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Press Releases 2013

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eso1310 — Science Release

The Birth of a Giant Planet? — Candidate protoplanet spotted inside its stellar womb

28 February 2013: Astronomers using ESO’s Very Large Telescope have obtained what is likely the first direct observation of a forming planet still embedded in a thick disc of gas and dust. If confirmed, this discovery will greatly improve our understanding of how planets form and allow astronomers to test the current theories against an observable target.

eso1309 — Photo Release

Sweeping the Dust from a Cosmic Lobster — New infrared VISTA image of NGC 6357

20 February 2013: A new image from ESO’s VISTA telescope captures a celestial landscape of glowing clouds of gas and tendrils of dust surrounding hot young stars. This infrared view reveals the stellar nursery known as NGC 6357 in a surprising new light. It was taken as part of a VISTA survey that is currently scanning the Milky Way in a bid to map our galaxy’s structure and explain how it formed.

eso1308 — Science Release

Clues to the Mysterious Origin of Cosmic Rays — VLT probes remains of medieval supernova

14 February 2013: Very detailed new observations with ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) of the remains of a thousand-year-old supernova have revealed clues to the origins of cosmic rays. For the first time the observations suggest the presence of fast-moving particles in the supernova remnant that could be the precursors of such cosmic rays. The results are appearing in the 14 February 2013 issue of the journal Science.

eso1307 — Photo Release

"A drop of ink on the luminous sky" — Wide Field Imager snaps cosmic gecko

13 February 2013: This image from the Wide Field Imager on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at ESO’s La Silla Observatory in Chile, shows the bright star cluster NGC 6520 and its neighbour, the strange gecko-shaped dark cloud Barnard 86. This cosmic pair is set against millions of glowing stars from the brightest part of the Milky Way — a region so dense with stars that barely any dark sky is seen across the picture.

eso1306 — Photo Release

The Wings of the Seagull Nebula

6 February 2013: This new image from ESO shows a section of a cloud of dust and glowing gas called the Seagull Nebula. These wispy red clouds form part of the “wings” of the celestial bird and this picture reveals an intriguing mix of dark and glowing red clouds, weaving between bright stars. This new view was captured by the Wide Field Imager on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at ESO’s La Silla Observatory in Chile.

eso1305 — Organisation Release

European High-level Delegations visit Paranal

28 January 2013: Several high-level European delegations visited ESO's Paranal Observatory in northern Chile over the past few days, following the Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States–European Union (CELAC–EU). The summit, which is the biggest such event ever organised by Chile, took place in Santiago during the week of 22–28 January 2013. ESO had a starring role in the event and it was an excellent opportunity for it to show its work and facilities to representatives of the Member States.

eso1304 — Photo Release

Setting the Dark on Fire

23 January 2013: A new image from the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX) telescope in Chile shows a beautiful view of clouds of cosmic dust in the region of Orion. While these dense interstellar clouds seem dark and obscured in visible-light observations, APEX’s LABOCA camera can detect the heat glow of the dust and reveal the hiding places where new stars are being formed. But one of these dark clouds is not what it seems.

eso1303 — Photo Release

Light from the Darkness

16 January 2013: An evocative new image from ESO shows a dark cloud where new stars are forming, along with a cluster of brilliant stars that have already emerged from their dusty stellar nursery. The new picture was taken with the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at the La Silla Observatory in Chile and is the best image ever taken in visible light of this little-known object.

eso1302 — Photo Release

A Jumble of Exotic Stars — New VISTA snap of star cluster 47 Tucanae

10 January 2013: This new infrared image from ESO’s VISTA telescope shows the globular cluster 47 Tucanae in striking detail. This cluster contains millions of stars, and there are many nestled at its core that are exotic and display unusual properties. Studying objects within clusters like 47 Tucanae may help us to understand how these oddballs form and interact. This image is very sharp and deep due to the size, sensitivity, and location of VISTA, which is sited at ESO's Paranal Observatory in Chile.

eso1301 — Science Release

ALMA Sheds Light on Planet-Forming Gas Streams — Tantalising signs of flows feeding gas-guzzling giant planets

2 January 2013: Astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) telescope have seen a key stage in the birth of giant planets for the first time. Vast streams of gas are flowing across a gap in the disc of material around a young star. These are the first direct observations of such streams, which are expected to be created by giant planets guzzling gas as they grow. The result is published on 2 January 2013 in the journal Nature.

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