ESO Astronomy

Name: ESO Astronomy
Address: Karl Schwarzschild Strasse 2, Garching bei Munich, 85748, DE
Telephone: +4989320060
Price range: $$
Rating: 4.8

Anrufen Wegbeschreibung Website

The European Southern Observatory designs, builds & operates world-class observatories on the ground
(829)

ESO carries out an ambitious programme focused on the design, construction and operation of even more powerful observing facilities. ESO has enabled the first picture of a planet around another star, measured the distance to the most remote object ever found, found the largest solar system yet around another star and contributed to the discovery of the Universe’s accelerating expansion due to the elusive dark energy.

28/10/2026

ICYMI Using ESO's Very Large Telescope, astronomers spotted a unique disc of debris around a dead star that foretells our Solar System’s future.

The debris is peculiar in that, unlike in similar systems previously found, it is organised in a double disc, the two parts separated by a clear gap. The disc appears to be shaped by two planetary bodies, one possibly as big as Pluto, that have survived the violent death of the star.

Check out our video summary 🎥 👇

27/10/2026

Perfect Halloween discovery: dead star and planetary bodies 🎃 🪐

ESO’s Very Large Telescope has found a rare disc of debris around a dead star.

This debris consists of the leftovers of planets that once orbited the star. It provides a glimpse into the possible fate of our Solar System: as stars like the Sun enter the final stages of their life, they expand and shed their outer layers, engulfing and destroying nearby planets.

Yet unlike in similar systems previously found, this debris is organised not in only one ring of vaporised planetary rubble, but instead in a double disc, the two parts separated by a clear gap.

The disc appears to be shaped by two planetary bodies, one possibly as big as Pluto, that have survived the violent death of the star.

Read more: https://www.eso.org/public/news/eso2613/

Artist's impression by ESO/L. Calçada

26/10/2026

New ELT milestone 🥳

The massive altitude structure of ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) was tilted for the first time in October 2026.

To point anywhere in the Southern sky, the telescope needs to rotate on two different axes: a vertical and a horizontal axis. A few months ago, the ELT rotated on its vertical axis for the first time. Now, tilting on its horizontal axis is another step in the right direction.

The framework that will hold the ELT’s five mirrors is built from nearly 2000 tonnes of steel. It moves by floating on a layer of oil that, in the future, will be thinner than a human hair.

Read more: https://www.eso.org/public/videos/potw2643a/

📹 ESO/Cimolai/Apical/G. Vecchia

19/10/2026

This strange object that appears beneath a starry sky is one of the three BlackGEM telescopes hosted at ESO's La Silla Observatory.

Its mission? To spot the optical counterpart of detections of gravitational waves — ripples through space and time produced by powerful events, such as neutron star and black hole mergers.

This way, BlackGEM can help gravitational-wave detectors like LIGO and Virgo to pinpoint these events in the sky.

Read more: https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw2642a/

📷 J. Rodrigues/ESO

16/10/2026

The 2027 ESO Calendar is now available!

With its spectacular views of the cosmos and of ESO's observatories in Chile, it's the perfect companion to travel across the Universe, one month at a time!

Grab yours at the ESO Supernova Planetarium & Visitor Centre, located next to ESO's HQ in Garching, or get it online via the ESOshop: https://www.eso.org/public/shop/product/calendar_2027/

But supplies are limited, so be quick! 😉

15/10/2026

Congratulations, CTAO 👏

As a founding member of the Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory (CTAO), ESO celebrates the inauguration of the Large-Sized Telescope sub-array at the CTAO-North site at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory in La Palma, Spain.

And there's more excitement ahead! As the host of its southern site at the Paranal Observatory, ESO is looking forward to the arrival of the first telescopes of CTAO-South in Chile, expected for later this year.

Stay tuned as the world’s largest and most powerful gamma-ray observatory unfolds in both hemispheres 🔥

14/10/2026

New milestone reached 🥳

Nearly 500 segments of the main mirror of ESO's Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) have now arrived from Europe at the ELT Technical Facility at ESO's Paranal Observatory in Chile. That is around half of all the segments being made for what will become a 39-metre eye on the sky.

It is not possible to make a mirror this big from a single piece of glass. That is why the main mirror of the ELT consists of 798 individual segments, working together as one, to observe the cosmos in depth and detail.

133 additional segments have been produced (that is, a total of 931). This way, once the telescope is operating, a segment can be taken out for recoating and be immediately replaced.

Read more: https://www.eso.org/public/announcements/ann26009/

📷 ESO

12/10/2026

Massive antenna, silent mirror 📡

The 15-metre diameter surface of the Swedish-ESO Submillimetre Telescope (SEST) reflects the dark night sky over ESO's La Silla Observatory, coloured here by the faint natural airglow coming from atoms in our atmosphere.

While no longer in operation, SEST was one of a kind at the time of its first light in 1987. Discover why: https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw2641a/

📷 J. Rodrigues/ESO

05/10/2026

64 years old and still staying up all night 🌟 🔭

But OK, that comes with the job we have been doing since ESO was founded in 1962.

That's six decades (and a little more!) of exploring the cosmos. We’re nowhere near done, but we'll surely find a moment between observations for a slice of birthday cake 🍰

📷 ESO/G. Beccari

05/10/2026

A swirling galaxy!

Captured by ALMA Observatory, this image of galaxy M83 depicts the light emitted by cold gas molecules, the ingredients of star formation.

Images like this one allow us to map how the density and temperature of these gas clouds change in different locations within a galaxy. And in turn, understand whether stars form differently in different galactic environments.

Read more: https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw2640a/

Switch between M83 views in visible and submillimetre wavelengths: https://www.eso.org/public/images/comparisons/potw2640a/

📷 ALMA(ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)/J. Koda et al.

Adresse

Karl Schwarzschild Strasse 2
Garching Bei Munich
85748

Telefon

+4989320060

Website

http://www.eso.org/

Benachrichtigungen

Erfahren Sie als Erste/r von Neuigkeiten und Aktionen: Wir schicken Ihnen eine E-Mail, wenn ESO Astronomy etwas veröffentlicht. Ihre E-Mail-Adresse wird für keinen anderen Zweck verwendet, und Sie können sich jederzeit abmelden.