Announcements

2 December 2010: Professor Adriaan Blaauw, the European Southern Observatory���s second Director General, and a key figure in ESO���s early history, died yesterday, 1 December 2010, at the age of 96. ���Adriaan Blaauw was one of the most influential astronomers of the twentieth century. I had the privilege to be amongst his students when he returned to Leiden from his position as Director General. He continued to remain keenly interested in everything to do with ESO, and still had his characteristic twinkle in the eye when he visited La Silla and Paranal earlier this year. It is hard to grasp that he is no longer with us,��� said ESO���s current Director General, Professor Tim de Zeeuw. Adriaan Blaauw was born in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, in 1914. He studied astronomy at Leiden University, under de Sitter, Hertzsprung and Oort, and obtained his doctorate with van Rhijn at the Kapteyn Laboratory in Groningen in 1946, ...

26 November 2010: The brochure, called the International Year of Astronomy 2009 Final Report Executive Summary, offers an overview of the many events that took place during the Year, as detailed in full in the 1450-page IYA2009 Final Report, which was released earlier this year. ���Tens of thousands of events were held during IYA2009, but unfortunately there is only space in this Executive Summary to mention a small handful,��� says Catherine Cesarsky, chair of the IYA2009 Working Group, and the IAU President for most of IYA2009. ���We���ve included a diverse cross-section of events that are representative of the Year, but they should not be viewed as a ���best of IYA2009���. We are grateful to everyone who took part in IYA2009 and we would like to say thank you to you all." The print-ready files and source files (Adobe InDesign file and images) are also available for IYA2009 stakeholders to adapt for use in ...

23 November 2010: The growing and prolific community of photographers of the night sky in Chile will gather at the first Southern Astrophotography Conference (Congreso Austral de Astrofotograf��a, CAA), to be held on the ESO premises in Santiago, on 26���27 November 2010. This event ��� supported by ESO, Universidad Diego Portales and ACHAYA (Chilean Association of Astronomy and Astronautics) ��� aims to become an inspiration for the region. It includes as keynote speakers, the ESO Photo Ambassador Stephane Guisard, the Belgium astrophotographer Daniel Verschatse and the Chilean astrophotographers Joaqu��n P��rez and Guillermo Y����ez, among others. But not only professionals and seasoned amateurs are invited to attend. Enthusiastic beginners equipped with just a digital camera can discover simple techniques to capture the majesty of our cosmos. The general public will also have the opportunity to meet senior astrophotographers during an open session on Friday, 26 November. This open session is free of charge and ...

23 November 2010: An international team of astronomers has used ESO telescopes and other facilities to discover and study a unique and exotic star system comprised of a very cool, methane-rich (or T-) dwarf star and a ���dead��� white dwarf star in orbit around each other. The system is a ���Rosetta Stone��� for T-dwarf stars, giving scientists a way of finding the mass and age of this old methane dwarf. The team, led by Dr Avril Day-Jones of the Universidad de Chile and composed of astronomers from the University of Hertfordshire (UK), and the University of Montreal (Canada), is publishing its results in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. The system is the first of its type to be found. Methane is a fragile molecule destroyed at warmer temperatures, so is only seen in very cool stars and giant planets like Jupiter. Neither giant planets nor T-dwarf stars are massive ...

19 November 2010: Version 2.0 of the ESO Virtual Tours brings higher quality views of the ESO facilities in Chile, as well as more background information incorporated through web links and pictures, allowing everyone to explore the sites of the most productive observatory in the world. Version 2.0 is also iOS compatible, making the tours available to iPod, iPhone and iPad users. Currently, three Virtual Tours have been upgraded: La Silla, Paranal-Armazones and Chajnantor, but in 2011 most of ESO sites and offices will be opened for exploration in ESO���s Virtual Tours archive. ESO Virtual Tours take visitors on a walk around the Very Large Telescope���s platform as the Sun sets over Antu, Kueyen, Melipal and Yepun, the four Unit Telescopes. From here, visitors can enter the dome of UT1 or Antu, examine the dust and rocks of the arid Atacama Desert or switch to night mode and admire the Milky Way and ...

18 November 2010: An international team of astronomers has used facilities at ESO���s La Silla observatory to discover a truly unique and surprising planetary body (eso1045). An online press conference to announce the new results and offer journalists the opportunity for discussion with the scientists will be held at 15:00 CET on Thursday, 18 November 2010. To participate in the teleconference and receive additional material under embargo, bona-fide members of the media must get accredited by contacting Richard Hook by email (rhook@eso.org). Journalists must clearly state in the email that they agree to honour the embargo and will not publish or discuss the research until after 20:00 CET on Thursday 18 November 2010. Reporters will need access to a computer with a recent version of Adobe Flash Player installed and an adequately fast internet connection. Further information will be provided to the accredited reporters.

