{"Count":15775,"Next":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/d2d/?page=2","Collections":[{"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":"potw2644a","Title":"Stars on demand","Description":"

Nothing is being attacked with space lasers in this Picture of the Week, although it may look like those four bright yellow streaks are menacing the galaxies to the right of the image. These streaks are, in fact, four artificial stars. As starlight passes through our restless atmosphere it gets blurred, distorting astronomical images. Artificial stars allow us to correct for this, but why do the ones in this picture look elongated rather than point sources, and how are they generated?

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The artificial stars you see in this image were created by laser beams rising from ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile. Each beam comes from one of the VLT’s four Unit Telescopes. The beams themselves show faintly at the lower left, scattering off the air on their way up. As they travel upwards, the atmosphere becomes less dense, and the beams appear progressively fainter. But when they reach 90 km above the ground they encounter a layer rich in sodium atoms that glow brightly as they are excited by the lasers.

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Because these atoms are spread across a layer about 5-10 km thick, they appear as streaks when photographed from an angle, like in this picture taken 2.5 km away from the telescopes. But they look like point sources when seen from the telescopes where the lasers are coming from. An adaptive optics system monitors how these artificial points twinkle, and controls a thin flexible mirror that reshapes itself hundreds of times per second. This in turn unblurs the incoming light from the astronomical target one is observing.

\r\n

The target in this case is the supermassive black hole at the centre of NGC 3227, one of the galaxies to the right of the image. It is what astronomers call an active galaxy, whose centre shines brightly as the black hole pulls in the gas around it. ESO astronomer James Leftley is studying several such galaxies with the GRAVITY and MATISSE instruments at the VLT Interferometer (VLTI), which links all four Unit Telescopes so that they work together like a single giant telescope up to 130 metres across. The facility was recently upgraded through the GRAVITY+ project, which saw lasers added to VLT telescopes. With these lasers, the VLTI and its instruments can unblur incoming light almost anywhere in the southern sky, creating stars on demand wherever they are needed.

","Credit":"ESO/A. Berdeu","PublicationDate":"2026-11-02T05:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology"],"Name":["Laser Guide Star","NGC 3227"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw2644a/","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/potw2644a.tif","FileSize":13359916,"Dimensions":[4096,2730],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/potw2644a.jpg","FileSize":1237218,"Dimensions":[4096,2730],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/potw2644a.jpg","FileSize":86724,"Dimensions":[1280.0,854.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/potw2644a.jpg","FileSize":6330,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/potw2644a.jpg","FileSize":3928,"Dimensions":[60.0,40.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"}],"ObservationData":{"Spatial":{"ReferenceDimension":[4096.0,2730.0]}}}]},{"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":"annlocal26007b-es-cl","Title":"Inicio de la Jornada de Diálogo sobre Políticas Astronómicas de CEDS 2026","Description":"

Itziar de Gregorio-Monsalvo, representante de ESO en Chile, dando palabras en el inicio de la Jornada de Diálogo sobre Políticas Astronómicas en Conferencia Internacional Espacio y Desarrollo Sostenible (CEDS) 2026. El evento se llevó a cabo en la Universidad de Chile, en la foto se puede distinguir el público presente en la jornada.

","Credit":"N. Schafer/ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-10-30T13:12:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : People"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/chile/images/annlocal26007b-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/annlocal26007b-es-cl.tif","FileSize":21139306,"Dimensions":[3936,2624],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/annlocal26007b-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":3785582,"Dimensions":[3936,2624],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/annlocal26007b-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":317296,"Dimensions":[1280.0,854.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/annlocal26007b-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":15175,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/annlocal26007b-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":5827,"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":"annlocal26007e-es-cl","Title":"Nicolás Trujillo, profesor del doctorado de filosofía en la Universidad Alberto Hurtado en la Jornada de Diálogo sobre Políticas Astronómicas de CEDS 2026","Description":"

Nicolás Trujillo, profesor del doctorado de filosofía en la Universidad Alberto Hurtado, moderador en la Jornada de Diálogo sobre Políticas Astronómicas de CEDS 2026

","Credit":"N. Schafer/ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-10-30T13:12:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : People"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/chile/images/annlocal26007e-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/annlocal26007e-es-cl.tif","FileSize":7177406,"Dimensions":[3008,2000],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/annlocal26007e-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":1194614,"Dimensions":[3008,2000],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/annlocal26007e-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":174417,"Dimensions":[1280.0,852.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/annlocal26007e-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":12569,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/annlocal26007e-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":4938,"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":"annlocal26007c-es-cl","Title":"Ximena Lincolao, ministra de ciencia, tecnología, conocimiento e innovación de Chile junto a Itziar de Gregorio-Monsalvo, representante de ESO en Chile en la Jornada de Diálogo sobre Políticas Astronómicas de CEDS 2026","Description":"

De izquierda a derecha: Ximena Lincolao, ministra de ciencia, tecnología, conocimiento e innovación de Chile; Itziar de Gregorio-Monsalvo, representante de ESO en Chile.

","Credit":"N. Schafer/ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-10-30T13:12:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : People"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/chile/images/annlocal26007c-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/annlocal26007c-es-cl.tif","FileSize":8884484,"Dimensions":[3008,2000],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/annlocal26007c-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":1410627,"Dimensions":[3008,2000],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/annlocal26007c-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":213653,"Dimensions":[1280.0,852.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/annlocal26007c-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":14843,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/annlocal26007c-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":6020,"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":"annlocal26007d-es-cl","Title":"Mercedes Rodríguez-Sarro, jefa de misión adjunta de la Unión Europea en Chile en la Jornada de Diálogo sobre Políticas Astronómicas de CEDS 2026","Description":"

Mercedes Rodríguez-Sarro jefa de misión adjunta de la Unión Europea en Chile, dando palabras en la Jornada de Diálogo sobre Políticas Astronómicas de CEDS 2026

","Credit":"N. Schafer/ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-10-30T13:12:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : People"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/chile/images/annlocal26007d-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/annlocal26007d-es-cl.tif","FileSize":7202900,"Dimensions":[3008,2000],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/annlocal26007d-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":1154894,"Dimensions":[3008,2000],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/annlocal26007d-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":158263,"Dimensions":[1280.0,852.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/annlocal26007d-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":11941,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/annlocal26007d-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":5000,"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":"annlocal26007a-es-cl","Title":"Itziar de Gregorio-Monsalvo, representante de ESO en Chile, en la Jornada de Diálogo sobre Políticas Astronómicas de CEDS 2026","Description":"

Itziar de Gregorio-Monsalvo, representante de ESO en Chile, dando palabras en el inicio de la Jornada de Diálogo sobre Políticas Astronómicas en Conferencia Internacional Espacio y Desarrollo Sostenible (CEDS) 2026.

","Credit":"N. Schafer/ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-10-30T13:12:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : People"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/chile/images/annlocal26007a-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/annlocal26007a-es-cl.tif","FileSize":13189630,"Dimensions":[3936,2624],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/annlocal26007a-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":2081692,"Dimensions":[3936,2624],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/annlocal26007a-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":190929,"Dimensions":[1280.0,854.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/annlocal26007a-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":12752,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/annlocal26007a-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":5066,"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":"eso2613d","Title":"Detecting two rings of debris around the white dwarf J1328−1450","Description":"

This diagram shows how astronomers can infer the presence of a gaseous disc around a star. Gas only emits light at very specific colours or wavelengths, which can be observed with a spectrograph. This characteristic wavelength will shift to bluer or redder colours if the gas is moving towards us or away from us, respectively.

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In the gas is rotating around a star, one side of the disc is approaching us and the other one is receding, so its spectrum exhibit two peaks shifted to blue and red colours, as seen to the left of this diagram. The faster the disc spins, the further away the peaks will be from each other.

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If there are two concentric gas discs, each will produce its own pair of peaks in the spectrum, because they move at different velocities. The outer disc rotates slower than the inner one, so its two peaks are closer to each other.

","Credit":"ESO/L. Calçada","PublicationDate":"2026-10-27T13:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Star : Circumstellar Material : Planetary System"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2613d/","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/eso2613d.tif","FileSize":60028760,"Dimensions":[4000,2500],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/eso2613d.jpg","FileSize":955459,"Dimensions":[4000,2500],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/eso2613d.jpg","FileSize":152957,"Dimensions":[1280.0,800.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/eso2613d.jpg","FileSize":10655,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/eso2613d.jpg","FileSize":5306,"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":"eso2613b","Title":"Alternative artist’s impression of the debris disc around the white dwarf J1328−1450","Description":"

This illustration shows a debris disc around the white dwarf J1328−1450 –– the dead core of a star similar to our Sun that expelled its outer layers at the end of its lifetime. The star was suspected to have a planetary system that was vaporised to rubble as the star died, and this debris ended up arranged in a disc like the one shown here.

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The disc contains both gas and dust, but the gas appears to be arranged in a unique way. Using the X-shooter instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) astronomers measured the speed of the gas orbiting the white dwarf, and found that it moves at two distinct speeds. This indicates that the gas is distributed in two concentric discs with a gap in between.

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The most likely explanation is that these two gaseous discs are maintained by two planetesimals that survived the death of the star. As they orbit the white dwarf they interact with dust grains in the disc, releasing gas in the process.

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While the planetesimals themselves can’t be directly detected, astronomers can infer their size based on their distance the white dwarf. The closer they are to it, the smaller they can be before they are destroyed by the tidal forces of the white dwarf. The inner planetesimal should therefore be a few tens of kilometres wide, like an asteroid, whereas the outer one could be as big as Pluto.

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This artist’s impression was created by Maria Cristina Fortuna in collaboration with the lead author of the paper.

","Credit":"Fortuna and Gentile Fusillo","PublicationDate":"2026-10-27T13:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Milky Way : Star : Circumstellar Material : Planetary System"],"Name":["WD J132800.85−145019.95"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2613b/","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/eso2613b.tif","FileSize":27783970,"Dimensions":[8835,4961],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/eso2613b.jpg","FileSize":11194589,"Dimensions":[8835,4961],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/eso2613b.jpg","FileSize":159106,"Dimensions":[1280.0,719.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/eso2613b.jpg","FileSize":10298,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/eso2613b.jpg","FileSize":4958,"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":"eso2613c","Title":"Region in the sky around the white dwarf J1328−1450","Description":"

This image shows a wide-field view of the sky around the white dwarf J1328−1450, a dead star with a unique disc of debris that may contain two planetesimals that survived the star’s death. The white dwarf is marked at the centre of the image.

","Credit":"ESO/Digitized Sky Survey 2","PublicationDate":"2026-10-27T13:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Milky Way : Sky Phenomenon : Night Sky"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2613c/","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/eso2613c.tif","FileSize":67368050,"Dimensions":[6997,6998],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/eso2613c.jpg","FileSize":9323112,"Dimensions":[6997,6998],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/eso2613c.jpg","FileSize":239532,"Dimensions":[1280.0,1281.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/eso2613c.jpg","FileSize":9097,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/eso2613c.jpg","FileSize":4409,"Dimensions":[60.0,61.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"}],"ObservationData":{"Spatial":{"ReferenceDimension":[6997.0,6998.0]}}}]},{"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":"eso2613a","Title":"Artist’s impression of the debris disc around the white dwarf J1328−1450","Description":"

This illustration shows a debris disc around the white dwarf J1328−1450 –– the dead core of a star similar to our Sun that expelled its outer layers at the end of its lifetime. The star was suspected to have a planetary system that was vaporised to rubble as the star died, and this debris ended up arranged in a disc like the one shown here.

\r\n

The disc contains both gas and dust, but the gas appears to be arranged in a unique way. Using the X-shooter instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) astronomers measured the speed of the gas orbiting the white dwarf, and found that it moves at two distinct speeds. This indicates that the gas is distributed in two concentric discs with a gap in between.

\r\n

The most likely explanation is that these two gaseous discs are maintained by two planetesimals that survived the death of the star. As they orbit the white dwarf they interact with dust grains in the disc, releasing gas in the process, shown here as luminous trails.

","Credit":"ESO/L. Calçada","PublicationDate":"2026-10-27T13:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Milky Way : Star : Circumstellar Material : Planetary System"],"Name":["WD J132800.85−145019.95"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2613a/","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/eso2613a.tif","FileSize":8892674,"Dimensions":[4000,2500],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/eso2613a.jpg","FileSize":1205497,"Dimensions":[4000,2500],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/eso2613a.jpg","FileSize":118399,"Dimensions":[1280.0,800.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/eso2613a.jpg","FileSize":8279,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/eso2613a.jpg","FileSize":4678,"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":"potw2643a","Title":"Tilting the ELT upwards","Description":"

This image shows ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) returning to its upright position after it was tilted on its horizontal axis for the first time in October 2026.

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Links

\r\n","Credit":"ESO/Cimolai","PublicationDate":"2026-10-26T05:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory : Telescope"],"Name":["Extremely Large Telescope"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw2643a/","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/potw2643a.tif","FileSize":4474350,"Dimensions":[1216,2160],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/potw2643a.jpg","FileSize":849806,"Dimensions":[1216,2160],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/potw2643a.jpg","FileSize":652841,"Dimensions":[1280.0,2274.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/potw2643a.jpg","FileSize":17031,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/potw2643a.jpg","FileSize":8956,"Dimensions":[60.0,107.0],"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":"potw2643c","Title":"Inclining the ELT for the first time","Description":"
\r\n

This image shows ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) tilting on its horizontal axis for the first time in October 2026.

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Link

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","Credit":"ESO/Apical/G. Vecchia","PublicationDate":"2026-10-26T05:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory : Telescope"],"Name":["Extremely Large Telescope"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw2643c/","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/potw2643c.tif","FileSize":5241752,"Dimensions":[2160,2160],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/potw2643c.jpg","FileSize":910215,"Dimensions":[2160,2160],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/potw2643c.jpg","FileSize":350545,"Dimensions":[1280.0,1280.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/potw2643c.jpg","FileSize":15142,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/potw2643c.jpg","FileSize":5909,"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":"potw2643b","Title":"Inclining the ELT for the first time","Description":"

This image shows ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) tilting on its horizontal axis for the first time in October 2026.

