Meddelanden från ESO

20 juli 2023: ESO:s årsberättelse för 2022 är nu tillgänglig. Den presenterar de många och varierande aktiviteterna som skedde vid ESO under året, inklusive: Framskridandet av konstruktionen av ESO:s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) på Cerro Armazones och i Europa. Vetenskapliga höjdpunkter i den forskning som utförts vid ESO:s anläggningar, som återigen resulterade i över 1000 expertgranskade vetenskapliga artiklar. Bland höjdpunkterna märks bilden av det supermassiva svarta hålet Sgr A* i Vintergatans centrum som togs med hjälp av Event Horizon Telescope Consortium där ALMA och APEX ingår. Färdigställandet av intrumenten ERIS (Enhanced Resolution Imager and Spectrograph) vid VLT och NIRPS (Near InfraRed Planet Searcher) vid 3,6-metersteleskopet, liksom den kontinuerliga utvecklingen av andra instrumentprojekt. Förbättringar av ALMA inklusive de nya Band 2-mottagarna och känslighetsförbättringen inom projektet Wide-Band Sensitivity Upgrade. Driftsättningen av solcellsanläggningen vid Paranal-Armazones som är en del av ESO:s miljövänliga engagemang. Firandet av ESO:s 60-årsdag vid ESO:s anläggningar, i medlemsstaterna och i Australien. ESO-rådets ...

13 mars 2023: Den 13 mars 2023 är det tioårsjubileum för världens största radioteleskop – Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), där ESO är en partner. Under det senaste decenniet har ALMA revolutionerat vår förståelse av universum genom att ge nya insikter om hur planeter, stjärnor och galaxer bildas, dechiffrera kemin i kosmos och ge avgörande bidrag till de första bilderna av svarta hål. För att markera denna milstolpe firar ALMA i dag med chilenska myndigheter, ambassadörer, representanter för forskarsamfundet och samhällena vid observatoriet nära San Pedro de Atacama i Chile. Ceremonin och en tillhörande konstföreställning kommer att livestreamas via ALMA Social Networks och webbplats. "ALMA har förändrat vår förståelse av universum och öppnat nya forskningsområden", säger Dr Sean Dougherty, chef för ALMA. "Vi är mycket stolta över det senaste decenniets prestationer och ser fram emot upptäckterna som kommer att göras under de kommande tio åren." Sedan invigningen 2013 har det astronomiska samfundet producerat ...

28 april 2022: Europeiska sydobservatoriet (ESO) och Event Horizon Telescope-projektet (EHT) håller en presskonferens för att presentera nya forskningsresultat från EHT. När? 12 maj kl. 15:00 Var? Eridanus Auditorium, ESO:s högkvarter, Garching bei München, Tyskland, och online Vad? En presskonferens för att presentera nya forskningsresultat från EHT Vem? ESO:s generaldirektör öppnar mötet. EHT:s projektledare Huib Jan van Langevelde och Anton Zenaua (EHT Collaboration Board Founding Chair) deltar också. En panel med EHT-forskare förklarar resultaten och svarar på frågor: Thomas Krichbaum, Max Planckinstitutet för radioastronomi, Tyskland Sara Issaoun, Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, USA och Radbouduniversitet, Nederländerna José Gómez, Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (CSIC), Spanien Christian Fromm, Würzburgs universitet, Tyskland Mariafelicia de Laurentis, University of Naples “Federico II” och National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN), Italien OSA: Denna inbjudan gäller representanter från media. För att delta i presskonferensen måste journalister registrera sig via onlineformuläret senast 9 maj kl. 23:59. Ange om ...

