UVES Instrument Views Fingerprint of the Early Universe
The UVES instrument shows the light from quasar HE0940-1050 after it has traveled through the intergalactic medium. The most massive galaxies in the Universe host…
European Southern Observatory
VLT Observations Reveal First Signs of a Strange Quantum Effect
Using ESO’s Very Large Telescope, astronomers may have found the first observational indications of a strange quantum effect, first predicted in the 1930s. The polarization…
ESO Views Protoplanetary Discs Being Shaped by Newborn Planets
Using data from the SPHERE instrument mounted on ESO’s Very Large Telescope, astronomers reveal protoplanetary discs being shaped by newborn planets. Sharp new observations have…
New Observations of the Vast Pillar-Like Structures within the Carina Nebula
Using the MUSE instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope, astronomers reveal new observations of vast pillar-like structures within the Carina Nebula. The different pillars analyzed…
Astronomers Find Unexpected Giant Glowing Halos around Distant Quasars
A new survey by the MUSE instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope indicates that halos around quasars are far more common than expected. The properties…
VLT Provides Highest Resolution Image to Date of Eta Carinae
Using the Very Large Telescope Interferometer, a team of astronomers reveals the Eta Carinae star system in the greatest detail ever achieved. High-resolution images reveal…
VISTA Finds Remains of Archaic Globular Star Cluster in The Milky Way
Using ESO’s infrared VISTA telescope, astronomers have discovered ancient stars, of a type known as RR Lyrae, in the center of the Milky Way for…
ESO VISTA Telescope Reveals Hidden Stars in Messier 78
ESO’s VISTA reveals stars that are just forming within the cosmic dust of Messier 78. In this new image of the nebula Messier 78, young…
Astronomers Explore the Hubble Ultra Deep Field
Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, international teams of astronomers explore the distant corner of the Universe first revealed in the iconic images of the…
Astronomers Solve the Mystery of a Rare Change in the Behavior of a Supermassive Black Hole
Using ESO’s Very Large Telescope along with the Hubble Space Telescope and Chandra X-ray Observatory, a team of astronomers has solved the mystery of a…
Astronomers Discover an Unusual Mix of Stars in Terzan 5
An international team of astronomers has revealed the unusual mix of stars in the stellar cluster known as Terzan 5. The new results indicate that…
Why So Blue? ESO Views Spiral Galaxy Messier 98
This newly released image shows spiral galaxy Messier 98, which is located about 50 million light-years away. The color blue has many associations — coldness,…
ESOcast 87 – Astronomers Discuss Proxima b
In this six minute ESOcast video astronomers discuss the newly discovered Proxima b and the possibility of life outside our solar system. The Pale Red…
Earth-Sized Planet Proxima b Might be Habitable
Scientists reveal that a newly discovered, roughly Earth-sized planet orbiting our nearest neighboring star might be habitable. Astronomers using ESO telescopes and other facilities have…
New Deep View of the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds
This newly released ESO image reveals a new view of the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds. Each of the thousands of spots in this new…
ALMA Detects Water Snowline Around Young Star V883 Orionis
Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), a team of astronomers has made the first ever resolved observation of a water snow line within a…
Astronomers Prepare for the Arrival of Juno at Jupiter
In preparation for the July arrival of NASA’s Juno spacecraft, astronomers used ESO’s Very Large Telescope to obtain new infrared images of Jupiter. They are…
Astronomers Find an Unexpected Amount of Giant Planets in Star Cluster Messier 67
A team of astronomers reveals that there are far more planets of the hot Jupiter type than expected in star cluster Messier 67. The surprising…