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Link

\r\n","Credit":"ESO/Cimolai","PublicationDate":"2026-10-26T05:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory : Telescope"],"Name":["Extremely Large Telescope"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw2643b/","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/potw2643b.tif","FileSize":4168310,"Dimensions":[1216,2160],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/potw2643b.jpg","FileSize":780022,"Dimensions":[1216,2160],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/potw2643b.jpg","FileSize":611310,"Dimensions":[1280.0,2274.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/potw2643b.jpg","FileSize":18125,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/potw2643b.jpg","FileSize":9032,"Dimensions":[60.0,107.0],"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":"potw2642a","Title":"Observing the unpredictable","Description":"

The strange object that appears beneath a starry sky in today’s Picture of the Week is a BlackGEM telescope – one of three hosted by ESO at La Silla Observatory. BlackGEM is a joint project with institutes in the Netherlands and in Belgium. The telescopes can be remotely controlled from Radboud University.

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Powerful events like neutron star and black hole mergers send ripples through space and time known as gravitational waves. Observatories like LIGO and Virgo were built to detect these ripples, but struggle to locate the precise origin. The BlackGEM telescopes aim to detect the optical counterpart of gravitational wave detections. A merger of two black holes is almost invisible. But if at least one of the two objects is a neutron star, not all the material vanishes into the black hole resulting from the merger. This material heats up and produces faint optical light that can be detected with telescopes like BlackGEM.

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The design of BlackGEM allows for fast observation when an event like this occurs. Once they pinpoint the source, larger telescopes like ESO's Very Large Telescope can follow up for more detailed observations.

","Credit":"J. Rodrigues/ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-10-19T04:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Milky Way : Sky Phenomenon : Night Sky : Milky Way","Unspecified : Technology : Observatory"],"Name":["BlackGEM"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw2642a/","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/potw2642a.tif","FileSize":43404572,"Dimensions":[3332,4998],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/potw2642a.jpg","FileSize":8385808,"Dimensions":[3332,4998],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/potw2642a.jpg","FileSize":878567,"Dimensions":[1280.0,1920.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/potw2642a.jpg","FileSize":10968,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/potw2642a.jpg","FileSize":6684,"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":"2606_Z8_9416-cc","Title":"The ELT’s main structure","Description":"

At the heart of ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) lies its main structure, an enormous frame intended to hold the ELT’s five mirrors and instruments. In this photo from June 2026, we see the structure from the top: the large horizontal cell at the bottom will hold the main mirror (M1), while the M3, M4 and M5 mirrors will be inside the vertical tower in the middle. M2, the secondary mirror, will be hanging upside down from the spider structure towards the top of the image. Engineers — from Italian consortium ACe (Cimolai, Astaldi) — had to resolve challenging requirements to design the structure, ensuring it was both stiff enough to be stable and light enough to not buckle under its own weight. Recently, this giant structure was successfully rotated about its vertical axis, a key test to ensure the ELT can point at all areas of the southern sky.

","Credit":"ESO/A. Russell","PublicationDate":"2026-10-14T12:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory : Telescope"],"Name":["Extremely Large Telescope"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/2606_Z8_9416-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/2606_Z8_9416-cc.tif","FileSize":272717148,"Dimensions":[8256,5504],"ProjectionType":"Tan","Checksum":"1d1317f02822da5d0f9341dd85bff6588894978065b3aa12d878ee3fbdddae7d"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/2606_Z8_9416-cc.jpg","FileSize":13223229,"Dimensions":[8256,5504],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/2606_Z8_9416-cc.jpg","FileSize":365343,"Dimensions":[1280.0,854.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/2606_Z8_9416-cc.jpg","FileSize":15916,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/2606_Z8_9416-cc.jpg","FileSize":5315,"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":"ann26009f","Title":"Last segment enters production at Safran Reosc","Description":"

The segments of the main mirror of ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) start their life as blanks produced by SCHOTT in Germany before being transported to Safran Reosc’s facilities near Poitiers, France. There, the blanks are figured, shaped and polished to extreme precision and are attached to their supports. This photo, taken in September 2026, shows the last M1 segment entering production at Safran Reosc. In total, 931 segment blanks complete this process.

","Credit":"ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-10-14T12:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology"],"Name":["Mirror"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/ann26009f/","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/ann26009f.tif","FileSize":26569020,"Dimensions":[4096,2160],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/ann26009f.jpg","FileSize":1570384,"Dimensions":[4096,2160],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/ann26009f.jpg","FileSize":161283,"Dimensions":[1280.0,675.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/ann26009f.jpg","FileSize":13704,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/ann26009f.jpg","FileSize":5327,"Dimensions":[60.0,32.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"ann26009g","Title":"ELT main mirror segment ready to be lifted","Description":"

This photo, taken in September 2026 at Safran Reosc’s premises near Poitiers, shows a polished M1 segment about to be lifted into its transport box.

","Credit":"ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-10-14T12:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology"],"Name":["Mirror"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/ann26009g/","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/ann26009g.tif","FileSize":26574364,"Dimensions":[4096,2160],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/ann26009g.jpg","FileSize":1514569,"Dimensions":[4096,2160],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/ann26009g.jpg","FileSize":166547,"Dimensions":[1280.0,675.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/ann26009g.jpg","FileSize":14083,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/ann26009g.jpg","FileSize":5227,"Dimensions":[60.0,32.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"ann26009d","Title":"Mirror segment is added to the shelves at the ELT Technical Facility","Description":"

ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) is being built in Chile’s Atacama Desert, about 20km away from Paranal Observatory, where the ELT Technical Facility is located. This photo from early October 2026 shows a box containing an M1 segment and its support structure being stored on the huge shelves at the Facility.

","Credit":"P. Conceicao/ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-10-14T12:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology"],"Name":["Mirror"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/ann26009d/","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/ann26009d.tif","FileSize":36616724,"Dimensions":[3024,4032],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/ann26009d.jpg","FileSize":3640315,"Dimensions":[3024,4032],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/ann26009d.jpg","FileSize":608942,"Dimensions":[1280.0,1707.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/ann26009d.jpg","FileSize":18678,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/ann26009d.jpg","FileSize":8103,"Dimensions":[60.0,80.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"ann26009a","Title":"ELT Technical Facility at Paranal with the latest batch of M1 segments","Description":"

This photo from early October 2026 shows the latest batch of M1 segments inside the ELT Technical Facility, a large storage, integration and coating facility at ESO’s Paranal Observatory, around 20km away from the place where ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) is being erected. Among other things, the facility is used to verify and store the hundreds of mirror segments of the main mirror of the ELT (M1), as well as to coat and, in the future, recoat, all of these segments. Each of the white boxes in this image holds an M1 segment, together with its support structure.

","Credit":"ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-10-14T12:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology"],"Name":["ELT Technical Facility","Mirror"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/ann26009a/","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/ann26009a.tif","FileSize":15349360,"Dimensions":[3936,2624],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/ann26009a.jpg","FileSize":2816660,"Dimensions":[3936,2624],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/ann26009a.jpg","FileSize":348940,"Dimensions":[1280.0,854.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/ann26009a.jpg","FileSize":18531,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/ann26009a.jpg","FileSize":6191,"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":"ann26009c","Title":"ESO staff inspect segment of the main mirror of ESO's Extremely Large Telescope","Description":"

This photo from October 2026 shows the unboxing and inspection of an M1 segment inside the ELT Technical Facility, a large storage, integration and coating facility at ESO’s Paranal Observatory, around 20km away from the place where ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) is being erected.

","Credit":"ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-10-14T12:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology"],"Name":["Mirror"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/ann26009c/","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/ann26009c.tif","FileSize":12205446,"Dimensions":[3936,2624],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/ann26009c.jpg","FileSize":2206092,"Dimensions":[3936,2624],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/ann26009c.jpg","FileSize":266195,"Dimensions":[1280.0,854.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/ann26009c.jpg","FileSize":14945,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/ann26009c.jpg","FileSize":5729,"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":"ann26009b","Title":"Container of mirror segments leaving Antofagasta Port","Description":"

The mirror segments of ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) arrive in Chile at the Port of Antofagasta, the closest port to ESO’s Paranal Observatory. This photo from early October 2026 shows a thermally controlled container full of M1 segments about to be transported from the port to the ELT Technical Facility at Paranal.

","Credit":"P. Conceicao/ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-10-14T12:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology"],"Name":["Mirror"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/ann26009b/","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/ann26009b.tif","FileSize":36612936,"Dimensions":[4032,3024],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/ann26009b.jpg","FileSize":2371817,"Dimensions":[4032,3024],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/ann26009b.jpg","FileSize":273999,"Dimensions":[1280.0,960.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/ann26009b.jpg","FileSize":14655,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/ann26009b.jpg","FileSize":6218,"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":"2606_Z8_9853-cc","Title":"Perfecting mirror segments for the ELT","Description":"

The colossal 39-metre-diameter main mirror of ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) will consist of 798 individual mirror segments. Before the segments can work together as a single mirror, they undergo a complex coating process at the ELT Technical Facility at ESO’s Paranal Observatory in Chile’s Atacama Desert, a few kilometres from the ELT’s construction site. Each segment is coated with a shiny silver layer for reflectivity, as well as nickel chromium and silicon nitride to limit tarnishing and to help the coating stick. Here technicians watched over a segment as it undergoes one step in a process that takes about two hours overall. 

","Credit":"ESO/A. Russell","PublicationDate":"2026-10-14T12:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology"],"Name":["ELT Technical Facility"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/2606_Z8_9853-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/2606_Z8_9853-cc.tif","FileSize":272695624,"Dimensions":[8256,5504],"ProjectionType":"Tan","Checksum":"21ad808f1215193f4b525350db3b77235eb364543df55d09e752b1abcf4598e9"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/2606_Z8_9853-cc.jpg","FileSize":7581484,"Dimensions":[8256,5504],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/2606_Z8_9853-cc.jpg","FileSize":223064,"Dimensions":[1280.0,854.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/2606_Z8_9853-cc.jpg","FileSize":14299,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/2606_Z8_9853-cc.jpg","FileSize":5729,"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":"ann26009e","Title":"Status of the ELT M1 segments as of 27 September 2026","Description":"

This diagram shows the status of the primary mirror (M1) of ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) as of 27 September 2026. The M1 consists of 798 segments arranged into a 39 m-wide mirror, plus an extra set of 133 segments that will be exchanged during the recoating process to avoid leaving holes in the M1. All the segment blanks have been cast. The blanks are then figured, polished and cut into hexagons; the circular yellow symbols in this diagram correspond to blanks that have not been cut yet. Finally, the segments are mounted on their supports. Currently 317 segments are packed and, once they have been successfully inspected by ESO, they will be shipped to Chile. Out of the 558 shipped segments, on 27 September 450 were already at the ELT Technical Facility in Chile, and the rest are en route.

","Credit":"Safran Reosc/ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-10-14T12:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology"],"Name":["Mirror"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/ann26009e/","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/ann26009e.tif","FileSize":3690408,"Dimensions":[3200,1634],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/ann26009e.jpg","FileSize":794274,"Dimensions":[3200,1634],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/ann26009e.jpg","FileSize":128787,"Dimensions":[1280.0,654.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/ann26009e.jpg","FileSize":11737,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/ann26009e.jpg","FileSize":5516,"Dimensions":[60.0,31.0],"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":"potw2641a","Title":"Massive antenna, silent mirror","Description":"

In today’s Picture of the Week, the decommissioned Swedish-ESO Submillimetre Telescope (SEST), at ESO's La Silla Observatory in Chile’s Atacama Desert, shows its 15-metre diameter surface, reflecting the starry night sky of one of the most pristine sites for astronomical observations on Earth.

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SEST was, at the time of its first light in 1987, the only large telescope in the southern hemisphere designed for submillimetre astronomy. It studied radiation with longer wavelengths than visible light, coming from cold clouds of gas and dust where stars form. To catch these weak signals and produce sharp images, large collecting areas are needed, resulting in telescopes as massive as SEST. “Despite knowing about its 15-meter diameter beforehand, I was amazed by its size,” says José Rodrigues, visiting astronomer at La Silla and photographer who captured this image.

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While no longer in operation, SEST remains a silent mirror of La Silla’s dark night sky, coloured here by the faint natural airglow coming from atoms in our atmosphere.

","Credit":"J. Rodrigues/ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-10-12T04:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Sky Phenomenon : Night Sky : Night glow","Unspecified : Technology : Observatory"],"Name":["Swedish–ESO Submillimetre Telescope"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw2641a/","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/potw2641a.tif","FileSize":20763626,"Dimensions":[4110,2740],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/potw2641a.jpg","FileSize":3413360,"Dimensions":[4110,2740],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/potw2641a.jpg","FileSize":256600,"Dimensions":[1280.0,854.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/potw2641a.jpg","FileSize":10045,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/potw2641a.jpg","FileSize":4942,"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":"potw2640a","Title":"A swirling galaxy","Description":"

Like a portal to another dimension, a hypnotising swirl features in today’s Picture of the Week. This is the spiral galaxy M83, also known as the Southern Pinwheel, located approximately 15 million light-years away. It is one of the brightest galaxies in the night sky, but this image –– taken with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), in which ESO is a partner –– doesn’t show how M83 looks in the light our eyes can see. Instead, it depicts the light emitted by cold gas molecules, the ingredients of star formation.

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Astronomers are interested in molecular gas clouds as virtually all stars are born from their collapse. Once stars form, they heat up their surroundings, making it harder for gas to condense and form further stars. This, combined with galactic dynamics that continually stirs gas, controls the growth of galaxies. ALMA allows astronomers to map how the density and temperature of these gas clouds change in different locations within a galaxy, such as the central regions, the spiral arms, or the space between them. This in turn helps us understand whether stars form differently in different galactic environments.

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M83 closely resembles our own galaxy, the Milky Way. Since M83 appears nearly face-on in the sky, astronomers enjoy a privileged view to study whether the recipe to turn gas into stars is universal or changes within M83.

