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The European Southern Observatory designs, builds & operates world-class observatories on the ground for the benefit of society. More info on eso.org
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Do the red hues of Nebula Sh2-46 hide a cosmic outcast? 😲 Dive deeper into the mystery: www.eso.org/public/image... 🔭 🧪 📹 ESO/VPHAS+ team 🎧 Mylonite - BO Réflexion Méditation

submitted 2 hours ago • 0 comments

There's an impostor in this nebula! 🤨 Captured by the VST at Paranal Observatory, this image shows nebula Sh2-46. You see that big blue-white star? It's responsible for the red tones around it, but it should not be there! Discover why: www.eso.org/public/image... 🔭 🧪 📷 ESO/VPHAS+ team

submitted 1 day ago • 1 comment

We have reached the top! The protective dome of our ELT will have two giant sliding doors that will open at night to allow observations. Their structure is being installed on the dome, meaning that the ELT has reached its highest point. www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNPk... 🔭 🧪

submitted 4 days ago • 1 comment

1/ Using ALMA, in which ESO is a partner, the exoALMA project has revealed exquisite images of young solar systems. By studying the motion of the gas astronomers may find signs of planets in the making. Read more in this @thenrao.bsky.social release: public.nrao.edu/news/exoalma/ 🔭 🧪 #exoplanets

submitted 7 days ago • 1 comment

Let's take a peek inside one of the ALMA antennas! 📡 Based high up in Chile's Chajnantor plateau, the 66 antennas of ALMA are all used to observe the cool Universe. But how does a radio-telescope really ‘see’? 🤔 Find out here: www.eso.org/public/image... 🔭 🧪 📷 ESO/Sergio Otarola

submitted 8 days ago • 1 comment

On the occasion of #EarthDay, we had a chat with Claudio Melo, our Sustainability and Diversity Officer, about the steps ESO is taking toward sustainability 🌍 Discover his inspiring words 💬👇 Learn more about our green initiatives: www.eso.org/public/about... 🔭 🧪

submitted 14 days ago • 1 comment

Got your best shots ready for this year's edition of AstroCamera? Awesome, make sure to submit them by 5 May! AstroCamera is an international #astrophotography competition organised by the Hevelianum science centre in Gdańsk, Poland, and supported by ESO. ℹ️ www.astrocamera.pl/en 🔭

submitted 15 days ago • 1 comment

Piercing the skies! ⚡ The VLT lasers create artificial stars by exciting sodium atoms in the atmosphere, at about 90 km altitude. This allows the telescope to learn how to adjust for atmospheric turbulence to obtain sharper images. www.eso.org/public/image... 🔭 🧪 📷 ESO/A. de Burgos Sierra

submitted 15 days ago • 0 comments

#TourESO 📹🔴 Ready? Our next virtual tour of the La Silla Observatory will start in 5 minutes! ⏱️ Streamed here www.youtube.com/user/ESOobse... 📷 ESO

submitted 16 days ago • 0 comments

#ICYMI Using ESO’s VLT, astronomers have found a planet that orbits at an angle of 90 degrees around a rare pair of peculiar stars. It's the first time we have strong evidence for one of these ‘polar planets’ 😲 Check out this video recap 👇 Full story: www.eso.org/public/news/... 🔭 🧪 #exoplanets

submitted 19 days ago • 1 comment

Our VLT has found a planet that orbits at an angle of 90 degrees around a rare pair of peculiar stars. This is the first time we have strong evidence for one of these ‘polar planets’ orbiting a stellar pair 😲 Discover more: www.eso.org/public/news/... 🔭 🧪 ☄️ Illustration by ESO/L. Calçada

submitted 19 days ago • 9 comments

The Sun is rising over Cerro Armazones in Chile! 🌅 And so does our Extremely Large Telescope. The dome construction has reached its highest point, while the ELT construction altogether has recently passed the 6️⃣0️⃣% completed milestone. Read more: www.eso.org/public/annou... 🔭 🧪 🎥 E. Garcés/ESO

submitted 19 days ago • 2 comments

Fishing for the ELT 🎣 In this wide-eye image our Extremely Large Telescope is lit up by the flowing river of the Milky Way. The dangling line of a crane 🏗️ casts down like an enormous fishing rod hoping to catch more building materials. Discover more: www.eso.org/public/image... 🔭 🧪 📷 ESO

