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

Call for Proposals for ESO Telescopes for Period 115

Published: 29 Aug 2024

The Call for Proposals for observations at ESO telescopes in Period 115 (1 April 2025 – 30 September 2025) has been released. Please consult the Period 115 document before applying for time on ESO telescopes. All technical information about the offered instruments and facilities can be found on the ESO webpages linked from the Call for Proposals. The proposal submission deadline is on 26 September 2024, 12:00 CEST.

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Second Generation Deformable Secondary Mirror Phase A Study Kicked-off

Published: 27 Aug 2024

On the 16th April 2024, the ESO Directors Team approved a Phase A project to investigate the possibility of installing a second-generation deformable secondary mirror (2GDSM) at the VLT. In addition to providing a full cost and feasibility estimate, the Phase A study will evaluate the best location for the 2GDSM, by investigating the technical and scientific impact of possible combinations of instruments.

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Upcoming Releases of ALMA Observatory Project Data for "A 5-pc-Scale Study of Molecular Clouds in the Antennae" and "B3 observation of a super-deep field in HDF-S"

Published: 26 Aug 2024

The ALMA Observatory is starting the release process of the data acquired in the Observatory Projects 2022.A.00032.S ("A 5-pc-Scale Study of Molecular Clouds in the Antennae") and 2022.A.00034.S ("B3 observation of a super-deep field in HDF-S"). The status of the data delivery can be checked through the corresponding link for each project. The same links can be used to download the data once they are delivered. These ALMA Science Archive links can also be accessed from the main page for the Observatory Projects.

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Completion of the ALMA Development Study on the Atmospheric Model

Published: 23 Aug 2024

A development study aimed at validating and improving the current atmospheric radiative transfer model implemented for ALMA (atmospheric transmission model, ATM) has been successfully completed. The model is important for both planning and helping in the calibration of ground-based observations at millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths.

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A Memorial for Tom Marsh on La Silla

Published: 23 Aug 2024

On 16 September 2022, Tom Marsh – the founding professor of astrophysics at the University of Warwick – was reported missing on La Silla. On 10 November 2022, the Chilean authorities announced that they had found Tom’s body approximately 2.5 km from the summit. Tom’s family, friends and colleagues, with the considerable help of ESO staff, have recently installed a memorial for him on La Silla.

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The Messenger

The Messenger 192 is now available. Highlights include:

  • Cirasuolo, M. et al.: The Rise of the Giant: ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope
  • Martinez, P. and the ELT Team: ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope Dome and Main Structure Update
  • Vernet, E. et al.: ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope Optics Update
  • Mendel, J. T. et al.: Mapping Galaxy Transformation with the MAGPI Survey
  • Colless, M. et al.: Paranal Instrumentation Plan Lessons Learned 2023

The ESO Science Newsletter

The August 2024 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.