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Links

\r\n","Credit":"ALMA(ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)/J. Koda et al.","PublicationDate":"2026-10-05T04:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Local Universe : Galaxy : Type : Spiral"],"Name":["M83"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw2640a/","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/potw2640a.tif","FileSize":50180026,"Dimensions":[2903,2879],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/potw2640a.jpg","FileSize":1169186,"Dimensions":[2903,2879],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/potw2640a.jpg","FileSize":204450,"Dimensions":[1280.0,1270.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/potw2640a.jpg","FileSize":12082,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/potw2640a.jpg","FileSize":5568,"Dimensions":[60.0,60.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"}],"ObservationData":{"Spatial":{"ReferenceDimension":[2903.0,2879.0]}}}]},{"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":"potw2640b","Title":"The M83 galaxy in visible light (crop)","Description":"

This image shows the M83 galaxy in visible light, captured with the Wide Field Imager at ESO's La Silla Observatory in Chile. This is a cropped version of an image with a wider field of view.

\r\n

Links

\r\n","Credit":"ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-10-05T04:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Local Universe : Galaxy : Type : Spiral"],"Name":["M83"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw2640b/","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/potw2640b.tif","FileSize":20276082,"Dimensions":[2903,2879],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/potw2640b.jpg","FileSize":2989950,"Dimensions":[2903,2879],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/potw2640b.jpg","FileSize":304365,"Dimensions":[1280.0,1270.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/potw2640b.jpg","FileSize":12628,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/potw2640b.jpg","FileSize":5457,"Dimensions":[60.0,60.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"}],"ObservationData":{"Spatial":{"ReferenceDimension":[2903.0,2879.0]}}}]},{"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":"annlocal26006a-es-cl","Title":"Foto oficial del evento Chile Potencia Turística","Description":"

Foto oficial del evento Chile Potencia Turística en las oficinas de ESO en Vitacura, Santiago. De izquierda a derecha: Arturo Natho, gerente general de Copec; Lea Giménez, representante del Banco de Desarrollo de América (CAF) en Chile; Ignacio Salazar Vicuña, gerente general de Territoria; Itziar de Gregorio-Monsalvo, representante de ESO en Chile; María Paz Lagos, subsecretaria de turismo; Daniel Mas, biministro de economía, fomento y turismo, y minería; Guido Girardi, cofundador de Congreso Futuro y vicepresidente ejecutivo de Fundación Encuentros del Futuro (FEF); Elvira Chadwick, socióloga, investigadora y directora de AIM Chile; Felipe Howard, socio fundador de Latitud 90, Southbound y Patagonia Camp; Gonzalo Muñoz, Champion de Alto Nivel para la acción climática de la COP25 y Cofundador de AmbitionLoop.

","Credit":"ESO/N.Schafer","PublicationDate":"2026-09-30T19:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : People"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/chile/images/annlocal26006a-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/annlocal26006a-es-cl.tif","FileSize":14725722,"Dimensions":[3936,2624],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/annlocal26006a-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":2652656,"Dimensions":[3936,2624],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/annlocal26006a-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":263826,"Dimensions":[1280.0,854.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/annlocal26006a-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":14554,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/annlocal26006a-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":5600,"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":"annlocal26006c-es-cl","Title":"Panel de discusión en el evento Chile Potencia Turística.","Description":"

Panel de discusión en el evento del lanzamiento de Chile Potencia Turística en las oficinas de ESO en Vitacura. De izquierda a derecha: Arturo Natho, gerente general de Copec; Elvira Chadwick, socióloga, investigadora y directora de AIM Chile; Felipe Howard, socio fundador de Latitud 90, Southbound y Patagonia Camp; Ignacio Salazar Vicuña, gerente general de Territoria; Gonzalo Muñoz, Champion de Alto Nivel para la acción climática de la COP25 y Cofundador de AmbitionLoop.

","Credit":"ESO/N.Schafer","PublicationDate":"2026-09-30T19:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : People"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/chile/images/annlocal26006c-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/annlocal26006c-es-cl.tif","FileSize":9349054,"Dimensions":[3008,2000],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/annlocal26006c-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":1882782,"Dimensions":[3008,2000],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/annlocal26006c-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":216580,"Dimensions":[1280.0,852.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/annlocal26006c-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":16300,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/annlocal26006c-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":5780,"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":"annlocal26006d-es-cl","Title":"Salón lleno en evento Chile Potencia Turística.","Description":"

Salón Urania lleno de público presenciando el panel de discusión del evento Chile Potencia Turística en las oficinas de ESO en Vitacura.

","Credit":"ESO/N.Schafer","PublicationDate":"2026-09-30T19:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : People"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/chile/images/annlocal26006d-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/annlocal26006d-es-cl.tif","FileSize":14181314,"Dimensions":[3936,2624],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/annlocal26006d-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":2402771,"Dimensions":[3936,2624],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/annlocal26006d-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":232507,"Dimensions":[1280.0,854.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/annlocal26006d-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":15167,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/annlocal26006d-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":5795,"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":"annlocal26006b-es-cl","Title":"Itziar de Gregorio-Monsalvo en evento Chile Potencia Turística","Description":"

Itiziar de Gregorio-Monsalvo, representante de ESO en Chile dando las palabras de bienvenida en el evento Chile Potencia Turística en las oficinas de Vitacura de ESO.

","Credit":"ESO/N.Schafer","PublicationDate":"2026-09-30T19:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : People"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/chile/images/annlocal26006b-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/annlocal26006b-es-cl.tif","FileSize":17529578,"Dimensions":[3936,2624],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/annlocal26006b-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":2847218,"Dimensions":[3936,2624],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/annlocal26006b-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":187595,"Dimensions":[1280.0,854.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/annlocal26006b-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":13865,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/annlocal26006b-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":5592,"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":"ann26008b","Title":"Visit of science ministers to ESO Headquarters (extended group photo)","Description":"

From left to right: ESO Institutional Affairs Officer Beatrice Kioko, ESO Director of Engineering Sara Krauss, MPE Director and Nobel Laureate Reinhard Genzel, Hungary’s Minister for Science and Technology Zoltán Tanács, Ghana’s Minister for Environment, Science and Technology Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings, Germany's Federal Minister of Research, Technology and Space Dorothee Bär, ESO Director General Andreas Kaufer, Austria’s Federal Minister for Women, Science and Research Eva-Maria Holzleitner, Kenya’s Principal Secretary for Science, Research and Innovation Shaukat Abdulrazak, ESO Director of Administration Claudia Burger, ESO Director for Science Jarle Brinchmann, ESO Head of the Executive Office of the Director General Laura Comendador Frutos.

","Credit":"ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-09-29T14:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : People"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/ann26008b/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":29,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/ann26008b.tif","FileSize":198354448,"Dimensions":[7699,4293],"ProjectionType":"Tan","Checksum":"b7c3a0bfba2ed7d3520045cdcb7026e4f9fe0763852beda1cb5f51d294bd578c"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/ann26008b.jpg","FileSize":7965228,"Dimensions":[7699,4293],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/ann26008b.jpg","FileSize":193126,"Dimensions":[1280.0,714.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/ann26008b.jpg","FileSize":14122,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/ann26008b.jpg","FileSize":5280,"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":"ann26008c","Title":"Ministers, their delegations and other guests with ESO staff at the ESO Supernova","Description":"

On 29 September 2026, during a visit by science ministers to the ESO Headquarters, the group posed for a photo in front of the ESO Supernova Planetarium & Visitor Centre.

","Credit":"ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-09-29T14:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : People"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/ann26008c/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":27,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/ann26008c.tif","FileSize":156490128,"Dimensions":[6315,4129],"ProjectionType":"Tan","Checksum":"5f2ae92a2028423743d536cfc20284e16769cc3146dcbecfb877d6ec079e4ada"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/ann26008c.jpg","FileSize":7638858,"Dimensions":[6315,4129],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/ann26008c.jpg","FileSize":279633,"Dimensions":[1280.0,837.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/ann26008c.jpg","FileSize":13449,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/ann26008c.jpg","FileSize":5248,"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":"ann26008a","Title":"Visit of science ministers to ESO Headquarters","Description":"

From left to right: MPE Director and Nobel Laureate Reinhard Genzel, Hungary’s Minister for Science and Technology Zoltán Tanács, Ghana’s Minister for Environment, Science and Technology Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings, Germany's Federal Minister of Research, Technology and Space Dorothee Bär, ESO Director General Andreas Kaufer, Austria’s Federal Minister for Women, Science and Research Eva-Maria Holzleitner and Kenya’s Principal Secretary for Science, Research and Innovation Shaukat Abdulrazak.

","Credit":"ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-09-29T14:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : People"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/ann26008a/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":34,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/ann26008a.tif","FileSize":177173446,"Dimensions":[6994,4221],"ProjectionType":"Tan","Checksum":"0c5f74cd94317ec8ba56a5753f616da74f54ec6c295ae3da486d4992eed82353"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/ann26008a.jpg","FileSize":7242974,"Dimensions":[6994,4221],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/ann26008a.jpg","FileSize":208843,"Dimensions":[1280.0,773.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/ann26008a.jpg","FileSize":14104,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/ann26008a.jpg","FileSize":5563,"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":"potw2639a","Title":"Dark clouds and a starry night sky","Description":"

The centre of the Milky Way emerges between two telescopes at ESO’s La Silla Observatory, in Chile’s Atacama Desert, with splatters of light embedded in dark clouds.

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Two gleaming nebulae can be seen between the telescopes: the Trifid Nebula (left) and the Lagoon Nebula (right). They can be found in the constellation Sagittarius, and their red colour comes from hydrogen atoms ionised by young stars in these clouds. The Trifid nebula also shows a blue tint caused by dust reflecting the light of some of these stars. But most of the dust in this image appears as dark clouds: when not lit up by nearby stars, interstellar dust clouds block the light behind them, thus appearing black against the starry background.

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The telescope to the left is ESO’s New Technology Telescope (NTT). It was a pioneer in active optics, a technology that maintains the telescope mirror’s shape during observations despite deformations due to weight or temperature. To the right we see the ESO 3.6-meter telescope, home to the exoplanet hunting instruments HARPS and NIRPS, and a very important telescope for the astronomer who took this picture, José Rodrigues. “It is very special as I grew up with a poster of the 3.6 m in my room, dreaming of using it to find exoplanets” –– a dream he has now realised as an exoplanet researcher.

","Credit":"J. Rodrigues/ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-09-28T04:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Milky Way : Nebula : Appearance : Emission : H II Region","Milky Way : Sky Phenomenon : Night Sky : Milky Way","Unspecified : Technology : Observatory"],"Name":["ESO 3.6-metre telescope","Lagoon Nebula","La Silla","Milky Way","New Technology Telescope","Sagittarius","Trifid Nebula"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw2639a/","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/potw2639a.tif","FileSize":41967642,"Dimensions":[5404,3604],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/potw2639a.jpg","FileSize":8355583,"Dimensions":[5404,3604],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/potw2639a.jpg","FileSize":350693,"Dimensions":[1280.0,854.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/potw2639a.jpg","FileSize":11593,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/potw2639a.jpg","FileSize":4967,"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":"_D754056","Title":"Soldering at the ESO Open House Day 2024","Description":"

Engineers from ESO are helping children soldering their own ESO lamp at the ESO Open House Day on 3 October 2024. The children received a building package and, with the help of ESO engineers, could build their own light-up ESO logo. It has LED lights on the stars of the logo, which will light up when switched on.

","Credit":"ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-09-25T09:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : People"],"Name":["Open House Day"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/_D754056/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":45,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/_D754056.tif","FileSize":22256144,"Dimensions":[6016,4016],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/_D754056.jpg","FileSize":3402554,"Dimensions":[6016,4016],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/_D754056.jpg","FileSize":162025,"Dimensions":[1280.0,855.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/_D754056.jpg","FileSize":13099,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/_D754056.jpg","FileSize":5742,"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":"annlang26002a-es-cl-en","Title":"German Federal Minister of Research, Technology and Space and Bavarian State Minister for Science and the Arts at Paranal","Description":"

Dorothee Bär, Federal Minister of Research, Technology and Space of Germany (centre), Markus Blume, Bavarian State Minister for Science and the Arts (fourth from right), Thomas Reiter, a former European Space Agency astronaut currently heading the Space Department at the German Federal Minister of Research, Technology and Space (fifth from left), Carsten Körber, a Member of the German Bundestag (third from right), Susanne Fries-Gaier, German Ambassador to Chile (second from left), Matthias Steinmetz, scientific chairman of the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP) and a German representative in the ESO Council (third from left), and Patrick Cramer, President of the Max Planck Society (second from right) visited ESO's Paranal Observatory in February 2025. Here, the visitors pose for a photo at the Very Large Telescope platform with ESO Director General Xavier Barcons (fourth from left) and Andreas Kaufer, ESO Director of Operations and future Director General (fifth from left). 

","Credit":"ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-09-25T09:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : People"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/annlang26002a-es-cl/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":50,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/annlang26002a-es-cl.tif","FileSize":17939780,"Dimensions":[3936,2552],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/annlang26002a-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":2811627,"Dimensions":[3936,2552],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/annlang26002a-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":237079,"Dimensions":[1280.0,830.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/annlang26002a-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":12548,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/annlang26002a-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":5454,"Dimensions":[60.0,39.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"potw2638a","Title":"A wheel fit for a giant","Description":"

In a cleanroom at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE) in Garching, Germany, two engineers look up at the heart of MICADO. One of the first instruments that will operate on ESO's Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) in Chile’s Atacama Desert, MICADO will observe the Universe in the infrared, and each slot in this giant rotating wheel carries a different filter that lets light through at different colours or wavelengths.

\r\n

This so-called Centre Wheel Mechanism was built by the Netherlands Research School of Astronomy (NOVA), part of the MICADO consortium, led by MPE. What makes this photograph so astounding is the sheer scale of the device compared to the engineers working on it, Jeongha Lee and Federico Biondi. In today’s telescopes, a filter wheel is typically a few tens of centimetres across. This mechanism measures about 1.5 metres — an extremely large telescope, it turns out, also demands extremely large instruments.

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Size is only part of the challenge. Since MICADO observes at infrared wavelengths, the mechanism has to work at cryogenic temperatures to prevent its thermal glow from contaminating the observations. But materials behave differently at very low temperatures, which complicates the accurate positioning of the optical elements in this wheel. Some of them, like special masks that will be used to observe planets around other stars, need to be placed with an accuracy of just a few microns, which is less than the width of a human hair.