1 oktober 2021: För tio år sedan öppnade Atacama Large Millimetre/submillimetre Array (ALMA), där ESO är en partner, sina dörrar för astronomerna. Händelsen uppmärksammades den 3 oktober 2011 med den första bilden (de kolliderande Antenngalaxerna) som hade tagits med antennerna. Bilden visade ALMA:s potential och signalerade inledningen av ett framgångsrikt årtionde med astronomiska observationer. ALMA använde bara en tredjedel av sina 66 flyttbara antenner när den började användas för vetenskapliga studier. Trots det inkom över 900 ansökningar om observationstid, varav omkring 100 valdes ut, vilket visade hur efterlängtad anläggningen var bland astronomerna. Under det gångna årtiondet har ALMA fortsatt att vara hett eftertraktad av forskare världen över: ansökningarna är långt fler än den tillgängliga observaitonstiden, och många intressanta och nydanande projekt föreslås varje år. ALMA-antennerna är belägna på Chajnantorplatån i norra Chile på en höjd av 5 000 meter placerade på avstånd av uppemot 16 kilometer. Antennerna kopplas samman för att observera universum ...

21 oktober 2019: The latest edition of ESO's quarterly journal, The Messenger, is now available online. Find out the latest news from ESO on topics ranging from astronomical events to the latest science discoveries. Highlights of this edition include: Distributed Peer Review: F. Patat et al. M87 Event Horizon Telescope Results and the Role of ALMA: C. Goddi et al. The PHANGS Surveys: E. Schinnerer et al. Total Solar Eclipse Over La Silla: L. Ventura et al. Download The Messenger in PDF format or visit The Messenger website to subscribe and receive a free printed copy. This product is also available in the ESOshop.

9 september 2019: The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) Collaboration, the team who captured an image of a black hole for the first time, has been awarded the 2020 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics in recognition of this achievement. The feat used an Earth-scale array of eight ground-based radio telescopes, including two in which ESO is a major partner: the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX). Three current and recent ESO employees are among the scientists who will share in the prize. The ALMA and APEX telescopes [1][2] location in Chile were indispensable in achieving the unprecedented resolution required for this breakthrough. The large combined collecting area of ALMA's antennas also made it the most sensitive facility in the EHT by far, and a key part of the entire network, enabling the EHT to capture ten times fainter signals. The Breakthrough Prize Foundation and its founding sponsors — Sergey ...

30 april 2019: On 17 April 2019, the Senate of Chile awarded the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) a medal for its instrumental role in capturing the first-ever image of a black hole. The picture, unveiled by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) on 10 April to enormous public interest and excitement, was created using data taken at eight radio telescopes around the world, including two in which ESO is a major partner: ALMA and APEX, the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment. These telescopes’ location in the extremely dry conditions of the Atacama desert in Northern Chile is ideal for millimeter-submillimeter astronomy, and the large combined collecting area of the ALMA antennas was indispensable in achieving the unprecedented resolution and sensitivity required for this breakthrough. In addition to recognising the role of the observatory as a whole, the Chilean Senate honoured seven scientists individually with medals for their work. Among them were Rubén Herrero-Illana, an ESO ...

9 april 2019: Den 10 april kl. 15:00 CEST injuder ESO allmänheten till en presskonferens för att presentera banbrytande resultat från Event Horizon Telescope (EHT).Presskonferensen anordnas av Europeiska kommissionen, Europeiska forskningsrådet och EHT. Den streamas online på ESO:s webbplats, av ERC och på sociala medier. Frågor besvaras via sociala media på hashtaggen #AskEHTeu.Ett pressmeddelande från ESO kommer att publiceras strax efter konferensens början.Presskonferenser kommer att hållas samtidigt på sex olika platser: Belgien (Bryssel), Chile (Santiago), Kina (Shanghai), Japan (Tokyo) Taiwan (Taiapei) och USA (Washington, D.C.).Med start kl. 15:07 CEST kommer en tråd på Reddit Ask Science, "Ask Me Anything (AMA)", att öppnas. Här kan allmänheten ställa frågor om observationerna och forskningsresultaten. Kl. 20:00 CEST kommer ansvariga forskare att börja besvara frågor på Reddit.Mer information och uppdateringar finns även på Event Horizon Telescopes webbsida, https://eventhorizontelescope.org.

