ESO, Archives

Visibility and image of WOH G64 obtained from our VLTI/GRAVITY observations. a: u3 coverage of our VLTI/GRAVITY observations of WOH G64 with the calibrated visibility color-coded. North is up, east is to the left. b: Image of WOH G64 reconstructed at 2.2 µm (with a spectral window of 0.2 µm) using IRBis with the maximum entropy regularization. North is up, east is to the left. -- Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy & Telescopes, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release, Stellar Cartography

Stellar Cartography: The First Close-up Picture Of A Star Outside Our Galaxy

by Keith CowingNovember 21, 2024November 21, 2024

“For the first time, we have succeeded in taking a zoomed-in image of a dying star in a galaxy outside our own Milky Way,” says Keiichi Ohnaka, an astrophysicist from […]

This artist’s impression shows Barnard b, a sub-Earth-mass planet that was discovered orbiting Barnard’s star. Its signal was detected with the ESPRESSO instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), and astronomers were able to confirm it with data from other instruments. An earlier promising detection in 2018 around the same star could not be confirmed by these data. On this newly discovered exoplanet, which has at least half the mass of Venus but is too hot to support liquid water, a year lasts just over three Earth days.Credit:ESO/M. Kornmesser

Astronomy & Telescopes, Barnard's Star, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release

A Sub-Earth Mass Planet Has Been Discovered Orbiting Barnard’s Star

by Keith CowingOctober 1, 2024October 1, 2024

Using the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (ESO’s VLT), astronomers have discovered an exoplanet orbiting Barnard’s star, the closest single star to our Sun. On this newly discovered exoplanet, […]

Gigantic infrared map of the Milky Way, ESO Larger images

Astronomy & Telescopes, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release, Stellar Cartography

ESO Telescope Captures The Most Detailed Infrared Map Ever Of Our Home Galaxy

by Keith CowingSeptember 27, 2024September 27, 2024

Astronomers have published a gigantic infrared map of the Milky Way containing more than 1.5 billion objects ― the most detailed one ever made. Using the European Southern Observatory’s VISTA […]

Overall and detailed views of ANDES Nasmyth and Coudé parts in the case the instrument is not entirely placed on the Nasmyth platform. -- astro-ph.IM

Astronomy & Telescopes, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report

ANDES, The High Resolution Spectrograph For The ELT: Science Goals, Project Overview And Future Developments

by Keith CowingJuly 24, 2024

The first generation of ELT instruments includes an optical-infrared high-resolution spectrograph, indicated as ELT-HIRES and recently christened ANDES (ArmazoNes high Dispersion Echelle Spectrograph).

The primary mirror of ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), known as M1, will be by far the largest mirror ever made for a telescope. With a diameter of more than 39 metres, M1 is too large to be made from a single piece of glass and will instead consist of 798 hexagonal segments, each about five centimetres thick and 1.5 metres across, working together to collect tens of millions of times as much light as the human eye. An additional 133 segments have been produced to facilitate the maintenance and recoating of the segments once the telescope is operational. ESO has also procured 18 spare segments, bringing the total number to 949. Now, German company SCHOTT has successfully cast the blank for the last of the 949 segments, seen in this photo. Credit: SCHOTT Larger image

Astronomy & Telescopes, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release

An Immense Astrobiology Tool: Last Segment Blank Of The Extremely Large Telescope Mirror Delivered

by Keith CowingJune 28, 2024June 28, 2024

Editor’s note: according to the ESO website: “The ELT will revolutionise the study of planets outside our Solar System. It will allow us to obtain direct images of some of […]

The European Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) is being built on Cerro Armazones in the Chilean desert near the ESO's Paranal Observatory. With its mirror diameter of 39 meters, it will be the world's largest eye in the sky. Here, an artist's rendering shows what the telescope will look like once it is completed on the mountain. Photo: ESO/L. Calçada

Astronomy & Telescopes, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release

The ArmazoNes High Dispersion Echelle Spectrograph: The Analysis Of The Universe

by Keith CowingJune 9, 2024June 9, 2024

The European Southern Observatory (ESO) has signed an agreement with an international consortium of institutions to develop and build ANDES, the ArmazoNes High Dispersion Echelle Spectrograph. The ANDES instrument will […]

The high-resolution ELT instrument ANDES (formerly known as HIRES) will allow astronomers to study astronomical objects that require highly sensitive observations. It will be used to search for signs of life in Earth-like exoplanets, find the first stars born in the Universe, test for possible variations of the fundamental constants of physics, and measure the acceleration of the Universe's expansion. -- ESO Larger image