\r\n

Once in place in Chile, MICADO will image the Universe with a sensitivity comparable to the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope, but six times sharper. It will pick out individual stars in distant galaxies, characterise planets outside the Solar System, and track the stars orbiting the supermassive black hole at the centre of the Milky Way. For now, though, it is taking shape in Garching, a few hundred metres from ESO’s Headquarters, a whole hemisphere away from the mountain where it will eventually get to work.

","Credit":"MPE/NOVA/F. Kamphues","PublicationDate":"2026-09-21T04:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory : Instrument","Unspecified : People : Scientist"],"Name":["MICADO"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw2638a/","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/potw2638a.tif","FileSize":47237590,"Dimensions":[6048,4024],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/potw2638a.jpg","FileSize":5294315,"Dimensions":[6048,4024],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/potw2638a.jpg","FileSize":317921,"Dimensions":[1280.0,852.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/potw2638a.jpg","FileSize":17797,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/potw2638a.jpg","FileSize":5951,"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":"DSC00058_5804","Title":"Starry sky over Paranal as seen from Paranal’s Visitor Center","Description":"

View of the starry sky at the Paranal Observatory. The photo was taken from the side of the visitor center. In the background, you can see the Paranal Technology Museum, located inside an old train car.

","Credit":"ESO/N.Schafer","PublicationDate":"2026-09-15T13:38:51.398438Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified"],"Name":["Paranal"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/DSC00058_5804/","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/DSC00058_5804.tif","FileSize":2847792,"Dimensions":[1616,1080],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/DSC00058_5804.jpg","FileSize":647595,"Dimensions":[1616,1080],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/DSC00058_5804.jpg","FileSize":308311,"Dimensions":[1280.0,856.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/DSC00058_5804.jpg","FileSize":9695,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/DSC00058_5804.jpg","FileSize":4543,"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":"potw2637b","Title":"A starry night, in another galaxy","Description":"

When we look up at our own night sky, most of the stars we see are the familiar residents of our Milky Way galaxy. Only a few more distant objects, like the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, our neighbouring galaxies, peek into our little corner of the cosmos. What this Picture of the Week shows us is a completely different stellar landscape, zooming in to the centre of the Small Magellanic Cloud to reveal what looks like a sky filled with millions of foreign stars.

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The central regions of galaxies are hard to study: dust partially blocks our view, and stars are so densely packed that it’s difficult to tell them apart. To uncover these hidden stars in the Magellanic Clouds, astronomers used ESO's Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA). Over several years, VISTA's high-resolution infrared camera pierced through the dust to image the cores of these galaxies, finding a treasure trove of information about the inner lives of our nearest galactic neighbours.

\r\n

The team, led by Maria-Rosa Cioni, a professor at the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics in Potsdam, Germany, observed these galactic cores about 40 times over this extended period. With these data, they could then measure the subtle motion of stars in the cores, which is key to pinpoint the exact location of the centres of these galaxies. As well as this, by monitoring the periodic changes in the brightness of certain stars, which can be used to measure distances, astronomers will be able to reconstruct the 3D structure of the cores of these galaxies. Now that this unique dataset has been publicly released, the wider astronomical community can also access the information within, potentially digging up more secrets from deep inside our cosmic companions.

\r\n

Links

\r\n","Credit":"ESO/M.-R. Cioni et al.","PublicationDate":"2026-09-14T04:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Local Universe : Galaxy : Size : Dwarf"],"Name":["Small Magellanic Cloud"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw2637b/","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/potw2637b.tif","FileSize":735461522,"Dimensions":[28902,13052],"ProjectionType":"Observation","Checksum":"4214a2a3b20e7e9627f9ec39f8f8a3f4172aa48510017dd674b4553834b6751c"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/potw2637b.jpg","FileSize":184809164,"Dimensions":[28902,13052],"ProjectionType":"Observation","Checksum":"c951dc70c965a3bb7aac72f3898d3c1616c7507964c06db2f104caec5060293d"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/potw2637b.jpg","FileSize":247517,"Dimensions":[1280.0,579.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/potw2637b.jpg","FileSize":10049,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/potw2637b.jpg","FileSize":4191,"Dimensions":[60.0,28.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"}],"ObservationData":{"Spatial":{"ReferenceDimension":[28902.0,13052.0]}}}]},{"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":"potw2637a","Title":"A starry night, in another galaxy","Description":"

When we look up at our own night sky, most of the stars we see are the familiar residents of our Milky Way galaxy. Only a few more distant objects, like the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, our neighbouring galaxies, peek into our little corner of the cosmos. What this Picture of the Week shows us is a completely different stellar landscape, zooming in to the centre of the Large Magellanic Cloud to reveal what looks like a sky filled with millions of foreign stars.

\r\n

The central regions of galaxies are hard to study: dust partially blocks our view, and stars are so densely packed that it’s difficult to tell them apart. To uncover these hidden stars in the Magellanic Clouds, astronomers used ESO's Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA). Over several years, VISTA's high-resolution infrared camera pierced through the dust to image the cores of these galaxies, finding a treasure trove of information about the inner lives of our nearest galactic neighbours.

\r\n

The team, led by Maria-Rosa Cioni, a professor at the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics in Potsdam, Germany, observed these galactic cores about 40 times over this extended period. With these data, they could then measure the subtle motion of stars in the cores, which is key to pinpoint the exact location of the centres of these galaxies. As well as this, by monitoring the periodic changes in the brightness of certain stars, which can be used to measure distances, astronomers will be able to reconstruct the 3D structure of the cores of these galaxies. Now that this unique dataset has been publicly released, the wider astronomical community can also access the information within, potentially digging up more secrets from deep inside our cosmic companions.

\r\n

Links

\r\n","Credit":"ESO/M.-R. Cioni et al.","PublicationDate":"2026-09-14T04:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Local Universe : Galaxy : Size : Dwarf"],"Name":["Large Magellanic Cloud"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw2637a/","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/potw2637a.tif","FileSize":759245516,"Dimensions":[28871,13063],"ProjectionType":"Observation","Checksum":"40a7a41638f38d29b14d483aec6c1fd4ed2c6e785eff520d05132bc00a43fa6e"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/potw2637a.jpg","FileSize":186078384,"Dimensions":[28871,13063],"ProjectionType":"Observation","Checksum":"88c5fceb394f1e8fec0ad61cac341b9c43bf5e616920657212b65807293c00fb"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/potw2637a.jpg","FileSize":251141,"Dimensions":[1280.0,580.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/potw2637a.jpg","FileSize":10238,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/potw2637a.jpg","FileSize":4221,"Dimensions":[60.0,28.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"}],"ObservationData":{"Spatial":{"ReferenceDimension":[28871.0,13063.0]}}}]},{"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":"NightToursE","Title":"Sunset from the Very Large Telescope (VLT) platform","Description":"

Sunset from the Very Large Telescope (VLT) platform.

","Credit":"ESO/S. Troncoso","PublicationDate":"2026-09-11T13:02:57.283621Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Sky Phenomenon : Light Phenomenon : Sunrise-Sunset"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/NightToursE/","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/NightToursE.tif","FileSize":20469218,"Dimensions":[4284,5712],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/NightToursE.jpg","FileSize":1919712,"Dimensions":[4284,5712],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/NightToursE.jpg","FileSize":118083,"Dimensions":[1280.0,1707.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/NightToursE.jpg","FileSize":6645,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/NightToursE.jpg","FileSize":4660,"Dimensions":[60.0,80.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"NightToursD","Title":"Visitors tour the control room at ESO's Paranal Observatory","Description":"

Visitors tour the control room at ESO's Paranal Observatory.

","Credit":"ESO/S. Troncoso","PublicationDate":"2026-09-11T13:02:53.397748Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory"],"Name":["VLT Control Room"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/NightToursD/","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/NightToursD.tif","FileSize":33598236,"Dimensions":[5712,4284],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/NightToursD.jpg","FileSize":4607821,"Dimensions":[5712,4284],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/NightToursD.jpg","FileSize":279403,"Dimensions":[1280.0,960.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/NightToursD.jpg","FileSize":14149,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/NightToursD.jpg","FileSize":5821,"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":"NightToursC","Title":"Visitors get an inside look at one of the Unit Telescopes (UT)","Description":"

Visitors get an inside look at one of the Unit Telescopes (UT).

","Credit":"ESO/S. Troncoso","PublicationDate":"2026-09-11T13:02:48.804425Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory"],"Name":["Very Large Telescope"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/NightToursC/","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/NightToursC.tif","FileSize":34005416,"Dimensions":[5712,4284],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/NightToursC.jpg","FileSize":4681323,"Dimensions":[5712,4284],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/NightToursC.jpg","FileSize":351780,"Dimensions":[1280.0,960.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/NightToursC.jpg","FileSize":17194,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/NightToursC.jpg","FileSize":6081,"Dimensions":[60.0,45.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"NightToursB","Title":"Visitors tour the Very Large Telescope (VLT) platform","Description":"

Visitors tour the Very Large Telescope (VLT) platform. Unit Telescope 1 (UT1) is visible in the photo.

","Credit":"ESO/S. Troncoso","PublicationDate":"2026-09-11T13:02:44Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory"],"Name":["Very Large Telescope"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/NightToursB/","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/NightToursB.tif","FileSize":16822718,"Dimensions":[4032,3024],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/NightToursB.jpg","FileSize":2430615,"Dimensions":[4032,3024],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/NightToursB.jpg","FileSize":271318,"Dimensions":[1280.0,960.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/NightToursB.jpg","FileSize":12860,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/NightToursB.jpg","FileSize":5595,"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":"NightToursA","Title":"Visitors gather in downtown Antofagasta","Description":"

Visitors gather in downtown Antofagasta, one of the pickup points for the night tour of Paranal. A bus will take them to the Observatory.

","Credit":"ESO/S. Troncoso","PublicationDate":"2026-09-11T13:02:40.571444Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/NightToursA/","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/NightToursA.tif","FileSize":34040446,"Dimensions":[5712,4284],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/NightToursA.jpg","FileSize":4469240,"Dimensions":[5712,4284],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/NightToursA.jpg","FileSize":303733,"Dimensions":[1280.0,960.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/NightToursA.jpg","FileSize":15220,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/NightToursA.jpg","FileSize":5846,"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":"potw2636a","Title":"It’s a new MOON(S)!","Description":"

Today’s Picture of the Week celebrates the intricate design of the Multi Object Optical and Near-infrared Spectrograph, or MOONS, a new instrument at ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) that recently performed its first observations. Shown here, suspended in darkness, are two of MOONS’ infrared cameras. These multi-tiered shiny metal structures, covered in bolts and cables, will be used to probe the construction of our galaxy and those beyond.

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The centre of the Milky Way is shrouded in dust, which blocks visible light from inner stars passing through to us. By gathering a different type of light that can pass through this dust, called infrared, MOONS can investigate the properties of millions of these ‘hidden’ stars. This will enable astronomers to produce an accurate 3D map of the centre of our galaxy. MOONS will also be used to study millions of other galaxies, probing how they form and evolve at different ages of the Universe.

\r\n

How does MOONS’ design enable detailed observations of so many cosmic objects? By using around 1000 fibre-optic cables, each mounted on a robotic positioner that carefully points it to the exact location of an astronomical object, whose light is then fed from the VLT into two spectrographs. Spectrographs work like a prism creating a rainbow, splitting the light they receive into separate ‘colours’ (or wavelengths) to then be detected by cameras, like the ones in this image. The fingerprints of chemical elements encoded in the light can then be analysed in detail, revealing properties of cosmic objects like composition, mass, and velocity. To minimise contamination from sources of infrared light around the instrument, MOONS is kept very cold (between –143 and –233 degrees Celsius) thanks to a cryostat.

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MOONS was developed by an international consortium led by the Science and Technology Facilities Council's UK Astronomy Technology Centre. Reflecting on his image of the unique and powerful new instrument, photographer and ESO astronomer Luca Sbordone says: “I find that these objects are beautiful, it’s a beauty that comes from the cleverness, precision, dedication and accumulated knowledge needed to make them”.

\r\n

Links

\r\n","Credit":"L. Sbordone/ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-09-07T04:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory : Instrument"],"Name":["MOONS"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw2636a/","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/potw2636a.tif","FileSize":238964968,"Dimensions":[7728,5152],"ProjectionType":"Tan","Checksum":"b749d4fb17ffe2a52ca8e7d4c0d767b03cbdab9ef928ae8871097d95c9a6f9a9"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/potw2636a.jpg","FileSize":6118611,"Dimensions":[7728,5152],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/potw2636a.jpg","FileSize":268589,"Dimensions":[1280.0,854.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/potw2636a.jpg","FileSize":15243,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/potw2636a.jpg","FileSize":4814,"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":"ann26007d","Title":"Preview of MOONS spectra","Description":"

This photograph shows infrared spectra obtained by MOONS, as seen in the instrument’s console. Each row contains the spectrum of a different astronomical source, each captured by a different optical fibre. The bright vertical lines correspond to radiation emitted by atoms and molecules in Earth’s atmosphere shining at very specific wavelengths. The window at the bottom shows an individual spectrum in graphical form.

","Credit":"ESO/A. Bayo","PublicationDate":"2026-09-03T07:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/ann26007d/","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/ann26007d.tif","FileSize":5005292,"Dimensions":[1690,1120],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/ann26007d.jpg","FileSize":1012485,"Dimensions":[1690,1120],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/ann26007d.jpg","FileSize":415089,"Dimensions":[1280.0,849.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/ann26007d.jpg","FileSize":15177,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/ann26007d.jpg","FileSize":5603,"Dimensions":[60.0,40.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"}],"ObservationData":{"Spatial":{"ReferenceDimension":[1690.0,1120.0]}}}]},{"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":"ann26007f","Title":"The MOONS instrument and its team","Description":"

Members of the MOONS team from the UK Astronomy Technology Centre and ESO pose in front of the instrument, installed at one of the 8 m telescopes of ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT).

