ESO Timeline
This timeline shows highlights and important events in the history of ESO. One of ESOòÀÙs original aims was to allow the Member States to work together to build and operate advanced astronomical facilities that were beyond the capabilities of any individual country. In particular, it would allow European astronomers to access the parts of the sky best visible from the southern hemisphere, such as the centre of the Milky Way, or our neighbouring galaxies, the Magellanic Clouds.
An excerpt from the preamble to the ESO Convention of 1962 reads "The Governments of the States parties to this convention [...] desirous of jointly creating an observatory equipped with powerful instruments in the Southern Hemisphere and accordingly promoting and organising co-operation in astronomical research [...]".ˆà
- 21 June 1953 òÀÔ A shared European Observatory is discussed for the first time by a group of astronomers at Leiden, the Netherlands. Immediately thereafter, the subject was further discussed, also in the Netherlands, at the Groningen conference.
- 26 January 1954 òÀÔ ESO declaration by leading astronomers from six European countries expressing the wish that a joint European observatory be established in the southern hemisphere.
- December 1955 òÀÔ Site testing begins in South Africa and later in South America, to identify the best location for the ESO observatory.
- 5 October 1962 òÀÔ Founding Members Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden sign the ESO Convention.
- 1 November 1962 òÀÔ Otto Heckmann (1901òÀÓ1983) becomes the first Director General of ESO, and ESO offices open in the Hamburg-Bergedorf Observatory, where he was Director.
- November 1962 òÀÔ ESO starts site testing in Chile.
- 6 November 1963 òÀÔ Chile is chosen as the site for the ESO observatory and the Convenio (also known as the Acuerdo), the agreement between Chile and ESO, is signed.
- 15 November 1963 òÀÔ The decision to build headquarters in Santiago, ChileòÀÙs capital is made.
- 17 January 1964 òÀÔ The ESO Convention takes effect following its ratification in by France, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden (Founding Members, Member States 1òÀÓ4).
- 5 February 1964 òÀÔ The ESO Council ratifies the Convenio.
- 17 April 1964 òÀÔ The Chilean government ratifies the Convenio.
- 26 May 1964 òÀÔ The ESO Council selects the mountain Cinchado Nord òÀÔ later to become La Silla òÀÔ as the site of its observatory.
- 30 October 1964 òÀÔ Acquisition of La Silla Mountain and land for the Chile headquarters in Vitacura.
- March 1965 òÀÔ ESO acquires the Guesthouse in Las Condes.
- March 1965 òÀÔ Construction of the La Silla Observatory begins.
- 24 March 1966 òÀÔ Dedication ceremony for the road to the summit of La Silla.
- November 1966 òÀÔ First light of the mid-infrared Kapteyn photometer on the ESO 1-metre Telescope.
- 30 November 1966 òÀÔ First light for the ESO 1-metre Telescope at La Silla, the first telescope to be used by ESO in Chile.
- January 1967 òÀÔ Construction of ESO Headquarters in SantiagoòÀÙs Vitacura district, Chile begins.
- May 1967 òÀÔ First light of the near-infrared photometer on the ESO 1-metre Telescope.
- 24 August 1967 òÀÔ Denmark formally joins ESO (Member State 6).
- 2 October 1967 òÀÔ Belgium formally joins ESO (Founding Member, Member State 5).
- July 1968 òÀÔ First light for the Grand Prisme Objectif Telescope at La Silla, the first telescope ever used by ESO (used in the South Africa tests campaign).
- July 1968 òÀÔ First light for the ESO 1.52-metre Telescope.
- 7 September 1968 òÀÔ First light for the Bochum 0.6-metre Telescope.
- December 1968 òÀÔ ESO helps found the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics.
- February 1969 òÀÔ First light for the Danish 0.5-metre Telescope.
- 25 March 1969 òÀÔ Inauguration of the ESO site at La Silla by the President of the Republic of Chile, Eduardo Frei Montalva, and of the ESO Chile headquarters in SantiagoòÀÙs Vitacura district.
