ESO is the foremost intergovernmental astronomy organisation in Europe and the world's most productive astronomical observatory. It operates three sites in Chile — La Silla, Paranal and Chajnantor — on behalf of its fourteen member states. It builds ALMA together with international partners, and designs the European Extremely Large Telescope.
ESO, the European Southern Observatory, builds and operates a suite of the world's most advanced ground-based astronomical telescopes.
Latest News Stories
First Temperate Exoplanet Sized Up
Combining observations from the CoRoT satellite and the ESO HARPS instrument, astronomers have discovered the first “normal” exoplanet that can be studied in great detail. Designated Corot-9b, the planet regularly passes in front of a star similar to the Sun located 1500 light-years away from Earth towards the constellation of Serpens (the Snake).
Announcements
- ESO employees engaged in "Solidarity Mission" in Chile (9/3/2010)
- E-ELT Site Selection Advisory Committee Recommends Cerro Armazones in Chile (4/3/2010)
- A Muse for the Very Large Telescope (1/3/2010)
- Update to Visiting Astronomers with planned trips to ESO observatories (28/2/2010)
- ESO Expresses Support for Victims of Chile Earthquake; No Damage to ESO Observatories (28/2/2010)
- ESO Call for Proposals for Period 86 released. Deadline is 31 March 2010 (26/2/2010)
- Around the World in 80 Telescopes is first runner up in IYA2009/Mani Bhaumik Prize for Excellence in Astronomy Education and Public Outreach (26/2/2010)
Latest ESOcasts
- ESOcast 15 — Recoating a Giant VLT Mirror
- ESOcast 14 — Orion in a New Light
- ESOcast 13 — A sharper view of the Universe with the VLT Interferometer
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