","Credit":"UK ATC/G. Soutar","PublicationDate":"2026-09-03T07:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : People : Scientist"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/ann26007f/","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/ann26007f.tif","FileSize":39935458,"Dimensions":[5870,3913],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/ann26007f.jpg","FileSize":5638950,"Dimensions":[5870,3913],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/ann26007f.jpg","FileSize":330645,"Dimensions":[1280.0,854.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/ann26007f.jpg","FileSize":19721,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/ann26007f.jpg","FileSize":6668,"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":"ann26007c","Title":"MOONS first light spectra","Description":"

This image shows some of the first spectra captured by the MOONS instrument at ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT). The background image was taken with the now-retired VIRCAM infrared camera, and shows Baade’s window, an area in the sky towards the centre of the Milky Way. The circles mark the position of the MOONS optical fibres. Each fibre captures the light of a single star and redirects it to one of two spectrographs, which decompose it into its constituent infrared colours or wavelengths. The inset shows the spectra of five stars, which exhibit the chemical fingerprints of sulphur (S), iron (Fe), titanium (Ti), silicon (Si), chromium (Cr) and magnesium (Mg).

","Credit":"ESO/MOONS team/VVV survey","PublicationDate":"2026-09-03T07:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Milky Way : Galaxy : Component : Center/Core"],"Name":["Baade Window"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/ann26007c/","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/ann26007c.tif","FileSize":17616922,"Dimensions":[4982,2562],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/ann26007c.jpg","FileSize":4128643,"Dimensions":[4982,2562],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/ann26007c.jpg","FileSize":276947,"Dimensions":[1280.0,659.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/ann26007c.jpg","FileSize":12638,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/ann26007c.jpg","FileSize":4468,"Dimensions":[60.0,31.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"}],"ObservationData":{"Spatial":{"ReferenceDimension":[4982.0,2562.0]}}}]},{"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":"ann26007e","Title":"MOONS team observing with the instrument","Description":"

Members of the MOONS team from the UK Astronomy Technology Centre and ESO observing with the instrument.

","Credit":"ESO/M. Cirasuolo","PublicationDate":"2026-09-03T07:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : People : Scientist"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/ann26007e/","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/ann26007e.tif","FileSize":13223480,"Dimensions":[3200,2220],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/ann26007e.jpg","FileSize":1671291,"Dimensions":[3200,2220],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/ann26007e.jpg","FileSize":280133,"Dimensions":[1280.0,888.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/ann26007e.jpg","FileSize":16752,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/ann26007e.jpg","FileSize":6345,"Dimensions":[60.0,42.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"ann26007a","Title":"The MOONS instrument at the VLT","Description":"

The MOONS instrument installed at one of the 8 m telescopes of ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT). The circular structure at the interface between the telescope and the instrument contains about 1000 optical fibres that can be accurately pointed to different objects within the telescope’s field of view. Their light is then fed into spectrographs at the back of the instrument.

","Credit":"UK ATC/M. Black","PublicationDate":"2026-09-03T07:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory : Instrument"],"Name":["MOONS"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/ann26007a/","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/ann26007a.tif","FileSize":12846130,"Dimensions":[4000,1848],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/ann26007a.jpg","FileSize":2397153,"Dimensions":[4000,1848],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/ann26007a.jpg","FileSize":267884,"Dimensions":[1280.0,592.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/ann26007a.jpg","FileSize":19154,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/ann26007a.jpg","FileSize":5530,"Dimensions":[60.0,28.0],"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":"ann26007b","Title":"MOONS first light observations","Description":"

This image shows Baade’s window, an area in the sky towards the centre of the Milky Way, the first field observed with the MOONS instrument at ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT). MOONS is installed at the VLT’s Unit Telescope 1, the large dome towards the centre of the image. The inset above the telescope shows Baade’s window in more detail. The background image within the inset was taken with the now-retired VIRCAM infrared camera. The circles mark the position of the MOONS optical fibres. Each fibre captures the light of a single star and redirects it to one of two spectrographs, which decompose it into its constituent infrared colours or wavelengths.

","Credit":"ESO/MOONS team/VVV survey/F. Char","PublicationDate":"2026-09-03T07:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Milky Way : Galaxy : Component : Center/Core","Unspecified : Technology : Observatory"],"Name":["Baade Window","Milky Way","Very Large Telescope"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/ann26007b/","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/ann26007b.tif","FileSize":36300150,"Dimensions":[6775,2996],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/ann26007b.jpg","FileSize":5759643,"Dimensions":[6775,2996],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/ann26007b.jpg","FileSize":229795,"Dimensions":[1280.0,567.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/ann26007b.jpg","FileSize":11384,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/ann26007b.jpg","FileSize":4430,"Dimensions":[60.0,27.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"annlang26009b-es-cl-en","Title":"Visitors at ESO's Paranal Observatory","Description":"

Visitors at ESO's Paranal Observatory. A group of people walks across the platform of the Very Large Telescope (ESO). Two Unit Telescopes (UT) can be seen.

","Credit":"ESO/N.Schafer","PublicationDate":"2026-09-02T14:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : People"],"Name":["Paranal"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/annlang26009b-es-cl/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":17,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/annlang26009b-es-cl.tif","FileSize":5814138,"Dimensions":[3164,2103],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/annlang26009b-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":972681,"Dimensions":[3164,2103],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/annlang26009b-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":188588,"Dimensions":[1280.0,851.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/annlang26009b-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":12597,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/annlang26009b-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":5144,"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":"ann26006a","Title":"Andreas Kaufer at ESO’s office in Vitacura, Chile","Description":"

ESO Director General Andreas Kaufer poses for a photo at the entrance of the ESO office in Vitacura, Santiago, Chile.

","Credit":"ESO/J. Porte","PublicationDate":"2026-09-01T12:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : People"],"Name":["ESO Director General"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/ann26006a/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":60,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/ann26006a.tif","FileSize":39947798,"Dimensions":[6720,4480],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/ann26006a.jpg","FileSize":4469332,"Dimensions":[6720,4480],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/ann26006a.jpg","FileSize":135801,"Dimensions":[1280.0,854.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/ann26006a.jpg","FileSize":9447,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/ann26006a.jpg","FileSize":4796,"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":"_DSF9440-2","Title":"Andreas Kaufer at the ELT","Description":"

Andreas Kaufer, Director of Operations and upcoming ESO Director General, in front of the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT). The ELT will see first light before the end of this decade.

","Credit":"ESO/F. Carrasco","PublicationDate":"2026-09-01T12:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : People"],"Name":["ESO Director General"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/_DSF9440-2/","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/_DSF9440-2.tif","FileSize":144031034,"Dimensions":[4000,6000],"ProjectionType":"Tan","Checksum":"673fd384ad82a3f442517f6761d073ce4816aca7e56298b81e8241ef2a930cbb"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/_DSF9440-2.jpg","FileSize":3566176,"Dimensions":[4000,6000],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/_DSF9440-2.jpg","FileSize":287249,"Dimensions":[1280.0,1920.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/_DSF9440-2.jpg","FileSize":12344,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/_DSF9440-2.jpg","FileSize":8185,"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":"ann26006c","Title":"Andreas Kaufer during a visit to the ELT","Description":"

ESO Director General Andreas Kaufer is seen here at the construction site of our Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), during a visit in his role as ESO Director of Operations in summer 2026.  

","Credit":"ESO/F. Carrasco","PublicationDate":"2026-09-01T12:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : People"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/ann26006c/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":60,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/ann26006c.tif","FileSize":26362266,"Dimensions":[5788,3908],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/ann26006c.jpg","FileSize":2928501,"Dimensions":[5788,3908],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/ann26006c.jpg","FileSize":143377,"Dimensions":[1280.0,865.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/ann26006c.jpg","FileSize":10305,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/ann26006c.jpg","FileSize":4911,"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":"ann26006d","Title":"Andreas Kaufer at the CTAO-South site","Description":"

ESO Director General Andreas Kaufer is seen here in front of the construction grounds of the Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory’s (CTAO’s) southern site, near ESO’s Paranal Observatory. The photo was taken during a visit in summer 2026, while Kaufer was ESO Director of Operations. 

","Credit":"ESO/F. Carrasco","PublicationDate":"2026-09-01T12:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : People"],"Name":["ESO Director General"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/ann26006d/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":60,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/ann26006d.tif","FileSize":36649320,"Dimensions":[6000,4000],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/ann26006d.jpg","FileSize":4095528,"Dimensions":[6000,4000],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/ann26006d.jpg","FileSize":165764,"Dimensions":[1280.0,854.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/ann26006d.jpg","FileSize":11627,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/ann26006d.jpg","FileSize":5064,"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":"DSC08962-cc","Title":"A snow-covered Paranal landscape","Description":"

Snow stretches across the mountains surrounding ESO’s Paranal Observatory, with the Very Large Telescope domes visible on the summit beneath a clear blue sky. ESO’s VISTA telescope stands alone on a separate hill to the right. Taken on 19 August 2026, the image shows the usually dry Atacama landscape transformed by a strikingly heavy covering of snow.

","Credit":"A. Canu/Cimolai/ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-08-31T04:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory"],"Name":["Cerro Paranal"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/DSC08962-cc/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":61,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/DSC08962-cc.tif","FileSize":62016132,"Dimensions":[3936,2624],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/DSC08962-cc.jpg","FileSize":2438696,"Dimensions":[3936,2624],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/DSC08962-cc.jpg","FileSize":203444,"Dimensions":[1280.0,854.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/DSC08962-cc.jpg","FileSize":9478,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/DSC08962-cc.jpg","FileSize":4596,"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":"DSC08945-cc","Title":"The ELT hidden in the clouds","Description":"

ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) is almost completely hidden by a blanket of clouds on the snow-covered Cerro Armazones. Taken on 19 August 2026, the image shows unusually cloudy conditions at the ELT construction, that quickly returned to the usual dryness typical of Chile’s Atacama Desert.

","Credit":"A. Canu/Cimolai/ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-08-31T04:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified"],"Name":["Extremely Large Telescope"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/DSC08945-cc/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":41,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/DSC08945-cc.tif","FileSize":62017628,"Dimensions":[3936,2624],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/DSC08945-cc.jpg","FileSize":1973537,"Dimensions":[3936,2624],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/DSC08945-cc.jpg","FileSize":146975,"Dimensions":[1280.0,854.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/DSC08945-cc.jpg","FileSize":8446,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/DSC08945-cc.jpg","FileSize":4730,"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":"2026-08-19_Paranal_neige_41-cc","Title":"Snow at Paranal Observatory","Description":"

A blanket of snow covers the rocky slopes around ESO’s Paranal Observatory in Chile’s Atacama Desert, with the observatory’s telescopes visible on the summit under a clear blue sky. Taken on 19 August 2026, the image captures ephemeral and unusually wintry conditions in one of the driest regions on Earth.

","Credit":"C. Desgrange/ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-08-31T04:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory"],"Name":["Cerro Paranal"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/2026-08-19_Paranal_neige_41-cc/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":61,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/2026-08-19_Paranal_neige_41-cc.tif","FileSize":34328492,"Dimensions":[5184,3456],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/2026-08-19_Paranal_neige_41-cc.jpg","FileSize":6012259,"Dimensions":[5184,3456],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/2026-08-19_Paranal_neige_41-cc.jpg","FileSize":285455,"Dimensions":[1280.0,854.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/2026-08-19_Paranal_neige_41-cc.jpg","FileSize":13741,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/2026-08-19_Paranal_neige_41-cc.jpg","FileSize":5097,"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":"20260819Paranal_neige_49","Title":"Snow and clouds at Cerro Armazones","Description":"
\r\n

Snow covers the hills around ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope on Cerro Armazones as low clouds spill over the summit. The lower hill to the right of Armazones hosts the Rolf Chini Cerro Murphy Observatory. Taken on 19 August 2026, the image captures unusual and short-lived weather conditions in Chile’s otherwise extremely dry Atacama Desert.

\r\n
","Credit":"C. Desgrange/ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-08-31T04:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory"],"Name":["Extremely Large Telescope"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/20260819Paranal_neige_49/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":41,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/20260819Paranal_neige_49.tif","FileSize":26506176,"Dimensions":[5184,3456],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/20260819Paranal_neige_49.jpg","FileSize":3061689,"Dimensions":[5184,3456],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/20260819Paranal_neige_49.jpg","FileSize":196164,"Dimensions":[1280.0,854.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/20260819Paranal_neige_49.jpg","FileSize":10929,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/20260819Paranal_neige_49.jpg","FileSize":4928,"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":"2026-08-19_Paranal_neige_87-cc","Title":"Snow-covered Cerro Armazones","Description":"

A fresh layer of snow covers the slopes of Cerro Armazones, the home of ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope, with its telescope’s dome rising from the summit beneath a deep blue sky. The lower hill to the right of Armazones hosts the Rolf Chini Cerro Murphy Observatory. Taken on 19 August 2026, the image shows an unusually wintry side of the Atacama Desert, where snow is a rare and fleeting sight.

","Credit":"C. Desgrange/ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-08-31T04:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory"],"Name":["Extremely Large Telescope"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/2026-08-19_Paranal_neige_87-cc/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":61,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/2026-08-19_Paranal_neige_87-cc.tif","FileSize":35586620,"Dimensions":[5184,3456],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/2026-08-19_Paranal_neige_87-cc.jpg","FileSize":3795518,"Dimensions":[5184,3456],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/2026-08-19_Paranal_neige_87-cc.jpg","FileSize":208807,"Dimensions":[1280.0,854.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/2026-08-19_Paranal_neige_87-cc.jpg","FileSize":11003,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/2026-08-19_Paranal_neige_87-cc.jpg","FileSize":4801,"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":"potw2635a","Title":"A rare snowy day for the world's biggest eye on the sky","Description":"

An unusual sight greets Cerro Armazones, in Chile’s Atacama Desert, in this drone image, taken on 19 August 2026. Snow blankets parts of the mountain while low clouds drift around the dome of ESO's Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), glowing in the light of a low Sun. 

\r\n

Cerro Armazones was chosen as the ELT's home for its exceptionally dry conditions, clear skies and rock-steady atmosphere — conditions among the best on Earth for observing the Universe. That's exactly what makes a scene like this so rare: snow and thick clouds briefly turned the usually bare desert into a white landscape, before the mountain's typical dry, cloudless weather quickly returned.

