15 Must-See Nebula Images from the European Southern Observatory
Over the years the European Southern Observatory (ESO) has provided a state-of-the-art research facility for astronomers around the globe. Many ground breaking discoveries have been…
European Southern Observatory News
Giant Galaxy Messier 87 Is Still Growing
According to new observations with ESO’s Very Large Telescope, the giant elliptical galaxy Messier 87 has swallowed an entire medium-sized galaxy over the last billion…
VLT Discovers the Brightest Distant Galaxy to Date and Signs of Population III Stars
Using ESO’s Very Large Telescope with help from the W. M. Keck Observatory, the Subaru Telescope and the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, a team of…
VLT/SPHERE Reveal a Star Giving Birth to a Butterfly-Like Planetary Nebula
ESO’s Very Large Telescope reveals for the first time what appears to be an aging star in the early stages of forming a butterfly-like planetary…
ALMA Reveals Star Formation in the Distant Universe
ALMA’s Long Baseline Campaign has revealed the sharpest image to date of star formation in the distant universe. ALMA’s Long Baseline Campaign has produced a…
ESO Image of the Week: A Wide View of the Crab Nebula
This newly released image from the European Southern Observatory (ESO) shows a wide view of the Crab Nebula. The Crab Nebula, which also goes by…
ESO Views Star Forming Cloud RCW 34
This newly released image from the European Southern Observatory shows the young star-forming region RCW 34. In the brightest region of this glowing nebula called…
New ESO Image of the Medusa Nebula
This newly released image from the European Southern Observatory is the most detailed image ever taken of the Medusa Nebula. Astronomers using ESO’s Very Large…
Evidence of a New Type of Star Cluster
Using data from ESO’s Very Large Telescope, astronomers have discovered a new class of “dark” globular star clusters around Centaurus A. These star clusters contain…
New ESO Image of a Dark Molecular Cloud
This newly released image from the 2.2-meter MPG/ESO telescope shows the dark molecular cloud cataloged as LDN1774. Rather than showing spectacular objects, some of the…
ESO Reveals the Pillars of Creation in 3D
A team of astronomers reveal the first complete three-dimensional view of the famous Pillars of Creation. Using the MUSE instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope…
51 Pegasi b: The First Exoplanet Directly Detected Spectroscopically in Visible Light
Using the HARPS planet-hunting machine, astronomers have made the first-ever direct detection of the spectrum of visible light reflected off an exoplanet. The new observations…
The Possible First Signs of Self-interacting Dark Matter
Using new Hubble Space Telescope imaging and VLT/MUSE integral field spectroscopy, astronomers reveal what may be the first signs of self-interacting dark matter. For the…
VLT Confirms G2 Survived Close Approach of Supermassive Black Hole
New VLT observations confirm that the dusty gas cloud G2 made its closest approach to the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky…
APEX Observations Unravel the Mystery of Nova Vulpeculae 1670
New observations reveal that the star that astronomers saw appear in the sky in 1670 was not a nova, but a much rarer, violent breed…
New VLT Image Shows Star Cluster NGC 6193 and Nebula NGC 6188
This newly released image from the VLT Survey Telescope shows the young open cluster NGC 6193 in the center, and the emission nebula NGC 6188…
ALMA and VLT Reveal Dusty and Evolved Galaxy
New observations from the Very Large Telescope along with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array have revealed a dusty galaxy seen when the Universe was just…
Two Merging Stars Destined to Ignite a Vast Supernova Explosion
A newly published study reveals that two massive stars at the heart of the planetary nebula Henize 2-428 should merge in 700 million years, triggering…