- 1 January 1970 òÀÔ Adriaan Blaauw (1914òÀÓ2010) takes over as Director General of ESO.
- 16 September 1970 òÀÔ ESO signs an agreement with CERN to collaborate in the realisation of the ESO 3.6-metre Telescope.
- October 1970 òÀÔ ESOòÀÙs Telescope Division moves into offices on the CERN premises in Geneva.
- December 1971 òÀÔ First light for the ESO 0.5-metre Telescope.
- 21 December 1971 òÀÔ First light for the ESO 1-metre Schmidt Telescope.
- May 1974 òÀÔ The first edition of the Messenger, ESOòÀÙs quarterly in-house magazine, is published by ESO.
- 1 January1975 òÀÔ Lodewijk Woltjer (1930òÀÓ ) takes over as Director General of ESO.
- 10 November 1975 òÀÔ First Light of the Swiss 0.4-m Telescope.
- 2 December 1975 òÀÔ The ESO Council approves Garching bei M†®nchen, Germany, as the new home for ESOòÀÙs Headquarters.
- 7 November 1976 òÀÔ First light for the ESO 3.6-metre Telescope.
- 1978 òÀÔ Completion of the Quick Blue Survey done with the 1-m Schmidt Telescope.
- 2 October 1978 òÀÔ Construction of the new ESO Headquarters in Garching begins.
- 20 November 1978 òÀÔ First light for the Danish 1.5-metre Telescope.
- 31 January 1979 òÀÔ An agreement is signed between ESO and the German government for the new ESO Headquarters.
- March 1979 òÀÔ First light for the Dutch 0.9-metre Telescope.
- Summer 1980 òÀÔ First Light for the Swiss T70 Telescope
- December 1980 òÀÔ First light of the infrared photometer/spectrophotometer on the ESO 3.6-metre Telescope.
- 5 May 1981 òÀÔ First light of the 1.4-metre Coud†é Auxiliary Telescope (CAT), and its Coud†é Echelle Spectrometer (CES).
- 5 May 1981 òÀÔ Inauguration of the new ESO Headquarters in Garching, Germany.
- 1 March 1982 òÀÔ Switzerland formally joins ESO (Member State 7).
- 24 May 1982 òÀÔ Italy formally joins ESO (Member State 8).
- June 1982 òÀÔ First light of the infrared photometer/spectrophotometer on the ESO 1-metre Telescope.
- June 1983 òÀÔ First Light of the Cassegrain Echelle Spectrograph (CASPEC) at the ESO 3.6-metre Telescope.
- 22 June 1983 òÀÔ First light for the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre Telescope.
- 1 March 1984 òÀÔ The Space Telescope European Coordinating Facility òÀÔ the European home for Hubble òÀÔ opens within ESO as a collaboration with the European Space Agency.
- June 1984 òÀÔ The first tests for remote-controlling a telescope are carried out on the 2.2-metre Telescope.
- September 1984 òÀÔ First light of the Lyon Specklegraph on the ESO 3.6-metre Telescope.
- November 1984 òÀÔ First light of the F/35 chopping secondary system and the infrared photometers on the ESO 3.6-metre Telescope.
- November 1985 òÀÔ First light of IRSPEC on the ESO 3.6-metre Telescope.
- March 1987 òÀÔ First light of the F/35 photometers on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre Telescope (with the Max-Planck Institute of Astronomy, MPIA).
- 24 March 1987 òÀÔ First light for the 15-metre SwedishòÀÓESO Submillimetre Telescope (SEST).
- 8 December 1987 òÀÔ Decision is taken by the ESO Council to build the Very Large Telescope (VLT).
- 1 January 1988 òÀÔ Harry van der Laan (1936òÀÓ ) takes over as Director General of ESO.
- July 1988 òÀÔ First light of IRAC on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre Telescope.