Astronomy & Telescopes, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release

ESO Signs Agreement For ANDES Life-Seeking Spectrograph On The ELT

by Keith CowingJune 7, 2024June 7, 2024

Today, ESO has signed an agreement with an international consortium of institutions for the design and construction of ANDES, the ArmazoNes high Dispersion Echelle Spectrograph. The ANDES instrument will be […]

This is the sharpest image ever taken by ALMA — sharper than is routinely achieved in visible light with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. It shows the protoplanetary disc surrounding the young star HL Tauri. These new ALMA observations reveal substructures within the disc that have never been seen before and even show the possible positions of planets forming in the dark patches within the system. Credit: ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

A New Link Between Water And Planet Formation

by Keith CowingMarch 16, 2024

Researchers have found water vapour in the disc around a young star exactly where planets may be forming.

This research brings together observations of more than 80 young stars that might have planets forming around them in spectacular discs. This small selection from the survey shows 10 discs from the three regions of our galaxy observed in the papers. V351 Ori and V1012 Ori are located in the most distant of the three regions, the gas-rich cloud of Orion, some 1600 light-years from Earth. DG Tau, T Tau, HP Tau, MWC758 and GM Aur are located in the Taurus region, while HD 97048, WW Cha and SZ Cha can be found in Chamaeleon I, all of which are about 600 light-years from Earth. The images shown here were captured using the Spectro-Polarimetric High-contrast Exoplanet REsearch (SPHERE) instrument mounted on ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT). SPHERE’s state-of-the-art extreme adaptive optics system corrects for the turbulent effects of Earth’s atmosphere, yielding crisp images of the discs around stars. The stars themselves have been covered with a coronagraph — a circular mask that blocks their intense glare, revealing the faint discs around them. The discs have been scaled to appear roughly the same size in this composition. Credit: ESO/C. Ginski, A. Garufi, P.-G. Valegård et al.

Astronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release

Groundbreaking Survey Reveals Secrets Of Planet Birth Around Dozens Of StarsESOGroundbreaking Survey Reveals Secrets Of Planet Birth Around Dozens Of Stars

by Keith CowingMarch 5, 2024March 5, 2024

In a series of studies, a team of astronomers has shed new light on the fascinating and complex process of planet formation. The stunning images, captured using the European Southern […]

Astronomers have found water vapour in a disc around a young star exactly where planets may be forming. In this image, the new observations from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), in which ESO is a partner, show the water vapour in shades of blue. Near the centre of the disc, where the young star lives, the environment is hotter and the gas brighter. The red-hued rings are previous ALMA observations showing the distribution of dust around the star. CREDIT ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)/S. Facchini et al.

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release

Astronomers Reveal A New Link Between Water And Planet Formation

by Keith CowingFebruary 29, 2024February 29, 2024

Researchers have found water vapour in the disc around a young star exactly where planets may be forming. Water is a key ingredient for life on Earth, and is also […]

ESO,

Stellar Cartography: The First Close-up Picture Of A Star Outside Our Galaxy

A Sub-Earth Mass Planet Has Been Discovered Orbiting Barnard’s Star

ESO Telescope Captures The Most Detailed Infrared Map Ever Of Our Home Galaxy

ANDES, The High Resolution Spectrograph For The ELT: Science Goals, Project Overview And Future Developments

An Immense Astrobiology Tool: Last Segment Blank Of The Extremely Large Telescope Mirror Delivered

The ArmazoNes High Dispersion Echelle Spectrograph: The Analysis Of The Universe

ESO Signs Agreement For ANDES Life-Seeking Spectrograph On The ELT

A New Link Between Water And Planet Formation

Groundbreaking Survey Reveals Secrets Of Planet Birth Around Dozens Of StarsESOGroundbreaking Survey Reveals Secrets Of Planet Birth Around Dozens Of Stars

Astronomers Reveal A New Link Between Water And Planet Formation

PJ Harvey Announces New Song “Voyager”

Fifty Years after Viking: The Promise of Solar System Microbiology and Microbial Ecology

Characterising Transiting Exoplanets At Long Orbital Period: Lessons Learned For PLATO From 10 Years Of Monitoring The HIP41378 System

Implications Of Self-consistent H2O Ice Optical Constants On Radiative Transfer Models Of Disks

The GAPS Programme at TNG LXXIV. A Reanalysis Of The Planetary Systems TOI-1272 And TOI-1694 With HARPS-N And Retraction Of The Planetary Interpretation Of TOI-1272 c