1 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:10,500 We’re in an extremely exciting time for astronomy, 2 00:00:10,500 --> 00:00:13,000 and I think this is understood worldwide 3 00:00:13,000 --> 00:00:15,000 and not just by astronomers. 4 00:00:16,000 --> 00:00:18,000 The technology is now available 5 00:00:18,000 --> 00:00:22,000 to look not only at the farthest objects in the Universe 6 00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:25,000 where the light left long, long ago, 7 00:00:25,000 --> 00:00:28,000 so that we can see how the whole thing evolved and developed, 8 00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:34,000 but we can even detect signatures of planets around other stars 9 00:00:34,000 --> 00:00:36,000 and that answers an age-old question 10 00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:38,500 which really is one of the fundamental questions 11 00:00:38,500 --> 00:00:43,000 in all of science, and it really excites the general public. 12 00:00:44,170 --> 00:00:45,537 ESO has a very important role 13 00:00:45,537 --> 00:00:48,015 in the context of European and worldwide astronomy 14 00:00:48,015 --> 00:00:50,186 because it’s one of the leading organisations 15 00:00:50,186 --> 00:00:52,095 indeed for ground-based astronomy. 16 00:00:52,095 --> 00:00:55,179 You might even say it is the pre-eminent organisation, 17 00:00:55,179 --> 00:00:58,103 and therefore we have both the opportunity 18 00:00:58,103 --> 00:01:02,097 and the responsibility to lead the further developments in astronomy. 19 00:01:03,757 --> 00:01:06,613 I see three main goals for ESO in the coming years. 20 00:01:06,613 --> 00:01:10,479 The first one is to get the best possible science out of the VLT, 21 00:01:10,479 --> 00:01:15,499 the interferometer, and the survey telescopes, all of them on Paranal. 22 00:01:15,499 --> 00:01:17,635 The second is to build ALMA, 23 00:01:17,635 --> 00:01:21,547 the new observatory at 5,000 metres in the high Andes, 24 00:01:21,547 --> 00:01:25,373 together with the North American and East Asian partners 25 00:01:25,373 --> 00:01:28,241 and we need to deliver this on budget and on time 26 00:01:28,241 --> 00:01:33,276 and indeed prepare the European astronomers for leading the science. 27 00:01:34,384 --> 00:01:37,860 The third main goal for ESO in the coming years is to design 28 00:01:37,860 --> 00:01:40,257 a world leading Extremely Large Telescope, 29 00:01:40,257 --> 00:01:45,040 which may have a main mirror with a diameter larger than 40 metres, 30 00:01:45,040 --> 00:01:47,625 and will enable wonderful science. 31 00:01:47,625 --> 00:01:49,957 And of course we don’t only want to design it, 32 00:01:49,957 --> 00:01:51,770 we also then want to construct it. 33 00:01:52,970 --> 00:01:55,369 As to La Silla, it is of course the cornerstone of 34 00:01:55,369 --> 00:01:56,860 ESO’s existence in Chile 35 00:01:56,860 --> 00:01:58,951 and it holds some wonderful telescopes, 36 00:01:58,951 --> 00:02:02,224 including the one that is discovering many exoplanets. 37 00:02:03,110 --> 00:02:05,959 And I see no reason why this couldn’t continue for many years 38 00:02:05,959 --> 00:02:07,171 into the future. 39 00:02:07,171 --> 00:02:11,751 And on top of that, La Silla is one of the potential sites for the future ELT. 40 00:02:12,799 --> 00:02:14,286 I took up this position because 41 00:02:14,286 --> 00:02:18,383 ESO is the most exciting astronomy organisation in the world, 42 00:02:18,383 --> 00:02:22,429 with high quality staff and long-term and stable support 43 00:02:22,429 --> 00:02:23,512 by the member countries. 44 00:02:23,512 --> 00:02:26,500 It will be a pleasure and a privilege to come and work here. 45 00:02:27,293 --> 00:02:29,779 In the first days in office I will further familiarise myself 46 00:02:29,779 --> 00:02:30,993 with the organisation 47 00:02:30,993 --> 00:02:33,880 but then I will very quickly travel to Chile. 48 00:02:34,000 --> 00:02:36,759 After all, the crown jewels of ESO are in Chile 49 00:02:36,759 --> 00:02:41,539 and it’s very important that I meet not only the ESO staff in Chile, 50 00:02:41,539 --> 00:02:44,105 but also the Chilean astronomers and authorities.