\r\n

These are extremely infrequent weather events, but even under normal conditions the Atacama Desert is still a harsh environment. To protect the telescope from its surroundings, the ELT sits inside an enormous dome built to shield its most delicate components, including its huge mirrors and scientific instruments, yet to be installed. 

\r\n

Once construction is complete and the ELT achieves first light later this decade, it will use the mountain's exceptional skies to explore the Universe in unprecedented detail, tackling some of astronomy's biggest open questions, from exoplanets to the first galaxies that ever formed.

\r\n

Links

\r\n","Credit":"E. Sech/Cimolai/ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-08-31T04:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory"],"Name":["Extremely Large Telescope"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw2635a/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":90,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/potw2635a.tif","FileSize":49690562,"Dimensions":[3835,2158],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/potw2635a.jpg","FileSize":887202,"Dimensions":[3835,2158],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/potw2635a.jpg","FileSize":120995,"Dimensions":[1280.0,721.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/potw2635a.jpg","FileSize":9075,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/potw2635a.jpg","FileSize":4854,"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":"annlang26008c-es-cl-en","Title":"Visit by Chilean Minister of Science","Description":"

Visit by Chilean Minister of Science Ximena Lincolao to the Very Large Telescope (VLT).

","Credit":"ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-08-26T14:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : People"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/annlang26008c-es-cl/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":19,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/annlang26008c-es-cl.tif","FileSize":3124298,"Dimensions":[2000,1126],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/annlang26008c-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":690170,"Dimensions":[2000,1126],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/annlang26008c-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":290354,"Dimensions":[1280.0,721.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/annlang26008c-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":13873,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/annlang26008c-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":5164,"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":"annlang26008b-es-cl-en","Title":"Visit by Chilean Minister of Science","Description":"

Visit by Chilean Minister of Science Ximena Lincolao to the construction site of the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT). 

","Credit":"Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología, Conocimiento e Innovación de Chile","PublicationDate":"2026-08-26T14:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : People"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/annlang26008b-es-cl/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":19,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/annlang26008b-es-cl.tif","FileSize":4056182,"Dimensions":[2000,1127],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/annlang26008b-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":676345,"Dimensions":[2000,1127],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/annlang26008b-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":255432,"Dimensions":[1280.0,722.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/annlang26008b-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":17668,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/annlang26008b-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":5929,"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":"annlang26008a-es-cl-en","Title":"Visit by Chilean Minister of Science","Description":"

Visit by Chilean Minister of Science Ximena Lincolao to the construction site of the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT). From left to right: Itziar de Gregrorio-Monsalvo, ESO representative in Chile; Andreas Kaufer, future Director General of ESO and current Director of Operations; Ximena Lincolao, Chile’s Minister of Science, Technology, Knowledge, and Innovation; Héctor Bravo, science regional ministerial secretariat of Antofagasta.

","Credit":"Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología, Conocimiento e Innovación de Chile","PublicationDate":"2026-08-26T14:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : People"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/annlang26008a-es-cl/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":19,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/annlang26008a-es-cl.tif","FileSize":4585376,"Dimensions":[2048,1152],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/annlang26008a-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":769251,"Dimensions":[2048,1152],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/annlang26008a-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":259861,"Dimensions":[1280.0,720.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/annlang26008a-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":16103,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/annlang26008a-es-cl.jpg","FileSize":5919,"Dimensions":[60.0,34.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"http://www.eso.org/","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"uhd_beletsky_alma_09","Title":"ALMA antennas","Description":"

A whole group of ALMA antennas was collected on this UHD image, while they are observing the night sky.

","Credit":"ESO/Y. Beletsky","PublicationDate":"2026-08-24T12:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory"],"Name":["Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/uhd_beletsky_alma_09/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":79,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/uhd_beletsky_alma_09.tif","FileSize":30083198,"Dimensions":[5072,3272],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/uhd_beletsky_alma_09.jpg","FileSize":4589571,"Dimensions":[5072,3272],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/uhd_beletsky_alma_09.jpg","FileSize":257011,"Dimensions":[1280.0,826.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/uhd_beletsky_alma_09.jpg","FileSize":9909,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/uhd_beletsky_alma_09.jpg","FileSize":4710,"Dimensions":[60.0,39.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"ann26005b","Title":"Rendering of a WIFP unit","Description":"

This image shows an engineering rendering of a unit on the new ALMA wideband intermediate frequency processor (WIFP). The WIFP project aims to develop and deliver the equipment needed to digitise the analogue intermediate-frequency signals from the antennas and prepare them for transportation to the correlator, where the signals are combined. The WIFP is a critical component of the Wideband Sensitivity Upgrade, an ongoing major revamp of ALMA.

","Credit":"Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de Bordeaux","PublicationDate":"2026-08-24T12:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology"],"Name":["Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/ann26005b/","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/ann26005b.tif","FileSize":4371278,"Dimensions":[4714,3270],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/ann26005b.jpg","FileSize":1951049,"Dimensions":[4714,3270],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/ann26005b.jpg","FileSize":173377,"Dimensions":[1280.0,888.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/ann26005b.jpg","FileSize":12494,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/ann26005b.jpg","FileSize":5199,"Dimensions":[60.0,42.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"}]}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"ann26005c","Title":"Prototyping the WIFP units","Description":"

This image shows an Agilex 9 development kit from Altera, which is currently being used to prototype the future wideband intermediate frequency processor (WIFP) for ALMA. The WIFP project aims to develop and deliver the equipment needed to digitise the analogue intermediate-frequency signals from the antennas and prepare them for transportation to the correlator, where the signals are combined. The WIFP is a critical component of the Wideband Sensitivity Upgrade, an ongoing major revamp of ALMA.

","Credit":"Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de Bordeaux","PublicationDate":"2026-08-24T12:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology"],"Name":["Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/ann26005c/","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/ann26005c.tif","FileSize":13662184,"Dimensions":[4032,1816],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/ann26005c.jpg","FileSize":1927340,"Dimensions":[4032,1816],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/ann26005c.jpg","FileSize":240757,"Dimensions":[1280.0,577.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/ann26005c.jpg","FileSize":19655,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/ann26005c.jpg","FileSize":5722,"Dimensions":[60.0,28.0],"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":"potw2634a","Title":"A bubbling Betelgeuse","Description":"

Today’s Picture of the Week, taken with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), reveals one of the most detailed views yet of the surface of Betelgeuse — the famous orange star in the constellation of Orion, 600 light-years away. Unlike our own Sun, which is relatively smooth and spherical, Betelgeuse is a red supergiant almost 800 times larger, with a highly uneven, lumpy surface.

\r\n

Betelgeuse’s peaks and troughs originate from the motion of giant bubbles of hot gas rising from deep within the star to its surface. The team behind these observations suggest that this large-scale movement of gas leads to these ‘hotspots’ on the star’s surface. Surprisingly, however, the brightest hotspot seen in the new observations also appears in data recorded seven years earlier, much longer than the lifetimes predicted by current models.

\r\n

The persistent nature of these hotspots may be connected to the orbit of a close companion star recently suggested by observations with ESO’s Very Large Telescope. The team was motivated to study the star’s surface to see whether hotspots could be related to events such as the dramatic dimming of Betelgeuse in 2020. As a star nearing the end of its life, there's another reason Betelgeuse draws astronomers. “Its eventual fate as a supernova makes it fascinating to know what it actually looks like now,” says lead author of the study Bill Dent, an astronomer at ESO. When Betelgeuse does eventually explode, it will be bright enough to see from Earth even in broad daylight.

\r\n

Link

\r\n","Credit":"ALMA(ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)/W. Dent et al.","PublicationDate":"2026-08-24T04:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Milky Way : Star : Evolutionary Stage : Red Supergiant"],"Name":["Betelgeuse"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw2634a/","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/potw2634a.tif","FileSize":2204348,"Dimensions":[602,601],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/potw2634a.jpg","FileSize":36067,"Dimensions":[602,601],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/potw2634a.jpg","FileSize":47629,"Dimensions":[1280.0,1278.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/potw2634a.jpg","FileSize":5484,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/potw2634a.jpg","FileSize":4229,"Dimensions":[60.0,60.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"}],"ObservationData":{"Spatial":{"ReferenceDimension":[602.0,601.0]}}}]},{"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":"eso2612d","Title":"Illustration of the Lense-Thirring effect","Description":"

This illustration shows how a spinning black hole drags space-time around it, a phenomenon known as Lense-Thirring effect. If a star gets close enough to a spinning black hole, its orbit will change in a way that can be measured over long timescales with sufficiently precise telescopes and instruments.

","Credit":"ESO/M. Kornmesser","PublicationDate":"2026-08-19T15:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Milky Way : Galaxy : Component : Central Black Hole"],"Name":["S301","Sagittarius A*"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2612d/","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/eso2612d.tif","FileSize":8369724,"Dimensions":[3900,2194],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/eso2612d.jpg","FileSize":1466875,"Dimensions":[3900,2194],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/eso2612d.jpg","FileSize":206837,"Dimensions":[1280.0,721.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/eso2612d.jpg","FileSize":16771,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/eso2612d.jpg","FileSize":5468,"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":"eso2612c","Title":"VLT images of S301 and other S-stars orbiting Sagittarius A*","Description":"

This sequence of images, taken with the GRAVITY instrument at ESO’s Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI), shows several stars orbiting Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the centre of our galaxy. These stars are collectively known as S-stars. The arrows in these images indicate their observed motion around the black hole. One of the stars, S301, was recently found to pass much closer to the black hole than the other S-stars.

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Its orbit is shown here with an elliptical curve. In each frame, the solid curve shows the path that the star has already completed up to that point, whereas the dashed one marks the path it will follow afterwards.

","Credit":"ESO/GRAVITY collaboration","PublicationDate":"2026-08-19T15:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Milky Way : Galaxy : Component : Central Black Hole"],"Name":["S301","Sagittarius A*"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2612c/","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/eso2612c.tif","FileSize":1875002,"Dimensions":[2576,2983],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/eso2612c.jpg","FileSize":436178,"Dimensions":[2576,2983],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/eso2612c.jpg","FileSize":121160,"Dimensions":[1280.0,1483.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/eso2612c.jpg","FileSize":7882,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/eso2612c.jpg","FileSize":5314,"Dimensions":[60.0,70.0],"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":"eso2612b","Title":"VLT images of the S301 star orbiting Sagittarius A* (square layout)","Description":"

This sequence of images, taken with the GRAVITY instrument at ESO’s Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI), show several stars orbiting Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the centre of our galaxy. One of these stars, known as S301, was recently found to pass much closer to the black hole than any other known star.

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S301 orbits Sagittarius A* every 8.7 years. At its closest approach — similar to the distance between the Sun and Saturn — the star moves at more than 8% the speed of light. The size of Neptune’s orbit is shown as a reference.

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S301 passes so close to Sagittarius A* that its orbit could be affected by the rotation of the black hole, which twists space-time around it. The effect is small, but could be potentially measured in the next few years with the VLTI and ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), currently under construction.

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The orbit of S301 is displayed here with an elliptical curve. In each frame, the solid curve shows the path that the star has already completed up to that point, whereas the dashed one marks the path it will follow afterwards.

","Credit":"ESO/GRAVITY collaboration","PublicationDate":"2026-08-19T15:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Milky Way : Galaxy : Component : Central Black Hole"],"Name":["S301","Sagittarius A*"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2612b/","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/eso2612b.tif","FileSize":1839058,"Dimensions":[2576,2983],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/eso2612b.jpg","FileSize":414408,"Dimensions":[2576,2983],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/eso2612b.jpg","FileSize":111863,"Dimensions":[1280.0,1483.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/eso2612b.jpg","FileSize":7736,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/eso2612b.jpg","FileSize":5434,"Dimensions":[60.0,70.0],"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":"eso2612a","Title":"VLT images of the S301 star orbiting Sagittarius A*","Description":"

This sequence of images, taken with the GRAVITY instrument at ESO’s Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI), show several stars orbiting Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the centre of our galaxy. One of these stars, known as S301, was recently found to pass much closer to the black hole than any other known star.

\r\n

S301 orbits Sagittarius A* every 8.7 years. At its closest approach — similar to the distance between the Sun and Saturn — the star moves at more than 8% the speed of light. The size of Neptune’s orbit is shown as a reference.

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S301 passes so close to Sagittarius A* that its orbit could be affected by the rotation of the black hole, which twists space-time around it. The effect is small, but could be potentially measured in the next few years with the VLTI and ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), currently under construction.

\r\n

The orbit of S301 is displayed here with an elliptical curve. In each frame, the solid curve shows the path that the star has already completed up to that point, whereas the dashed one marks the path it will follow afterwards.

","Credit":"ESO/GRAVITY collaboration","PublicationDate":"2026-08-19T15:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Milky Way : Galaxy : Component : Central Black Hole"],"Name":["S301","Sagittarius A*"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2612a/","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/eso2612a.tif","FileSize":2768700,"Dimensions":[4716,1765],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/eso2612a.jpg","FileSize":518954,"Dimensions":[4716,1765],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/eso2612a.jpg","FileSize":62451,"Dimensions":[1280.0,480.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/eso2612a.jpg","FileSize":6763,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/eso2612a.jpg","FileSize":4170,"Dimensions":[60.0,23.0],"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":"eso2612e","Title":"Effect of a spinning black hole on the orbit of the S301 star","Description":"

This image shows the path of the S301 star around Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the centre of our galaxy. The diamonds show measurements performed with the GRAVITY instrument at ESO’s Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI). The size of Neptune’s orbit is shown as a reference.

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S301 orbits Sagittarius A* every 8 years. As it does so, its orbit rotates forming a rosette. This effect, known as Schwarzschild precession, had already been measured around Sagittarius A*, and it happens regardless of whether the black hole rotates or not.

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However, if the black hole rotates there’s a different effect at play. As the black hole spins it drags and twists space-time around it, a phenomenon known as Lense-Thirring effect.

\r\n

The S301 star ventures so close to the black hole that it could be affected by this phenomenon. The twisted space-time around the black hole would slightly change the orbit of S301 at each close passage. After several years, the difference between the predicted orbits for a non-rotating black hole and a rotating one would be small, about the size of Earth’s orbit around the Sun, but large enough that it could be measured with the VLTI and ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), currently under construction.