8 November 2010: At the autumn 2010 Council Meeting of the EIROforum, a partnership of seven European Research Organisations ��� including ESO ��� with large research infrastructures, the Directors General unanimously accepted the European X-ray Free-Electron Laser (XFEL), based in Hamburg, to become its eighth member. The European XFEL is an international research facility that will use ultra-short X-ray flashes to map the atomic details of viruses, decipher the molecular composition of cells, take three-dimensional images of the nano-world, film chemical reactions and study processes such as those occurring deep inside planets. XFEL is currently under construction, with commissioning being planned for 2014.

5 November 2010: The Santiago Central Office headquarters of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) project have been officially handed over in the Vitacura district of the Chilean capital. Construction of the new building, which is adjacent to ESO���s Santiago offices and was built by ESO as part of its responsibilities as the European ALMA partner, has been completed. The handover ceremony took place on 5 November 2010. The ceremony was attended by the ESO Director General, Tim de Zeeuw, and the ALMA Director, Thijs de Graauw. The new building has a size of almost 7000 square metres over two storeys. It has more than 100 offices, as well as other facilities such as meeting rooms, an auditorium, and underground parking for 130 cars. The underground parking will allow some of the previous above-ground parking spaces to be replaced with green areas. As part of the construction, fourteen trees already on the site ...

4 November 2010: Astronomers need patience: at the next Caf�� & Kosmos Dr Stefan Gillessen will explain how astrophysicists at the Max-Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics found a supermassive black hole at the centre of our galaxy ��� after collecting 16 years worth of data. This black hole is four million times more massive than our Sun, but it doesn���t shine. During a clear night, you can easily see the star-spangled band of the Milky Way. However its centre is hidden behind dense gas and dust clouds, but astronomers can use modern infrared cameras to penetrate this veil and observe the stars at the galactic centre. Just as the planets orbit the Sun, these stars orbit an invisible object. Why does this have to be a black hole? Why do we think that all galaxies harbour such gravity monsters? Come to Caf�� & Kosmos and find out! The Caf�� & Kosmos series of ...

4 November 2010: Light coming from the four 1.8-metre Auxiliary Telescopes at the European Southern Observatory���s Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) based in Paranal, Chile, has been successfully combined for the first time using a new visiting instrument called PIONIER [1]. This is an important step towards unleashing the full potential of the VLTI to use multiple telescopes together to reveal fine detail in distant objects. A joint team from Grenoble LAOG [2] and ESO achieved this very challenging feat of engineering only five days after unpacking the equipment on the mountain. The VLTI engineers had to control the distance traversed by the light from the widely separated telescopes with an accuracy of about one hundredth of the thickness of a strand of human hair. Once the light reached PIONIER, it was then channelled into the heart of the instrument: a remarkable optical circuit [3], smaller than a credit card, that finally brought ...

28 October 2010: On Thursday 4 November 2010, ESO���s powerful telescopes, which are located in a remote and barren desert landscape in Chile, will become more accessible than ever to astronomers in Europe, thanks to a new high-speed data link. Members of the press are invited to attend the launch of the new communications data link and to view a demonstration of the technology from the project site in the middle of the Atacama Desert. The high-speed data link is part of the Enabling Virtual Access to Latin American Southern Observatories (EVALSO) project. Previously, data from instruments at the Very Large Telescope (VLT) were sent back via a microwave link to a base station near the Chilean city of Antofagasta and from there to Santiago. This link supports a data transfer rate of only 16Mbit/s, but, since ESO���s VISTA telescope saw first light in December 2009, the Paranal Observatory now produces over 100 ...

28 October 2010: The SRZero supercar, one of the most advanced electric vehicles ever created, sped to the European Southern Observatory���s Very Large Telescope on 27 October as part of its ambitious trek down the Americas. This was a remarkable meeting of two technological masterpieces that are both examples of the finest inventions that have taken humanity to the limits of the possible, both on this planet and beyond. Astronomers, journalists, engineers and other lucky guests enjoyed the extraordinary spectacle of this eco-friendly supercar revving around the four Unit Telescopes, bathed in glorious sunset light before the observatory domes opened to begin the night���s observations. The SRZero electric supercar is a project carried out by students from the Racing Green Endurance (RGE) team from Imperial College London���s Energy Futures Lab, sponsored by KPMG and supported in Chile by the British Embassy. The 400-bhp twin-motor vehicle is touring the full 26 000 km length ...

26 October 2010: A mobile science exhibition called the Science Train will travel around the Antofagasta Region of Chile from 25 October to 6 November 2010, bringing the wonders of science to the local residents. Each of the six carriages of the Science Train is dedicated to a different topic: The Universe, The Earth is Alive, The Origins of Life, Mankind and Desert, Technological Development and The Future of Communications. The carriages promise to give a fascinating overview of each scientific topic in a rather unconventional environment for an exhibition. The Mankind and Desert carriage will introduce a cultural element to this travelling exhibition, as it explores the importance of the desert for the ancient cultures that settled in the Atacama. The train will make its first scheduled stop in Antofagasta on Monday, 25 October, before departing for stations in Mejillones, Baquedano, Sierra Gorda, Calama and Ollag��e. The Science Train is a project ...

