which splits it into its constituent colours or wavelengths.
\r\nThese two screens show the same solar spectra but with different levels of zoom. Wavelength runs vertically, and the various dark lines correspond to specific wavelengths absorbed by atoms in the Sun’s outer layers, as well as atoms and molecules in our own atmosphere.
","Credit":"N. Santos/IA","PublicationDate":"2026-04-09T12:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Solar System : Star"],"Name":["Sun"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2605f/","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/eso2605f.tif","FileSize":11603974,"Dimensions":[3264,2448],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/eso2605f.jpg","FileSize":1778797,"Dimensions":[3264,2448],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/eso2605f.jpg","FileSize":269642,"Dimensions":[1280.0,960.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/eso2605f.jpg","FileSize":15486,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/eso2605f.jpg","FileSize":6013,"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":"potw2614a","Title":"ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope from space","Description":"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":"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\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":"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 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":"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\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":20,"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"}]}]}]}