1 april 2019: Representanter för Europeiska kommissionen, Europeiska forskningsrådet (ERC, European Research Council) och Event Horizon Telescope (EHT, "Händelsehorisontteleskopet") kommer att hålla en presskonferens för att presentera banbrytande forskningsresultat från EHT.När: 10 april 2019 kl. 15.00 CEST.Var: Berlayment Building, Rue de la Loi (Wetstraat) 200, B-1049 Bryssel, Belgien.Vad: En presskonferens om ett banbrytande resultat från EHT.Vem: Carlos Moedas, EU-kommissionären för forskning, vetenskap och innovation, Anton Zensus, styrelseordförande EHT Collaboration Board, samt följande EHT-forskare kommenterar resultaten: Heino Falcke, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Nederländerna (styrelseordförande, EHT Science Council) Monika Mościbrodzka, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Nederländerna (samordnare, EHT Working Group) Luciano Rezzolla, Goethe Universität, Frankfurt, Tyskland (styrelseledamot EHT) Eduardo Ros, Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie, Bonn, Tyskland (styrelsesekreterare, EHT) RSVP: Inbjudan gäller representanter för media. För att delta måste registrering ske via onlineformulär senast 7 april 23.59 CEST. Ange om du deltar personligen eller online. Journalister på plats kommer att ha möjlighet att ställa frågor till paneldeltagarna. Individuella intervjuer kan ...

20 november 2018: The European Science Cluster of Astronomy & Particle physics ESFRI research infrastructures (ESCAPE) project has received funding of €16 million through the Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme of the European Union [1] and will be launched in the first quarter of 2019. By bringing together key pan-European astronomy and particle physics facilities on the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) Roadmap the ESCAPE project will address the challenges in open science and data accessibility faced by European researchers. The ESCAPE project will combine the efforts of participating institutions to make data and software in multi-messenger astronomy and accelerator-driven particle physics open, accessible and interoperable. Led by the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), over the course of 42 months, ESCAPE will drive collaboration between 31 European scientific and industry partners to answer critical questions of open science and data innovation in data-driven scientific research. “The name ESCAPE ...

17 maj 2018: From 17 May to 2 September 2018, the ESO Supernova Planetarium & Visitor Centre will display it’s first temporary exhibition — Our Place in Space. This small free-of-charge showcase of art and science is inspired by the spectacular images of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and encourages visitors to consider where humanity fits into the grand scheme of the Universe. Works from eleven Italian artists are presented to provide a unique view of the Universe and our place within it. For more than 28 years, the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has been expanding our cosmic horizons. It is one of the most ambitious and successful astronomy missions ever flown in space and is a great example of a successful international partnership. Not only has this magnificent telescope revealed and shared the beauty, wonder, and complexity of the Universe, but it has also brought astronomy to the public eye, greatly impacting ...

31 mars 2017: As part of an ambitious experiment involving telescopes around the world, the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) is about to attempt to image something never-before-seen: a black hole. For the first time, ALMA is joining the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) and the Global mm-VLBI Array (GMVA), which are Earth-sized virtual observatories made possible by an international collaboration of radio telescopes. Their main goal is to study the supermassive black hole at the centre of the Milky Way in detail. The EHT will attempt to image, for the very first time, the shadow of the black hole’s event horizon, while the GMVA will investigate the properties of the accretion and outflow around the Galactic Centre. The impressive line up of participating telescopes stretches across the globe, from the South Pole to Europe to Hawaii — and, of course, Chile. ALMA’s 66 antennas, state-of-the-art receivers, and superb site in its southern location ...

20 maj 2016: Ten years ago the Universe Awareness project was launched. To celebrate this anniversary, and the launch of the new Space Scoop website, a global contest has been launched inviting the readers of Space Scoop to create their own Space Scoop comic. Space Scoop provides a comic template — all you have to do is to select a released text and let your creativity flow! Artwork using traditional media such as watercolour, pencils, mosaic or chalk is welcome, as is work created using digital software like Paint, GIMP or Adobe Illustrator. Three winners will be selected in each participating country, one for each age category (8-11 years, 12-15 years, and 16-18 years). Each winner will receive a cosmic goody bag and a certificate. In addition, the winning artwork will be displayed on the international Universe Awareness website. The winning entries from all countries will then be evaluated by an international panel ...