","Credit":"ESO/GRAVITY collaboration/L. Calçada","PublicationDate":"2026-08-19T15:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Milky Way : Galaxy : Component : Central Black Hole"],"Name":["S301","Sagittarius A*"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2612e/","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/eso2612e.tif","FileSize":24910086,"Dimensions":[3840,2160],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/eso2612e.jpg","FileSize":684048,"Dimensions":[3840,2160],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/eso2612e.jpg","FileSize":81658,"Dimensions":[1280.0,720.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/eso2612e.jpg","FileSize":7461,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/eso2612e.jpg","FileSize":4217,"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":"potw2633a","Title":"A giant made of many","Description":"

At first glance, one antenna seems to tower over the rest. In reality, perspective makes the nearest dish dominate this Picture of the Week, while a line of antennas appears to shrink into the distance beneath the clear blue sky. They belong to the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), an international observatory in northern Chile in which ESO is a partner.

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ALMA consists of 66 antennas that work together rather than as separate telescopes. They combine the signals they receive using a technique called interferometry, creating a virtual telescope as large as the distance between the outermost antennas. The antennas can be repositioned across the site: placed close together, they are well suited to map broad cosmic structures, while spreading them across larger distances – of up to 16 kilometers – allows astronomers to distinguish much finer details.

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Instead of visible light, ALMA detects millimetre and submillimetre radiation, which lies between infrared and radio waves. This light comes from some of the coldest material in the Universe, including clouds of gas and dust where stars are born and discs where planets take shape. Seen in this image, the antennas show that ALMA’s strength lies not in the single dishes, but in the way all 66 of them, work together as one.

","Credit":"A. Russell/ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-08-17T04:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory : Telescope"],"Name":["Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw2633a/","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/potw2633a.tif","FileSize":272692786,"Dimensions":[8256,5504],"ProjectionType":"Tan","Checksum":"ceea33f7f3f722d8e1e7d3954177977c19ed05a187367fcb332e1bae8dc40a30"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/potw2633a.jpg","FileSize":4662420,"Dimensions":[8256,5504],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/potw2633a.jpg","FileSize":167118,"Dimensions":[1280.0,854.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/potw2633a.jpg","FileSize":10161,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/potw2633a.jpg","FileSize":4911,"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":"potw2632a","Title":"The night shift begins","Description":"

At ESO’s Paranal Observatory in Chile, sunset does not mark the end of the day. Instead, it signals the beginning of a night under the stars. Today’s Picture of the Week comes from the Residencia, a home away from home for astronomers and other staff members working in shifts at the remote Atacama Desert site. In this photo, the last rays of sunlight slice through one of the Residencia’s corridors, casting lines of light and shadow across the concrete interior. At the far end of the ramp, a solitary figure stands in the light, framed between day and night.

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ESO staff astronomer and photographer Luca Sbordone spotted this scene as he returned from dinner before heading to the telescopes for a night of observing. Knowing that the angle of the shadows would only last a few minutes, he ran to fetch his camera and recruited a colleague to add a human element to the image.

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The Residencia is the part-time home for the people who keep Paranal running. Built partly below ground and designed to blend into the Atacama Desert, it offers shelter from one of the driest environments on Earth. Natural daylight reaches its central spaces through a 35-metre-wide dome and several skylights. Each day as daylight fades, a night of observations begins.

","Credit":"L. Sbordone/ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-08-10T04:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory : Facility"],"Name":["Paranal Residencia"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw2632a/","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/potw2632a.tif","FileSize":238951504,"Dimensions":[5152,7728],"ProjectionType":"Tan","Checksum":"03c8ba6ca8b532ea53da47f2326642910481bb0005a664783689b851c0c73281"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/potw2632a.jpg","FileSize":16604707,"Dimensions":[5152,7728],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/potw2632a.jpg","FileSize":652191,"Dimensions":[1280.0,1920.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/potw2632a.jpg","FileSize":13474,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/potw2632a.jpg","FileSize":6174,"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":"potw2631a","Title":"Unmasking an unusual asteroid","Description":"

Today's Picture of the Week depicts different angles of a very peculiar asteroid named (44) Nysa. Asteroids are leftovers from the formation of planets in the Solar System, with the majority found in a circular belt between Mars and Jupiter. These rocky bodies come in various shapes and sizes, but new images of (44) Nysa, located at the inner edge of the asteroid belt, reveal an unusual structure unlike anything observed before!

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To resolve (44) Nysa’s shape, a team of astronomers used the SPHERE instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope in Chile, and SHARK-VIS, an instrument by the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics on the Large Binocular Telescope in the USA. Both instruments use adaptive optics to correct atmospheric blur and obtain crisp images of this asteroid.

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The data shows that the asteroid is 80 km across and is composed of three distinct blobs, or ‘lobes’, joined by two narrower sections that encircle the asteroid, or ‘necks’. All previous identifications of asteroids with a neck have been interpreted as ‘bilobates’, having just two lobes, but (44) Nysa has a unique ‘trilobate’ structure.

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The team has two possible explanations for how (44) Nysa got its odd shape. Either the asteroid originates from a single object that was heavily deformed though collisions, or is a composite of three objects that impacted and merged, forming necks at the point of contact.

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Further research is needed to clarify which hypothesis holds true, but for now astronomers are delighted to have determined the structure of (44) Nysa, which had long evaded attempts to identify its true nature. The asteroid is named after the mythical birthplace of the ancient Greek god Dionysus, who is associated with theatre and masks. “The name is quite fitting, after the land of a god known for concealing his true nature,” says Kate Minker, lead author of the study announcing the discovery. “We’ve managed to finally unmask (44) Nysa”.

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Links

\r\n","Credit":"ESO/K. Minker et al.","PublicationDate":"2026-08-03T04:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Solar System : Interplanetary Body : Asteroid"],"Name":["(44) Nysa"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw2631a/","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/potw2631a.tif","FileSize":741626,"Dimensions":[1395,999],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/potw2631a.jpg","FileSize":79329,"Dimensions":[1395,999],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/potw2631a.jpg","FileSize":63436,"Dimensions":[1280.0,917.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/potw2631a.jpg","FileSize":6372,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/potw2631a.jpg","FileSize":4233,"Dimensions":[60.0,43.0],"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":"eso2611a","Title":"VLT images of Betelgeuse and its companion","Description":"

Using ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), astronomers have obtained the clearest image ever of what likely is Betelgeuse B, a star orbiting Betelgeuse.

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Betelgeuse is a red supergiant star in the Orion constellation. Its brightness changes periodically, and for decades astronomers had suspected that some of these variations could be due to a companion star orbiting around it.

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The image in the middle inset in this image was taken in January 2019 with the SPHERE instrument at ESO’s VLT, and shows Betelgeuse itself. The image in the inset on the left was taken in December 2024, when the companion was predicted to be furthest apart from Betelgeuse as seen from Earth. In this inset Betelgeuse has been removed, revealing a source (marked with a crosshair) consistent with being Betelgeuse B.

","Credit":"ESO/M. Montargès et al. Background: N. Rissinger (skysurvey.org)","PublicationDate":"2026-07-28T12:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Milky Way : Star : Grouping : Binary"],"Name":["Betelgeuse","Betelgeuse B"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2611a/","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/eso2611a.tif","FileSize":23830788,"Dimensions":[4204,2499],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/eso2611a.jpg","FileSize":4930291,"Dimensions":[4204,2499],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/eso2611a.jpg","FileSize":394099,"Dimensions":[1280.0,761.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/eso2611a.jpg","FileSize":12980,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/eso2611a.jpg","FileSize":5202,"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":"eso2611b","Title":"VLT image of Betelgeuse’s companion","Description":"

This image, taken with ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), shows the clearest image ever of what likely is Betelgeuse B, a star orbiting Betelgeuse. The image was taken with the SPHERE instrument in December 2024, when the companion was predicted to be furthest apart from Betelgeuse as seen from Earth. The circle indicates the size of Betelgeuse, which has been removed. The bright source to the left, marked with a crosshair, is consistent with being Betelgeuse B.

","Credit":"ESO/M. Montargès et al.","PublicationDate":"2026-07-28T12:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Milky Way : Star : Grouping : Binary"],"Name":["Betelgeuse B"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2611b/","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/eso2611b.tif","FileSize":699714,"Dimensions":[1009,1006],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/eso2611b.jpg","FileSize":125589,"Dimensions":[1009,1006],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/eso2611b.jpg","FileSize":100486,"Dimensions":[1280.0,1277.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/eso2611b.jpg","FileSize":9119,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/eso2611b.jpg","FileSize":5914,"Dimensions":[60.0,60.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"}],"ObservationData":{"Spatial":{"ReferenceDimension":[1009.0,1006.0]}}}]},{"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":"potw2630a","Title":"Watching our cosmic neighbourhood","Description":"

Today’s Picture of the Week shows the stunning night sky above three of the Auxiliary Telescopes (ATs) at ESO’s Paranal Observatory, in Chile’s Atacama Desert. Conditions at the site make it one of the best places on Earth for astronomical observations, with the band of the Milky Way, as well as the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, visible to the naked eye.

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The Large and Small Magellanic Clouds are satellite galaxies that orbit the Milky Way, at distances of about 160 000 and 200 000 light-years, respectively. They are irregular dwarf galaxies, gravitationally bound to our more massive home galaxy. The Small Magellanic Cloud and the lowest part of the Milky Way appear here bathed in green airglow, very faint light emitted by oxygen atoms high up in the atmosphere.

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While only three telescopes are pictured in this image, there are, in total, four ATs feeding light into the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI). These telescopes, each with a 1.8-metre main mirror, can be moved along tracks to 30 different observing points. They all look at the same target, creating a single ‘virtual’ telescope the size of the separation between the telescopes. Different separations allow the VLTI to discern different levels of detail. Among other breakthroughs, the ATs have taken the first close-up picture of a star outside our galaxy: WOH G64, a red supergiant star in the Large Magellanic Cloud.

","Credit":"ESO/N. Schafer","PublicationDate":"2026-07-27T04:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Milky Way : Sky Phenomenon : Night Sky : Milky Way","Local Universe : Galaxy : Type : Irregular","Unspecified : Technology : Observatory"],"Name":["Auxiliary Telescopes","Large Magellanic Cloud","Milky Way","Paranal","Small Magellanic Cloud"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw2630a/","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/potw2630a.tif","FileSize":19497198,"Dimensions":[3936,2624],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/potw2630a.jpg","FileSize":2860681,"Dimensions":[3936,2624],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/potw2630a.jpg","FileSize":319292,"Dimensions":[1280.0,854.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/potw2630a.jpg","FileSize":10854,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/potw2630a.jpg","FileSize":4875,"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":"eso2610b","Title":"Artist’s impression of the CD-35 2722 system","Description":"

This illustration shows the system around the star CD-35 2722, with the newly found moon-like object to the right. The star –– the point source at the top –– has about half the mass of our Sun, and it is orbited by a brown dwarf, the reddish-brown object seen here in the foreground (bottom). The brown dwarf has about 37 times the mass of Jupiter: too massive to be a planet, but not massive enough to have sustained nuclear fusion like stars. This brown dwarf is, in turn, orbited by a newly discovered object at least as massive as Jupiter, seen to the right of this image.

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This new object, found with ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), is difficult to label. It behaves like a moon in the sense that it orbits an object that orbits a star. But this ‘moon’ is massive enough to be a planet, and the object it orbits, a brown dwarf, is neither a planet nor a star.

","Credit":"ESO/M. Kornmesser","PublicationDate":"2026-07-22T15:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Milky Way : Planet : Satellite"],"Name":["CD-35 2722"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2610b/","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/eso2610b.tif","FileSize":9274724,"Dimensions":[2516,3366],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/eso2610b.jpg","FileSize":632346,"Dimensions":[2516,3366],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/eso2610b.jpg","FileSize":133254,"Dimensions":[1280.0,1713.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/eso2610b.jpg","FileSize":7106,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/eso2610b.jpg","FileSize":5278,"Dimensions":[60.0,81.0],"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":"eso2610a","Title":"Artist’s impression of CD-35 2722, a system with a moon-like object","Description":"

This illustration shows the system around the star CD-35 2722, with the newly found moon-like object at the centre. The star –– the point source to the left –– has about half the mass of our Sun, and it is orbited by a brown dwarf, the reddish-brown object seen here in the foreground (right). The brown dwarf has about 37 times the mass of Jupiter: too massive to be a planet, but not massive enough to have sustained nuclear fusion like stars. This brown dwarf is, in turn, orbited by a newly discovered object at least as massive as Jupiter, seen at the centre of this image.

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This new object, found with ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), is difficult to label. It behaves like a moon in the sense that it orbits an object that orbits a star. But this ‘moon’ is massive enough to be a planet, and the object it orbits, a brown dwarf, is neither a planet nor a star.

","Credit":"ESO/M. Kornmesser","PublicationDate":"2026-07-22T15:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Milky Way : Planet : Satellite"],"Name":["CD-35 2722"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2610a/","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/eso2610a.tif","FileSize":18562594,"Dimensions":[5120,3084],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/eso2610a.jpg","FileSize":1392301,"Dimensions":[5120,3084],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/eso2610a.jpg","FileSize":94103,"Dimensions":[1280.0,771.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/eso2610a.jpg","FileSize":7793,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/eso2610a.jpg","FileSize":4544,"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":"eso2610c","Title":"Wide-field view around the CD-35 2722 system","Description":"

This image shows the region in the sky around CD-35 2722, a star orbited by a brown dwarf, which is itself orbited by an object at least as massive as Jupiter.

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CD-35 2722 is the star right at the centre of this image. The brown dwarf is not visible here, as it is embedded in the glare of the star, but it has been directly imaged by other telescopes. The ‘moon’ orbiting the brown dwarf is not visible either, but it has been detected via the gravitational pull it exerts on the brown dwarf.

