The latest edition of ESO’s science and technology journal, The Messenger, is now available online. In issue 187, highlights include and article about CRIRES+ science verification results and a description of the ALMA Science Archive, which is being developed taking into account users experience with the goal of helping to maximise the scientific productivity of the observatory. The science section of this issue features articles describing the most recent results from the CARS survey and how the community can make use of its data release 1, as well as an overview of recent results in exoplanet science made with ESPRESSO. 

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 recent 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.

This release provides stellar spectroscopy of galactic globular clusters in YJ band (1.0-1.35 μm), for a total of 5397 1-D extracted spectra in 30 clusters. The data was acquired using the K-band Multi Object Spectrograph (KMOS) under the ESO large program 193.D-0232, PI F. R. Ferraro.

The European Southern Observatory (ESO) and the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) Observatory are jointly organising a workshop with the main goal of maximising the science impact of surveys conducted by both organisation’s facilities.  The aims of the workshop are to raise awareness across the respective communities of survey capabilities and to build liaisons in preparation of synergetic surveys. To achieve this, the workshop will have sessions focussing on planned surveys and upcoming survey facilities, including SKA pathfinder and precursor instruments as well as the SKA, and ESO’s optical, near infrared and mm facilities. It will cover a variety of research areas, from transients and Galactic star formation to galaxy evolution and cosmology. In addition, ample time will be reserved for more focussed discussion sessions to forge synergies between different teams and develop plans for collaborative surveys.

Exoplanets have become central to astrophysics. The formation and evolution of exoplanets can now be explored with instrumentation and observational techniques covering multiple physical scales and wavelengths. The composition and substructures of planet-forming disks can be observed directly, and we witness and characterize young proto-planets in formation. Planetary atmospheres, architectures and demographics can be systematically scrutinized to refine our understanding of the physical processes at play in the formation of giant and terrestrial planets, and in favorable conditions for the emergence of life. ESO facilities provide access to a large part of the electromagnetic spectrum to probe cold and hot phases, dynamics and interactions, close and distant environments, and the relations with the host star. Synergies between the ESO facilities have led to unique discoveries, e.g. the PDS 70 planetary system, and can successfully be used in synergy with space facilities, e.g. HST, CHEOPS, TESS, GAIA, JWST.