16 december 2015: Space Scoop, an astronomy news service for children aged eight and above, invites you to explore a brand-new website and share its exciting astronomical content with your children during their Christmas break. Space Scoop is coordinated by the international Universe Awareness (EU-UNAWE) and Space Awareness (SPACE-AWE) projects in association with several partners, including ESO and ESA/Hubble. Every Space Scoops article provides news about the latest astronomical discoveries in child-friendly language and is accompanied by a stunning astronomical image. The goal is to feed children’s curiosity about the Universe, to share the excitement of new discoveries with them and to inspire children to develop an interest in science and a passion for learning. The project aims to change young children’s frequent perception that science is an outdated and dull subject. As such, the brand-new Space Scoop website features a vibrant, eye-catching visual design along with fun graphics, images and icons tailored ...

10 november 2015: The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) continues to expand its power and capabilities by linking with other millimetre-wavelength telescopes in Europe and North America in a series of very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) observations. In VLBI, data from two or more telescopes are combined to form a single, virtual telescope that spans the geographic distance between them. The most recent of these experiments with ALMA and other telescopes formed an Earth-sized telescope with extraordinarily fine resolution. These experiments are an essential step in including ALMA in the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT), a global network of millimetre-wavelength telescopes that will have the power to study the supermassive black hole at the centre of the Milky Way in unprecedented detail. Before ALMA could participate in VLBI observations, it first had to be transformed into a different kind of instrument known as a phased array [1]. This new version of ALMA allows its ...

11 augusti 2015: A new instrument called GRAVITY has been shipped to Chile and successfully assembled and tested at the Paranal Observatory. GRAVITY is a second generation instrument for the VLT Interferometer (VLTI). It will allow the measurement of the positions of astronomical objects on the finest scales and perform interferometric imaging and spectroscopy. GRAVITY will bring the most advanced vision to the VLT, combining four individual telescopes of the Paranal Observatory so that they effectively act as a single telescope with a diameter of more than 100 metres. Using several novel techniques, GRAVITY will offer sensitivity and accuracy far beyond what is possible today [1]. It aims to measure the positions of objects on scales of order ten microarcseconds, and perform imaging with four milliarcsecond resolution. For illustration, this corresponds to seeing buildings on the Moon, and locating them to within a few centimetres. GRAVITY will push high angular resolution astronomy to ...

5 mars 2015: ALMA, the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, has successfully combined its immense collecting area and sensitivity with that of APEX (Atacama Pathfinder Experiment) to create a new, single instrument through a process known as Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI). Larger telescopes can make sharper observations, and interferometry allows multiple telescopes to act like a single telescope as large as the separation — or baseline — between them. In VLBI, data from two independent telescopes are combined to form a virtual telescope that spans the geographic distance between them — potentially up to the diameter of the Earth — yielding extraordinary magnifying power. An essential intermediate step is to test the technique on a short baseline. On 13 January 2015 ALMA and the nearby APEX telescope simultaneously studied the quasar 0522-364. This distant galaxy was used for this first-of-its-kind observation due to its remarkable brightness at radio wavelengths. To ensure the telescopes ...

4 juni 2014: Scientists have carried out a major upgrade to the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) by installing an ultra-precise atomic clock at ALMA’s Array Operations Site — home to ALMA’s supercomputing correlator. The current rubidium-based time reference has been replaced by a more accurate hydrogen maser. This upgrade will benefit all ALMA users and will eventually allow ALMA to synchronise with a worldwide network of radio astronomy facilities to form an Earth-sized telescope with the magnifying power required to see details at the edge of the supermassive black hole at the centre of the Milky Way [2]. This corresponds to a resolving power thousands of times greater than achievable with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. Before ALMA can lend its unmatched capabilities to this and similar scientific observations, however, it must first transform into a different kind of instrument known as a phased array. This new version of ALMA will allow ...