ESO тАУ ESA Workshop, ESO Vitacura, Santiago, Chile, 2тАУ5 March 2015

Exploration of the Solar System and subsequent discoveries are made with planetary missions and ground-based observatories. These two means are complementary and are sometimes strategically linked, as in the case of the Deep Impact mission. During this workshop, the synergies between these two paths will be explored, with the aim to foster collaboration between both communities by sharing scientific and technical knowledge, needs, requirements, and techniques. The workshop will take advantage of the venue to showcase the current and future capabilities of ALMA for planetary science, and thereby encourage planetary scientists to use this facility.

MUSE raw data from the first two commissioning runs at VLT UT4 in February and April-May 2014 have now been released. Selected astronomical targets were observed to demonstrate the capabilities of the instrument and optimize observing strategies and pipeline reduction.

The Public Survey VISTA Variables in the Via Lactea (VVV) is a wide area (562 square degree), near-infrared, multi-epoch imaging survey of the Bulge and part of the Disk of the Milky Way. The initial survey in Z, Y, J, H and Ks is followed by extensive multi-epoch Ks-band observations. VVV photometric catalogues have now been released and are publicly available for query.

The FORS2 spectra in the GOODS south field are now available as Science Data Products via the Phase 3 query form. These data were migrated to be compliant to the standard for science data products and ingested in the Science Archive via the Phase 3 infrastructure.

Applications for research fellowships at ESO supported by the European Union Marie SkЉВodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship scheme are invited. The duration of the fellowships is 12-24 months and they are available to experienced researchers (> 4 years research experience) wishing to advance their career in the stimulating research atmosphere at ESO, subject to eligibility criteria. Application must first be made to ESO and, when accepted, an application is subsequently made to the EU. Full details can be found here. The deadline for the application to ESO is 11 August 2014, and 11 September 2014 for the EU application.

The 94th Observing Programmes Committee met on 19тАУ22 May 2014. A total of 1170.8 (8-hour equivalent) nights of visitor and service mode observations have been allocated on the VLT, VISTA, VST, the 3.6-metre, NTT and APEX telescopes.

Of the 86 proposals submitted for the Science Verification (SV) of MUSE, a total of 49 proposals were allocated. The MUSE SV observations ran from 20тАУ29 June 2014 and were executed in service mode by a dedicated team, although not all programmes have been completed. Additional SV time is currently under consideration for scheduling in August.

The European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT) groundbreaking ceremony took place on 19 June 2014. Part of the summit of the 3060-metre high Cerro Armazones was blasted in the first stage of levelling for the construction of the platform for the E-ELT dome. Full details can be found in the Release. Preparation of the site also includes laying of a paved road and construction of a service trench and will last about 14 months.

A vacancy has arisen for a support astronomer based at the Paranal Observatory, with up to 105 duty nights per year. Support astronomers contribute to visitor and service mode observing, instrument calibration and data quality assessment; they work in collaboration with one or more instrument teams. Paranal operations astronomers actively conduct astronomical research. Further details can be found on the ESO Recruitment portal; the deadline for application is 31 July 2014.

The ALMA Cycle 1 Early Science observing season ended in May 2014. As of 3 June, a total of 36 of the 198 High Priority (HP) projects (including Director's Discretionary Time) have been completed and delivered to the Principal Investigators. The unobserved components of the remaining 146 HP projects have been transferred to Cycle 2 where they will be executed in parallel with the Cycle 2 approved programme (see the Cycle 2 announcement).