submitted 22 days ago • 0 comments

What's the magical green glow that dominates the sky in this pic of ESO’s La Silla Observatory? 🧐 Known as airglow, it's a faint light emitted by the Earth’s atmosphere and it is only visible in the darkest of places. What causes it? Find out here: www.eso.org/public/image... 🔭 🧪 📷 J. Pérez/ESO

submitted 29 days ago • 0 comments

#TourESO 📹🔴 We're going live in just 5 minutes with our virtual tour of the Paranal Observatory! Don’t miss it! 🏃 Streamed here www.youtube.com/user/ESOobse... 📷 ESO/P.Horálek

submitted 30 days ago • 0 comments

When massive stars die, they go out with a bang 💥 These are supernova explosions and what remains are breathtaking structures like the ones you'll discover in this video 👇 Craving more jaw-dropping views of the cosmos? Explore our archive & feast your eyes: www.eso.org/public/images/ 🔭 🧪 📹 ESO

submitted 32 days ago • 1 comment

Know a secondary school student passionate about astronomy? Then spread the word! Application for the 2025 Summer AstroCamp, an ESO-supported educational initiative taking place in Portugal from 10 to 24 August, are now open: astrocamp.astro.up.pt/en/index.html #STEMSky 🔭 🧪

submitted 35 days ago • 0 comments

Supermassive black hole caught playing with its food! A ravenous & messy eater in galaxy NGC 4945 is blowing out powerful winds of material that will end up escaping the galaxy altogether. Read more: www.eso.org/public/image... 📷 ESO/C. Marconcini et al. 🔭 🧪 ☄️

submitted 36 days ago • 4 comments

We're teaming up with Space Scoop again! Managed by @iauoutreach.bsky.social , Space Scoop shares astro-news (including ours) in a language perfect for young space enthusiasts. Like the fresh ALMA discovery of oxygen in the most distant known galaxy: spacescoop.org/en/scoops/25...

submitted 38 days ago • 1 comment

There's a partial solar eclipse tomorrow! The Moon will slip between Earth and the Sun, casting its shadow over us 🌞🌕🌍 To get in the spirit, let’s take a (very) close peek at our cosmic neighbour, with its crater-covered surface. And, sadly, no cheese in sight 🧀 👀 1/2 📷 Abigail Frost

submitted 39 days ago • 3 comments

Ready for a close encounter with the ‘Koi-smic fish‘? 🐠 🔍 This spectacular object is actually the nebula Gum 3, seen here with the VLT Survey Telescope (VST) at our Paranal Observatory. Discover more: www.eso.org/public/image... 🔭 🧪 📹 ESO/VPHAS+ team. Ack.: CASU. Music: Mylonite

submitted 40 days ago • 2 comments

Remember when we told you on Friday that the rings of Saturn are vanishing from view for a few months? Here's an image taken with our Very Large Telescope the last time this happened. Bonus points: it's an infrared image! More details below 👇 🔭

submitted 42 days ago • 0 comments

An epic moonrise for an epic telescope! 🔭 🌕 Kick off the week with this breathtaking video of the full Moon rising behind our #ELT, currently under construction in Chile 🤩 www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pSx... > If you prefer a photo, it's waiting for you below 👇 1/2 🔭 🧪

submitted 43 days ago • 2 comments

#TourESO 📹🔴 Grab a cozy seat, we’re going live in 5 minutes with our virtual tour of the La Silla Observatory! Don’t miss out! Streamed here www.youtube.com/user/ESOobse... 📷 ESO/A. Tsaousis 🔭

submitted 44 days ago • 2 comments

#ICYMI 📡 ALMA has found oxygen in the most distant known galaxy, and this has astronomers scratching their heads! 😵‍💫 Discover why with the latest episode of #ChasingStarlight: www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSqz... Full story: www.eso.org/public/news/... 🔭 🧪

submitted 45 days ago • 8 comments

To clarify: this is only possible thanks to adaptive optics, which corrects atmospheric turbulence and allows us to read those tiny labels 🔭. xkcd.com/3066/

submitted 45 days ago • 11 comments

Check this pic to catch one last glimpse of Saturn's rings before they "disappear" from view for a while! On 23 March, the Earth's orbit will cross the plane of the rings, making them appear edge-on from our perspective. The rings will be visible again in September this year. 1/ 📷 Abigail Frost

submitted 45 days ago • 2 comments

Too large to be made from a single piece, the ELT's 39m mirror will consist of 798 segments. To work together, the segments get their misalignments adjusted by edge sensors and actuators with a precision of just a couple of nanometres 🤯 www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-FX... 🔭 🧪 #instrumentation

submitted 46 days ago • 4 comments