- October 1988 òÀÔ The Chilean Government donates the land around Cerro Paranal to ESO.
- 23 March 1989 òÀÔ First light of the New Technology Telescope (NTT).
- 11 May 1989 òÀÔ First light of the second ESO Faint Object Spectrograph and Camera (EFOSC2) instrument on the NTT.
- 16 April 1990 òÀÔ First light of the COME-ON instrument on the ESO 3.6-metre Telescope.
- June 1990 òÀÔ First Light of the ESO Multi-Mode Instrument (EMMI) on the NTT.
- 4 December 1990 òÀÔ Paranal is selected by ESO as the site for the VLT.ˆà
- 23 September 1991 òÀÔ Construction of the Paranal Observatory begins with the levelling of the mountain.
- 30 May 1992 òÀÔ First light of the IRAC2 instrument on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre Telescope.
- 21 July 1992 òÀÔ First light of the Thermal Infrared MultiMode Instrument (TIMMI) on the ESO 3.6-metre Telescope.
- 15 December 1992 òÀÔ First light of the COME-ON+ instrument on the ESO 3.6-metre Telescope.
- 1 January 1993 òÀÔ Riccardo Giacconi (1931òÀÓ ) takes over as Director General of ESO.
- April 1995 òÀÔ Site testing for the future Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) takes place in Chile together with National Radio Astronomy Observatory and National Astronomical Observatory of Japan.ˆà
- 18 April 1995 òÀÔ Amendment to the Convenio between the Chilean Government and ESO is signed.
- Summer 1996 ˆàòÀÔ First Light for the Marly 1-metre Telescope
- 5 September 1996 òÀÔ The Chilean Senate ratifies the Amendment to the Convenio with ESO.
- 4 December 1996 òÀÔ Paranal Foundation Ceremony.
- 6 December 1997 òÀÔ First light for the Son OF ISAAC instrument (SOFI) on the NTT.
- 11 February 1998 òÀÔ First light for the second Superb-Seeing Imager (SuSI2) on the NTT.
- 12 April 1998 òÀÔ First light for the Swiss 1.2-metre Leonhard Euler Telescope at La Silla.
- 25 May 1998 òÀÔ First light for the VLTòÀÙs first Unit Telescope (UT1), Antu.
- 15 September 1998 òÀÔ First light for the first visual and near UV FOcal Reducer and the low dispersion Spectrograph (FORS1) on the VLTòÀÙs UT1, Antu.ˆà
- 6 October 1998 òÀÔ First light of the Fibre-fed Extended Range Optical Spectrograph (FEROS) on the ESO 1.52-metre Telescope.
- 16 November 1998 òÀÔ First light of the Infrared Spectrometer And Array Camera (ISAAC) instrument on VLT UT1, Antu.ˆà
- 15 December 1998 òÀÔ Two independent research teams, with work partly based on observations of exploding stars with astronomical telescopes at La Silla, show thatˆàthe expansion of the Universe is accelerating. The 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded for this result.
- 15 January 1999 òÀÔ First light with the 67-million-pixel Wide Field Imager (WFI) camera on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre Telescope.ˆà
- 1 March 1999 òÀÔ First light for the VLTòÀÙs second Unit Telescope (UT2), Kueyen.
- 5 March 1999 òÀÔ Official inauguration of Paranal Observatory.
- June 1999 òÀÔ Chajnantor in the Atacama Desert in Chile is endorsed by ESO Council as the site for ALMA.
- 1 September 1999 òÀÔ Catherine Cesarsky (1943òÀÓ ) takes over as Director General of ESO.ˆà
- 27 September 1999 òÀÔ First light for the Ultraviolet Visual Echelle Spectrograph (UVES) on the VLTòÀÙs UT2, Kueyen.
- 29 October 1999 òÀÔ First light for the second visual and near-UV FOcal Reducer and low dispersion Spectrograph (FORS2) at VLTòÀÙs UT2, Kueyen.