22 October 2010: ESO and its partners in an international consortium are in the final stages of building EVALSO [1], a new data infrastructure in Chile. This brochure explains the why, the where and the how ��� why this fast data link is necessary, where it is located, and how the cutting-edge technology will make a big difference for operations at ESO and its partner institutions. The brochure is available for download in PDF format. Notes [1] EVALSO is an international consortium of astronomical organisations and research network operators, part-funded under the European Commission FP7.It is a partnership between Universita degli Studi di Trieste, Italy; ESO; Ruhr-Universit��t Bochum, Germany; Consortium GARR (Gestione Ampliamento Rete Ricerca), Italy; Universiteit Leiden, Netherlands; Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, Italy; Queen Mary, University of London, United Kingdom; Cooperaci��n LatinoAmericana de Redes Avanzadas (CLARA), Uruguay; and Red Universitaria Nacional (REUNA), Chile.

22 October 2010: An extraordinary event is set to take place on Wednesday, 27 October 2010 (note the change of date), when one of the most advanced electric vehicles ever made, the SRZero supercar, will stop by at the European Southern Observatory���s Very Large Telescope at Cerro Paranal, Chile. The press are invited to attend this remarkable meeting of two technological masterpieces that are both examples of the finest inventions that have taken humanity to the limits of the possible, both on this planet and beyond. The event for journalists will begin with a 16:00 check-in at Paranal Observatory, followed by extensive photo and video opportunities, tours of the telescopes, interviews with leading engineers and astronomers, and a stunning sunset around 20:00. Interested journalists are asked to contact Gonzalo Argandona before the event at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) Santiago Office (Alonso de Cordova 3107, Vitacura; tel: +56 2 463 3258); or send ...

21 October 2010: An international team of astronomers using ESO���s Very Large Telescope has measured the distance to the most remote galaxy known so far. This is the first time that scientists have been able to confirm that they are observing a galaxy as it was in the era of reionisation ��� when the first generation of brilliant stars stripped out the opaque hydrogen fog filling the young Universe, thus making it transparent and ending the cosmic Dark Ages. In the latest ESOcast host Dr J explains how the historic observations were made, and the science that can be learned from them. The ESOcast is available in multiple formats, including HD. Episodes can also be watched or downloaded directly from iTunes.

20 October 2010: The Sky in our Hands (El Cielo en Nuestras Manos) is a new educational activity offered by the Cruz del Sur public observatory (Southern Cross Observatory), a popular tourist destination located near Combarbal��, in the Region of Coquimbo in Chile. The activity, which is intended for primary school children, consists of a new educational video entitled Laura Estrella (Laura Star), as well as printed materials and paper models for practical workshops. In the video, a little girl named Laura dreams of a space voyage where she ��� guided by her mother ��� discovers some secrets of the Universe, from planetary motions to the shape of our own galaxy, the Milky Way. The project also included the development of practical exercises and games, which are available from the Southern Cross Observatory. The Sky in our Hands was supported and financed by the European Southern Observatory, through the ESO���Chilean Government Joint Committee ...

18 October 2010: A team of European astronomers has used ESO���s Very Large Telescope and its powerful instrumentation to push the study of the earliest galaxies further than ever before. An online press conference to announce the new results and offer journalists the opportunity for discussion with the scientists will be held at 16:00 CEST on Tuesday, 19 October 2010. To participate in the teleconference and receive additional material under embargo, bona-fide members of the media must get accredited by contacting Douglas Pierce-Price by email (dpiercep@eso.org). Reporters will need access to a computer with a recent version of Adobe Flash Player installed and a decent internet connection. Further information will be provided to the accredited reporters.

15 October 2010: This special issue of Communicating Astronomy with the Public journal (CAPjournal) looks at IYA2009 events that focused on cultural astronomy and discusses how including a historical or cultural aspect can help communicators to engage with a wider audience. During IYA2009, many countries ran projects that can be classed as ���Cultural Astronomy���. The activities described focused on indigenous astronomy, the history of astronomy and the inclusive nature of astronomy ��� as a hobby that can be enjoyed by anyone, anywhere. Activities included public events that combined telescope observing with storytelling, new learning modules for school children, theatre productions and cultural astronomy exhibitions. Articles in this issue include ���Australian Aboriginal Astronomy in the IYA2009���, ���Mi���kmaq Night Sky Stories���, ���Making Astronomy Culturally Relevant��� and many more. It is hoped that the selection of events presented in CAPjournal 9 will encourage others to highlight the cultural aspect of astronomy in their own education and ...

13 October 2010: Astronomers have used the ESO New Technology Telescope (NTT) and other ground-based telescopes, in conjunction with the ESA spacecraft Rosetta to study a very strange celestial object that resembles a highly unusual comet tail. Using the new observations they could reconstruct the sequence of events, and concluded that, in the first half of February 2009, a small rock with a diameter of only a few meters smashed into the asteroid P/2010 A2. This high-speed collision created the trail of dust that was discovered as the bizarre ���comet���. The result is also confirmed by independent results from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. To work out the history of this unique event, Colin Snodgrass (Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research and ESO) and collaborators have combined images from ground and space, including those taken from a very different position by the Rosetta probe, which is currently far out in the Solar ...