","Credit":"ESO/Digitized Sky Survey 2","PublicationDate":"2026-07-22T15:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Milky Way : Star"],"Name":["CD-35 2722"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2610c/","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/eso2610c.tif","FileSize":77955026,"Dimensions":[7000,7000],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/eso2610c.jpg","FileSize":10961464,"Dimensions":[7000,7000],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/eso2610c.jpg","FileSize":467735,"Dimensions":[1280.0,1280.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/eso2610c.jpg","FileSize":10802,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/eso2610c.jpg","FileSize":4792,"Dimensions":[60.0,60.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"}],"ObservationData":{"Spatial":{"ReferenceDimension":[7000.0,7000.0]}}}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"2606_Z8_8123-cc","Title":"Family portrait at La Silla","Description":"

This image portrays a few of the telescopes situated at ESO’s La Silla Observatory. Like in a family portrait, the telescopes show similarities in their appearance, but also have unique features that set them apart. For instance, the distinctive silver dome of the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope or the narrow stands and spherical heads of the BlackGEM Array triplets. Another eye-catching feature of this photograph is the blue tinge of the mountains in the background, created due to the preferential scattering of blue light compared to other colours by the atmosphere.

","Credit":"ESO/A. Russell","PublicationDate":"2026-07-16T11:52:36Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory"],"Name":["BlackGEM","La Silla","MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/2606_Z8_8123-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/2606_Z8_8123-cc.tif","FileSize":272710846,"Dimensions":[8256,5504],"ProjectionType":"Tan","Checksum":"dc67fb5ada5a8bd30922a0466b734f3bd4913e0f4a4fe48e268d2aed196efef2"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/2606_Z8_8123-cc.jpg","FileSize":12179495,"Dimensions":[8256,5504],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/2606_Z8_8123-cc.jpg","FileSize":305877,"Dimensions":[1280.0,854.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/2606_Z8_8123-cc.jpg","FileSize":13501,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/2606_Z8_8123-cc.jpg","FileSize":5314,"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":"2606_Z8_8084-cc","Title":"Welcome to La Silla","Description":"

This image shows the entrance to the hotel at ESO’s La Silla Observatory. As the Sun sets, astronomers staying at the hotel will likely be preparing for a long night of observations with the many telescopes at the site.

","Credit":"ESO/A. Russell","PublicationDate":"2026-07-16T11:52:24Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified"],"Name":["La Silla"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/2606_Z8_8084-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/2606_Z8_8084-cc.tif","FileSize":272692664,"Dimensions":[8256,5504],"ProjectionType":"Tan","Checksum":"a0c7faae6122a6a4b94f96bdd3ab924cb018681e8cc072102533ec52283e4d31"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/2606_Z8_8084-cc.jpg","FileSize":9058004,"Dimensions":[8256,5504],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/2606_Z8_8084-cc.jpg","FileSize":149809,"Dimensions":[1280.0,854.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/2606_Z8_8084-cc.jpg","FileSize":11942,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/2606_Z8_8084-cc.jpg","FileSize":5495,"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":"2606_Z8_9708-cc","Title":"Groundwork for the Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory","Description":"

This image shows the construction site of the Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory’s (CTAO’s) southern facility in Chile’s Atacama Desert, where the ground is being prepared for the Observatory’s foundations. A worker walking past is well covered up to protect from the harsh and dusty surroundings. The CTAO’s southern facility will be around 10 kilometres from both ESO’s Paranal Observatory, home to the Very Large Telescope (VLT), and the site of ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT).

","Credit":"ESO/A. Russell","PublicationDate":"2026-07-16T11:52:08Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory"],"Name":["Cherenkov Telescope Array"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/2606_Z8_9708-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/2606_Z8_9708-cc.tif","FileSize":272689860,"Dimensions":[8256,5504],"ProjectionType":"Tan","Checksum":"36464ea45ae53ce2c4b04dd745835ebeffadecfe1a1edd2f1ed2860cb2c584f5"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/2606_Z8_9708-cc.jpg","FileSize":4481879,"Dimensions":[8256,5504],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/2606_Z8_9708-cc.jpg","FileSize":189462,"Dimensions":[1280.0,854.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/2606_Z8_9708-cc.jpg","FileSize":11304,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/2606_Z8_9708-cc.jpg","FileSize":4913,"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":"2606_Z8_8718-cc","Title":"The ELT’s altitude structure","Description":"

The vertical part, or altitude structure, of ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) is 50 metres tall and controls the vertical position of the telescope. Giant semicircular plates on either side of the altitude structure will allow the ELT to point to targets high and low in the southern sky. A giant ESO flag, put up on the occasion of a visit by the ESO Council in mid June 2026, is seen below the structure.

","Credit":"ESO/A. Russell","PublicationDate":"2026-07-16T11:51:52Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory : Telescope"],"Name":["Extremely Large Telescope"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/2606_Z8_8718-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/2606_Z8_8718-cc.tif","FileSize":272708832,"Dimensions":[5504,8256],"ProjectionType":"Tan","Checksum":"268b5771c9f564218563cfe836758650f76ffdf586a9ec2885d7531b5d73e615"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/2606_Z8_8718-cc.jpg","FileSize":11999079,"Dimensions":[5504,8256],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/2606_Z8_8718-cc.jpg","FileSize":710357,"Dimensions":[1280.0,1920.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/2606_Z8_8718-cc.jpg","FileSize":15345,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/2606_Z8_8718-cc.jpg","FileSize":7827,"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":"2606_Z8_9754-cc","Title":"Tunnels for telescopes","Description":"

This photograph shows ESO’s Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) tunnels, where the light beams collected by multiple telescopes are combined to produce exceptionally detailed astronomical images. A complex process takes place in these tunnels to ensure the light is combined correctly, where the path of each beam is adjusted using mirrors on moveable carriages that travel along tracks, called delay lines, shown here.

","Credit":"ESO/A. Russell","PublicationDate":"2026-07-16T11:51:30Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory"],"Name":["Very Large Telescope Interferometer"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/2606_Z8_9754-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/2606_Z8_9754-cc.tif","FileSize":258463960,"Dimensions":[8038,5358],"ProjectionType":"Tan","Checksum":"29d5b2e0b38ce561f46944009aa731debade5b108a1133154c8bc9d60ad0945e"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/2606_Z8_9754-cc.jpg","FileSize":7619356,"Dimensions":[8038,5358],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/2606_Z8_9754-cc.jpg","FileSize":246602,"Dimensions":[1280.0,854.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/2606_Z8_9754-cc.jpg","FileSize":14511,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/2606_Z8_9754-cc.jpg","FileSize":5629,"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":"2606_Z8_9275-cc","Title":"Inside the dome of ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope","Description":"

The orange and white cones scattered around the floor of ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), currently under construction in the Chilean Atacama Desert, reveal the scale of the future facility. The world’s biggest eye on the sky is progressing fast in preparation for its first light in 2029. A giant ESO flag, put up on the occasion of a visit by the ESO Council in mid June 2026, is seen below the structure.

","Credit":"ESO/A. Russell","PublicationDate":"2026-07-16T11:51:19Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory : Telescope"],"Name":["Extremely Large Telescope"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/2606_Z8_9275-cc/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":90,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/2606_Z8_9275-cc.tif","FileSize":272709938,"Dimensions":[8256,5504],"ProjectionType":"Tan","Checksum":"d1e23bae47bc8d0633a22d9ba7c31e19fa35ce503c1b9d6970091ea0f8302407"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/2606_Z8_9275-cc.jpg","FileSize":12151115,"Dimensions":[8256,5504],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/2606_Z8_9275-cc.jpg","FileSize":331020,"Dimensions":[1280.0,854.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/2606_Z8_9275-cc.jpg","FileSize":14759,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/2606_Z8_9275-cc.jpg","FileSize":5238,"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":"eso2609b","Title":"The Beta Pictoris d exoplanet observed over the years","Description":"
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This series of images shows observations of the exoplanet Beta Pictoris d over more than a decade. This planet was first discovered using the ERIS instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT). Astronomers were then able to find it in archival data taken with the SPHERE instrument, also at the VLT, and the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope.

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The new planet, marked with an arrow, is the third planet discovered around the star Beta Pictoris. The other two planets are Beta Pictoris b ––the brighter spot seen in the top three images–– and Beta Pictoris c, not seen here as it orbits much closer to the star.

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The star itself is not visible here: in the ERIS image it was subtracted when processing the data, whereas in the JWST and SPHERE images it was blocked with a special mask.

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As time goes by the planets orbit around the star, and their position on these images changes. In the 2014 observations, planets d and b appeared almost exactly aligned as seen from Earth. It was only after removing the light of planet b that the much fainter planet d could be seen.

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The diffuse diagonal band in these images is a debris disc around the star, seen here edge-on, the leftover material of planetary formation.

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","Credit":"ESO/B. Sutlieff, M. Bonse et al.","PublicationDate":"2026-07-15T12:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Milky Way : Planet"],"Name":["Beta Pictoris d"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2609b/","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/eso2609b.tif","FileSize":2297086,"Dimensions":[3208,2336],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/eso2609b.jpg","FileSize":689950,"Dimensions":[3208,2336],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/eso2609b.jpg","FileSize":133800,"Dimensions":[1280.0,933.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/eso2609b.jpg","FileSize":10627,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/eso2609b.jpg","FileSize":5613,"Dimensions":[60.0,44.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"}],"ObservationData":{"Spatial":{"ReferenceDimension":[3000.0,2000.0]}}}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"https://www.eso.org","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"eso2609a","Title":"VLT image of the Beta Pictoris d exoplanet","Description":"

This image, taken with ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) shows Beta Pictoris d, a new planet found orbiting the star Beta Pictoris. The star is at the centre of the frame, and was subtracted when processing the data, revealing the environment around it. The new planet, indicated with an arrow, is the third one found around this star. The other two are Beta Pictoris b –– the bright source to the left, and Beta Pictoris c, orbiting much closer to the star and not seen here.

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The image was taken with the ERIS instrument at the VLT. Based on its infrared brightness and colour, the new planet appears to be a gas giant, about 2.4 times more massive than Jupiter.

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The diffuse horizontal band in this image is a debris disc around the star, seen here edge-on, the leftover material of planetary formation.

","Credit":"ESO/B. Sutlieff, M. Bonse et al.","PublicationDate":"2026-07-15T12:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Milky Way : Planet"],"Name":["Beta Pictoris d"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2609a/","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/eso2609a.tif","FileSize":858916,"Dimensions":[1600,1000],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/eso2609a.jpg","FileSize":208541,"Dimensions":[1600,1000],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/eso2609a.jpg","FileSize":93680,"Dimensions":[1280.0,800.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/eso2609a.jpg","FileSize":9837,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/eso2609a.jpg","FileSize":5086,"Dimensions":[60.0,38.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"}],"ObservationData":{"Facility":["Very Large Telescope"],"Instrument":["ERIS"],"Spectral":{"ColorAssignment":["Orange"],"Band":["L'"],"Bandpass":["L'"],"CentralWavelength":[3790]},"Spatial":{"CoordinateFrame":"ICRS","ReferenceValue":[86.821208,-51.066511],"ReferenceDimension":[1600.0,1000.0],"ReferencePixel":[800.5,800.5],"Scale":[-9.3e-07,9.3e-07],"Rotation":59.5,"CoordsystemProjection":"TAN","Equinox":"J2000"}}}]},{"Creator":"European Southern Observatory","URL":"http://www.eso.org/","Contact":{"Address":"Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2","City":"Garching bei München","Country":"Germany","PostalCode":"D-85748"},"ID":"eso0927e","Title":"Digitized Sky Survey image of Betelgeuse","Description":"

This image is a colour composite made from exposures from the Digitized Sky Survey 2 (DSS2). The field of view is approximatelly 2.0 x 1.5 degrees.

","Credit":"ESO/Digitized Sky Survey 2. Acknowledgment: Davide De Martin.","PublicationDate":"2026-07-14T10:18:50.098655Z","Subject":{"Category":["Milky Way : Star : Evolutionary Stage : Red Supergiant"],"Name":["Betelgeuse"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso0927e/","Rights":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License","Priority":12,"Assets":[{"MediaType":"Image","Resources":[{"ResourceType":"Original","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/eso0927e.tif","FileSize":72782830,"Dimensions":[7106,5332],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/eso0927e.jpg","FileSize":11340338,"Dimensions":[7106,5332],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/eso0927e.jpg","FileSize":341386,"Dimensions":[1280.0,961.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/eso0927e.jpg","FileSize":8705,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/eso0927e.jpg","FileSize":4409,"Dimensions":[60.0,46.0],"ProjectionType":"Observation"}],"ObservationData":{"Facility":["Digitized Sky Survey 2","Digitized Sky Survey 2"],"Distance":[650.0,null],"Spectral":{"ColorAssignment":["Blue","Red"],"Band":["B","R"],"Bandpass":["B","R"]},"Spatial":{"CoordinateFrame":"ICRS","ReferenceValue":[88.793286,7.406972],"ReferenceDimension":[1280.0,960.0],"ReferencePixel":[640.47091495,482.851501252],"Scale":[-0.0015530125,0.0015530125],"Rotation":0.04438761716,"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":"potw2628a","Title":"Small but mighty","Description":"

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.

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Though 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.

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Since 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.”

","Credit":"L. Sbordone/ESO","PublicationDate":"2026-07-13T04:00:00Z","Subject":{"Category":["Unspecified : Technology : Observatory"],"Name":["MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope"]},"ReferenceURL":"https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw2628a/","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/potw2628a.tif","FileSize":185636094,"Dimensions":[4541,6812],"ProjectionType":"Tan","Checksum":"94f7d5cea61145b3b3c655f3172bcff112617a127adc889ccca1bbfdd02dce89"},{"ResourceType":"Large","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/large/potw2628a.jpg","FileSize":4870712,"Dimensions":[4541,6812],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Small","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/potw2628a.jpg","FileSize":210113,"Dimensions":[1280.0,1921.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Thumbnail","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/potwmedium/potw2628a.jpg","FileSize":4986,"Dimensions":[220.0,140.0],"ProjectionType":"Tan"},{"ResourceType":"Icon","MediaType":"Image","URL":"https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/newsmini/potw2628a.jpg","FileSize":5050,"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":"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":"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":"annlang26007c-es-cl-en","Title":"Minister Lincolao at the Large Integration Hall","Description":"

Ximena Lincolao, Chilean Minister of Science Technology, Knowledge, and Innovation, at the Large Integration Hall as part of her visit to ESO Headquarters.

","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":"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"}]}]}]}