- 26 January 2000 òÀÔ First light for the VLTòÀÙs third Unit Telescope (UT3), Melipal.
- 27 June 2000 òÀÔ Portugal signs the Accession Agreement.ˆà
- 4 September 2000 òÀÔ First light for the VLTòÀÙs fourth Unit Telescope (UT4), Yepun.
- 11 October 2000 òÀÔ First light of the second Thermal Infrared MultiMode Instrument (TIMMI2) on the ESO 3.6-metre telescope.
- 17 March 2001 òÀÔ First light for the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI).
- 5 April 2001 òÀÔ Representatives from ESO, Japan, and North America sign a resolution affirming their mutual intent to construct and operate ALMA.
- 7 May 2001 òÀÔ Portugal formally joins ESO (Member State 9).
- 25 November 2001 òÀÔ First light for the combined NAOSòÀÓCONICA instrument (NACO) on the VLTòÀÙs UT4 Yepun.
- 26 February 2002 òÀÔ First light of the VIsible Multi-Object Spectrograph (VIMOS) on the VLTòÀÙs UT3, Melipal.ˆà
- 1 April 2002 òÀÔ First light of the Fibre Large Array Multi Element Spectrograph (FLAMES) on the VLTòÀÙs UT2, Kueyen.
- 21 May 2002 òÀÔ The United Kingdom signs the Accession Agreement.
- 24 June 2002 òÀÔ The United Kingdom formally joins ESO (Member State 10). See the ESO Press Release eso0218 or the related Messenger article.
- 24 October 2002 òÀÔ First light of the Fibre-fed Extended Range Optical Spectrograph (FEROS) on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope.
- 15 December 2002 òÀÔ First light of the MID-infrared Interferometric instrument (MIDI) on the VLTI.
- 11 February 2003 òÀÔ First light of the High Accuracy Radial Velocity Planet Searcher (HARPS) at ESOòÀÙs 3.6-metre telescope at the La Silla Observatory.
- 25 February 2003 òÀÔ ESO and the US National Science Foundation (NSF) sign a bilateral agreement to construct and operate ALMA.
- 18 April 2003 òÀÔ First light of the MACAOòÀÓVLTI facility.
- 24 June 2003 òÀÔ The 0.6-metre Rapid Eye Mount (REM) telescope starts operations at La Silla.ˆà
- 25 July 2003 òÀÔ The Republic of Chile granted free concession of the land on Chajnantor for the execution of the ALMA project .
- 6 November 2003 òÀÔ Ground-breaking ceremony at the 5000-m altitude ALMA site.
- 24 January 2004 òÀÔ First light for the first Auxiliary Telescope (AT1).ˆà
- 9 February 2004 òÀÔ Finland signs the Accession Agreement.
- 21 March 2004 òÀÔ First fringes of the Astronomical Multi-BEam combineR (AMBER) on the VLTI.
- 6 April 2004 òÀÔ After more than 1000 nights of observations at La Silla, spread over 15 years,ˆàastronomers determine the motions of more than 14 000 solar-like stars residing in the neighbourhood of the Sun, showing that our home galaxy has led a much more turbulent and chaotic life than previously assumed.ˆà
- 30 April 2004 òÀÔ First light for the VLT Imager and Spectrometer in the InfraRed (VISIR) on the VLTòÀÙs UT3, Melipal.
- 7 July 2004 òÀÔ Finland formally joins ESO (Member State 11).ˆà
- 9 July 2004 òÀÔ First light for the Spectrograph for INtegral Field Observation in the Near-Infrared (SINFONI) on the VLTòÀÙs UT4, Yepun.
- 17 August 2004 òÀÔ Using the VLT, astronomers measure the age of the oldest star known in the Milky Way: 13.2 billion years old. Read more in ESO Press Release eso0425 and in the ESO Press Release eso0106.
- 10 September 2004 òÀÔ The VLT obtains the first-ever image of a planet outside the Solar System.
