ESO, the European Southern Observatory,
is a place of great diversity
A place where talented engineers,
astronomers and many other specialists
from all over the world
meet and work together.
A place where knowledge is shared
to provide the astronomical community
with the tools to conduct cutting-edge research.
This is the ESOcast!
Cutting­-edge science and life behind the scenes at ESO,
the European Southern Observatory.
ESO has been a focal point for European astronomy
for more than 50 years.
It is engaged in almost every aspect of astronomy —
— from innovative engineering
to the publication of scientific results.
Here world-­class telescopes are designed and operated;
collaborations are formed to build new instruments;
committees meet to evaluate requests for telescope time;
astronomers use the telescopes to study the Universe;
and conferences are held for them to share their results.
None of this would be possible
without the constant engagement of individuals —
the astronomical community
that ESO is dedicated to supporting.
It is only by continued interaction
with this community
that ESO remains such an important player
in modern astronomy.
Among ESO’s greatest assets
are ​its talented employees:
engineers, astronomers and many other specialists.
One of the ESO scientists who is well known
to ESOcast viewers is our regular presenter,
Dr J. aka Dr Joe Liske.
Joe joined ESO in 2003
During his career, he has been involved
in a number of cutting­-edge projects,
especially in the department responsible for the E­-ELT —
the European Extremely Large Telescope,
eventually becoming the project’s lead scientist.
The E-­ELT is ESO’s flagship project
and is also one of the most ambitious
astronomical engineering projects ever undertaken.
Its gargantuan main mirror,
39 metres in diameter,
will collect more light than all the existing
large optical telescopes in the world put together.
And it will produce images 15 times sharper than those
produced by the Hubble Space Telescope.
When the E­-ELT ushers in a new era
of ground-­based astronomy, Dr J —
along with many hundreds
of other scientists and engineers —
will have played his part in this momentous advance.
But astronomers are a very mobile breed.
They move between countries and
research organisations on a regular basis.
And now our very own Dr J is leaving ESO
and moving to the Hamburg Observatory,
where he has been awarded a professorship.
Building on his experience at ESO,
he will continue to study how the Universe
has evolved over its 13.8 billion­-year existence;
and he will also continue to be involved in developing
the instruments being built for ESO’s telescopes
that will make that study possible.
Even though he has now become a part of the
very community that he has served for many years
through his work at ESO, Dr J —
or Professor J as he now is —
— will continue to be closely involved with ESO’s work,
collaborating on new advanced instruments for
ESO’s telescopes and serving on working groups.
And, of course, we will still invite him to host
our series of ESOcasts and Hubblecasts.
Joe’s career illustrates the importance of ESO
to the community of astronomers in Europe,
and the importance of that community to ESO.
It is only by maintaining a strong synergy
with the community that ESO can continue
to provide state­-of­-the-­art astronomical facilities.
By attracting the best scientists and engineers
ESO remains at the forefront of astronomy.
Astronomers gain valuable insights into designing
and operating world­-class facilities —
insights that will be enormously valuable in their future careers.
As Joe Liske enters the next phase of his career,
ESO moves into a future full of exciting new projects
and further insights into our
vast and mysterious Universe.
Transcription by ESO; translation by —