Science Users Information

These pages are aimed at ESO community astronomers and contain all the information required in order to prepare, execute, process and exploit observations with ESO facilities. They also provide information on the scientific activities taking place at ESO. Details can be accessed via the navigation menu.

ESO Science Announcements

ESO Fellowship Programme 2026 / 2027

Published: 21 Aug 2026
ESO's prestigious postdoctoral fellowship programme in both Garching (Germany) and Santiago (Chile) offers outstanding early-career scientists the opportunity to further develop their independent research programmes. From exoplanets to cosmology, observational, theoretical and fundamental astrophysics, these are all areas where ESO Fellows can benefit from a highly dynamic scientific environment, at some of the most advanced ground-based telescopes in the world. Do watch ESOCast 165 to hear what previous ESO fellows have to say about the fellowship programme or watch the virtual tour to ESO's premises from 2020 or 2021 where young scientists could ask questions about the fellowship programme.
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Registration Open for ESO Workshop "Bridging Horizons: Harnessing ESO's Current Facilities for the Dawn of Exoplanet Population Studies", 2-6 November 2026

Published: 21 Aug 2026
Observations with the VLT, VLTI, and ALMA have pioneered exoplanet science over the past decade. With upcoming results from ESA missions such as Gaia, PLATO, and Ariel, exoplanet research is entering a transformative era of population-scale characterisation surveys. This workshop will bring the community together to explore how current ESO facilities, together with powerful archival resources, can best complement exoplanet demographics, atmospheres, and planet formation at the dawn of population-scale studies.
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Fast Track Channel FTC 117A Time Allocation

Published: 20 Aug 2026
The time allocation process for ESO telescopes for the first Fast Track Channel FTC 117A (1 September 2026 - 28 February 2027) has been completed. This was based on the scientific evaluation of the Distributed Peer Review (DPR). A total of 505 hours of Service Mode observations (excluding filler programmes) were allocated on the VLT/VLTI, which is 10% higher than the total time initially reserved for this first FTC call (460 hours). As a reminder, only VLT/VLTI Normal programmes with a maximum time request of 30 hours were offered in FTC 117A.
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Release of SPHERE Data Indicating the Presence of a Companion for Betelgeuse

Published: 19 Aug 2026
Betelgeuse is the most studied Red Super Giant. In 2024, through a reinterpretation of its long secondary period (LSP), a close orbiting stellar companion was suggested to exist, with a maximum elongation in December 2024. The goal was to search for this secondary component.
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First Data Release from the INSPIRING ESO Large Programme

Published: 23 Jul 2026
The first Phase 3 data release from the INSPIRING ESO Large Programme (1103.D-0797) is now available through the ESO Science Archive. This release provides fully reduced and calibrated VLTI/PIONIER observations obtained in the GRISM_H mode for eight post-AGB binary systems. 

The INSPIRING programme uses VLTI observations to study the inner rims of dusty circumbinary discs around post-AGB binaries.
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The Messenger

The Messenger 196 is now available. Highlights include:

  • Matrà, L.: Exocometary Belts Transformed by ALMA
  • Andreani, P., Díaz Trigo, M.: ALMA–CTAO Synergies
  • Péroux, C., Mérand, A. et al.: Report on the ESO workshop "VLT Beyond 2030 and Call for White Papers”

The ESO Science Newsletter

The July 2026 issue is now available.

The ESO Science Newsletter, mailed approximately once per month, presents the most recent announcements. Subscription is controlled through the Manage Profile link on the User Portal. Back issues (2013-) are archived.

Citing ESO data in research papers

Researchers are kindly asked to indicate the identifiers (programme IDs or Data DOIs) of the (new or archival) observations they used in their papers as explained in ESO’s data citation policy. This enables the telbib curators to cross-link research output to make data Findabie, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable as suggested by the FAIR Principles.  

Pitch Your Research to ESO COMM

Are you an author on an upcoming scientific study based on ESO data that could be relevant to journalists or the wider public? Or are you a Principal Investigator on ESO observations with potential to become stunning images? If so, please consider sending to ESO your paper and/or a preview of the image(s) obtained with ESO telescopes.