- 14 September 2004 òÀÔ Agreement signed between ESO, the US National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Natural Sciences, Japan, for the joint construction of the enhanced ALMA.
- 2 February 2005 òÀÔ First light for the second Auxiliary Telescope (AT2).ˆà
- 14 July 2005 òÀÔ First light for the submillimetre Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX).ˆà
- 6 October 2005 òÀÔ ESO telescopes provide definitive proof that long gamma-ray bursts are linked with the ultimate explosions of massive stars, solving a long-standing puzzle. Read more in the ESO Press Release eso0318 and in ESO Press Release eso0533.
- 1 November 2005 òÀÔ First light for the third Auxiliary Telescope (AT3).
- 7 December 2005 òÀÔ ESO signs the European contract for the production of up to 32 ALMA antennas. This is the largest ever contract for industrial work on a ground-based astronomy project.
- 28 January 2006 òÀÔ First light of the VLT laser guide star, on the VLTòÀÙs UT4, Yepun.
- 28 February 2006 òÀÔ Decision to host the ALMA Santiago Central Office at ESO Vitacura.
- 4 June 2006 òÀÔ First light for the CRyogenic high-resolution InfraRed Echelle Spectrograph (CRIRES) at VLTòÀÙs UT1.ˆà
- 15 September 2006 òÀÔ The robotic TAROTòÀÓSouth Telescope starts work at La Silla.
- 11 December 2006 òÀÔ The ESO Council agrees to proceed with studies for the European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT).ˆà
- 15 December 2006 òÀÔ First light for the fourth Auxiliary Telescope (AT4).ˆà
- 22 December 2006 òÀÔ The Czech Republic signs the Accession Agreement.
- 29 December 2006 òÀÔ Spain signs the Accession Agreement.ˆà
- 14 February 2007 òÀÔ Spain formally joins ESO (Member State 12).
- 25 March 2007 òÀÔ First light for the Multi-Conjugate Adaptive Optics Demonstrator (MAD) at the visitor focus of Melipal.ˆà
- 30 April 2007 òÀÔ The Czech Republic formally joins ESO (Member State 13).
- 6 July 2007 òÀÔ First light of the Gamma-ray burst Optical/Near-infrared Detector (GROND) on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre Telescope.
- 5 August 2007 òÀÔ First light for the LArge BOlometer CAmera (LABOCA) instrument on APEX.ˆà
- 22 August 2007 òÀÔ First light for the High Acuity, Wide field K-band Imaging (HAWK-I) instrument on the VLTòÀÙs UT4, Yepun.
- 1 September 2007 òÀÔ Tim de Zeeuw (1956 òÀÓ) takes over as Director General of ESO.ˆà
- March 2008 òÀÔ Filming of scenes from the 22nd James Bond movie Quantum of Solace at ESOòÀÙs Paranal Observatory.ˆà
- 13 May 2008 òÀÔ The VLT detects carbon monoxide molecules in a galaxy located almost 11 billion light-years away for the first time, allowing astronomers to obtain the most precise measurement of the cosmic temperature at such a remote epoch.
- 30 June 2008 òÀÔ Austria signs the Accession Agreement.ˆà
- 8 September 2008 òÀÔ First light for the Phase Referenced Imaging and Microarcsecond Astrometry (PRIMA) instrument on the VLTI.
- 6 October 2008 òÀÔ First light for the Submillimetre APEX Bolometer Camera (SABOCA) instrument on APEX.ˆà
- 9 November 2008 òÀÔ First light for X-shooter on the VLT.ˆà
- 18 November 2008 òÀÔ The VLT and APEX team up to study the violent flares from the supermassive black hole at the centre of the Milky Way, revealing material being stretched out as it orbits in the intense gravity close to the central black hole.
- 10 December 2008 òÀÔ Several of ESOòÀÙs flagship telescopes were used in a 16-year-long study to obtain the most detailed view ever of the surroundings of the supermassive black hole lurking at the heart of our galaxy. Read more in ESO Press Release eso0226 and eso0846.
- 18 December 2008 òÀÔ The ALMA Observatory is equipped with its first antenna.
- 30 April 2009 òÀÔ The contract for the ALMA headquarters building in Santiago, the Santiago Central Office, is awarded.
- 1 July 2009 òÀÔ Austria formally joins ESO (Member State 14).
- 6 July 2009 òÀÔ Start of construction of the new ALMA headquarters in SantiagoòÀÙs Vitacura district.
- 17 Sep 2009 òÀÔ First ALMA antenna arrives at 5000-metre-altitude Chajnantor site.ˆà
- 25 November 2009 òÀÔ First three ALMA antennas are successfully linked (phase closure) at 5000-metre-altitude Chajnantor site.ˆà
- 11 December 2009 òÀÔ VISTA, the pioneering new survey telescope, starts work.ˆà
- 13 January 2010 òÀÔ The first direct spectrum of an exoplanet is observed with the VLT. Read more in ESO Press Release eso1002.
- 26 April 2010 òÀÔ Cerro Armazones is chosen as site for the E-ELT.
- 8 June 2010 òÀÔ First light of the TRAPPIST telescope at La Silla.
- 24 August 2010 òÀÔ Astronomers using HARPS discover the richest planetary system so far, containing at least five planets around the Sun-like star HD 10180.ˆà
- 5 November 2010 òÀÔ ALMAòÀÙs Santiago Central Office (SCO), built for the ALMA project by ESO, is handed over.
- 1 December 2010 òÀÔ The first direct measurements of the spectra of exoplanets and their atmospheres are made with the VLT. Read more in the ESO Press Release eso1047 and in the ESO Press Release eso1002.
- 29 December 2010 òÀÔ Brazil signs the Accession Agreement to become member of ESO.
- 31 December 2010 òÀÔ The Space Telescope-European Coordinating Facility for the Hubble Space Telescope closes.
- 20 April 2011 òÀÔ The light from all four VLT Unit Telescopes is combined for the first time.
- 8 June 2011 òÀÔ First images from the VLT Survey Telescope.
- 27 July 2011 òÀÔ The first European ALMA antenna arrives at Chajnantor.
- 24 August 2011 òÀÔ The first 7-metre ALMA antenna arrives at Chajnantor.
- 30 September 2011 òÀÔ ALMA starts Early Science and first image is published.
- 13 October 2011 òÀÔ ESO and Chile sign an agreement on the land for the E-ELT.
- 2 January 2012 òÀÔ Start of construction of the Headquarters extension building in Garching.
- 11 June 2012 òÀÔ E-ELT Programme approved by ESO Council.
- 11 June 2012 òÀÔ Foundation stone laying ceremony for ESO Headquarters extension building.
- 5 October 2012 òÀÔ ESO Celebrates 50th Anniversary.
- 12 December 2012 òÀÔ KMOS instrument achieves first light on VLT UT1.
- 13 March 2013 òÀÔ ALMA Observatory inaugurated.
- 6 November 2013 òÀÔ ESO Celebrates 50 Years of Collaboration with Chile.
- 5 December 2013 òÀÔ Extension to ESO Headquarters in Garching, Germany inaugurated.
- 5 March 2014 òÀÔ MUSE instrument achieves first light on VLT UT4.
- 4 June 2014 òÀÔ SPHERE instrument achieves first light on VLT UT3.
- 19 June 2014 òÀÔ Groundbreaking ceremony for the European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT) takes place at Paranal Observatory.
- 28 October 2014 òÀÔ Poland to Join the European Southern Observatory.
- 4 December 2014 òÀÔ Green Light for E-ELT Construction.
- 14 January 2015 òÀÔ Next-Generation Transit Survey (NGTS) facility achieves first light.
- 5 August 2015 òÀÔ Poland ratifies ESO membership and becomes the fifteenth Member State.