ESO, the European Southern Observatory

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Auxiliary Telescopes </a></li></ul></li><li class="submenu"><a href="/public/teles-instr/paranal-observatory/surveytelescopes/"> Survey Telescopes <span class="desktop-children topmenu-arrow fa fa-angle-right"></span></a><span class="mobile-children"><span class="fa fa-angle-down"></span></span><ul id="submenu-aim-301" class="submenu-aim sublevel"><li class="submenu"><a href="/public/teles-instr/paranal-observatory/surveytelescopes/vista/"> VISTA <span class="desktop-children topmenu-arrow fa fa-angle-right"></span></a><span class="mobile-children"><span class="fa fa-angle-down"></span></span><ul id="submenu-aim-302" class="submenu-aim sublevel"><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/paranal-observatory/surveytelescopes/vista/mirror/"> The VISTA mirror </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/paranal-observatory/surveytelescopes/vista/camera/"> VIRCAM </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/paranal-observatory/surveytelescopes/vista/4most/"> 4MOST </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/paranal-observatory/surveytelescopes/vista/surveys/"> The VISTA surveys </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/paranal-observatory/surveytelescopes/vista/consortium/"> The VISTA consortium </a></li></ul></li><li class="submenu"><a href="/public/teles-instr/paranal-observatory/surveytelescopes/vst/"> VST <span class="desktop-children topmenu-arrow fa fa-angle-right"></span></a><span class="mobile-children"><span class="fa fa-angle-down"></span></span><ul id="submenu-aim-308" class="submenu-aim sublevel"><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/paranal-observatory/surveytelescopes/vst/mirror/"> The VST mirrors </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/paranal-observatory/surveytelescopes/vst/camera/"> OmegaCAM </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/paranal-observatory/surveytelescopes/vst/surveys/"> The VST surveys </a></li></ul></li></ul></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/paranal-observatory/speculoos/"> SPECULOOS </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/paranal-observatory/ngts/"> NGTS </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/paranal-observatory/ctao/"> Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory </a></li></ul></li><li class="submenu"><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/"> La Silla Observatory <span class="desktop-children topmenu-arrow fa fa-angle-right"></span></a><span class="mobile-children"><span class="fa fa-angle-down"></span></span><ul id="submenu-aim-315" class="submenu-aim sublevel"><li class="submenu"><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/swedish/"> Swedish–ESO Submillimetre Telescope <span class="desktop-children topmenu-arrow fa fa-angle-right"></span></a><span class="mobile-children"><span class="fa fa-angle-down"></span></span><ul id="submenu-aim-316" class="submenu-aim sublevel"><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/swedish/simba/"> SIMBA </a></li></ul></li><li class="submenu"><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/ntt/"> New Technology Telescope <span class="desktop-children topmenu-arrow fa fa-angle-right"></span></a><span class="mobile-children"><span class="fa fa-angle-down"></span></span><ul id="submenu-aim-318" class="submenu-aim sublevel"><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/ntt/efosc2/"> EFOSC2 </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/ntt/emmi/"> EMMI </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/ntt/irspec/"> IRSPEC </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/ntt/sofi/"> SOFI </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/ntt/soxs/"> SOXS </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/ntt/susi2/"> SUSI and SUSI2 </a></li></ul></li><li class="submenu"><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/36/"> ESO 3.6-metre telescope <span class="desktop-children topmenu-arrow fa fa-angle-right"></span></a><span class="mobile-children"><span class="fa fa-angle-down"></span></span><ul id="submenu-aim-325" class="submenu-aim sublevel"><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/36/adonis/"> ADONIS </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/36/caspec/"> CASPEC </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/36/irspec/"> IRSPEC </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/36/harps/"> HARPS </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/36/mefos/"> MEFOS </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/36/nirps/"> NIRPS </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/36/optopus/"> OPTOPUS </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/36/timmi2/"> TIMMI/2 </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/36/36-infrared-photometer-spectrophotometer/"> Infrared Photometer/Spectrophotometer </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/36/36-standard-photometer/"> Standard Photometer </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/36/infrared-specklegraph/"> Infrared Specklegraph </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/36/infrared-speckle-interferometer/"> Infrared Speckle Interferometer </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/36/efosc/"> EFOSC </a></li></ul></li><li class="submenu"><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/mpg22/"> MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope <span class="desktop-children topmenu-arrow fa fa-angle-right"></span></a><span class="mobile-children"><span class="fa fa-angle-down"></span></span><ul id="submenu-aim-339" class="submenu-aim sublevel"><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/mpg22/feros/"> FEROS </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/mpg22/grond/"> GROND </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/mpg22/irac2/"> IRAC & IRAC2 </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/mpg22/pisco/"> PISCO </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/mpg22/wfi/"> WFI </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/mpg22/infrared-photometer-spectrophotometer/"> Infrared Photometer/Spectrophotometer </a></li></ul></li><li class="submenu"><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/swiss/"> Swiss 1.2-metre Leonhard Euler Telescope <span class="desktop-children topmenu-arrow fa fa-angle-right"></span></a><span class="mobile-children"><span class="fa fa-angle-down"></span></span><ul id="submenu-aim-346" class="submenu-aim sublevel"><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/swiss/coralie/"> CORALIE </a></li></ul></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/rem/"> Rapid Eye Mount telescope </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/trappist/"> TRAnsiting Planets and PlanetesImals Small Telescope–South </a></li><li class="submenu"><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/danish154/"> Danish 1.54-metre telescope <span class="desktop-children topmenu-arrow fa fa-angle-right"></span></a><span class="mobile-children"><span class="fa fa-angle-down"></span></span><ul id="submenu-aim-350" class="submenu-aim sublevel"><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/danish154/coravel/"> CORAVEL </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/danish154/dfosc/"> DFOSC </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/danish154/ccd/"> CCD camera </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/danish154/hb-photometer/"> Hβ Photometer </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/danish154/two-channel-photometer/"> Two-Channel Photometer </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/danish154/four-channel-photometer/"> Four-Channel Photometer </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/danish154/six-channel-photometer/"> Six-Channel uvby-Hβ Photometer </a></li></ul></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/tarot/"> Télescope à Action Rapide pour les Objets Transitoires </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/1mschmidt/"> ESO 1-metre Schmidt telescope </a></li><li class="submenu"><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/152metre/"> ESO 1.52-metre telescope <span class="desktop-children topmenu-arrow fa fa-angle-right"></span></a><span class="mobile-children"><span class="fa fa-angle-down"></span></span><ul id="submenu-aim-360" class="submenu-aim sublevel"><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/152metre/bandc/"> Boller and Chivens Spectrograph </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/152metre/coude/"> Coudé Spectrograph </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/152metre/echelec/"> ECHELEC </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/152metre/rv-cass-spectrograph/"> RV Cass Spectrograph </a></li></ul></li><li class="submenu"><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/1metre/"> ESO 1-metre telescope <span class="desktop-children topmenu-arrow fa fa-angle-right"></span></a><span class="mobile-children"><span class="fa fa-angle-down"></span></span><ul id="submenu-aim-365" class="submenu-aim sublevel"><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/1metre/fideos/"> FIDEOS </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/1metre/infrared-photometer/"> Infrared Photometer </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/1metre/single-channel-photometer/"> Single-Channel Photometer </a></li></ul></li><li class="submenu"><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/05metre/"> ESO 0.5-metre telescope <span class="desktop-children topmenu-arrow fa fa-angle-right"></span></a><span class="mobile-children"><span class="fa fa-angle-down"></span></span><ul id="submenu-aim-369" class="submenu-aim sublevel"><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/05metre/single-channel-photometer/"> Single-Channel Photometer </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/05metre/double-channel-photometer/"> Double-Channel Photometer </a></li></ul></li><li class="submenu"><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/coude/"> Coudé Auxiliary Telescope <span class="desktop-children topmenu-arrow fa fa-angle-right"></span></a><span class="mobile-children"><span class="fa fa-angle-down"></span></span><ul id="submenu-aim-372" class="submenu-aim sublevel"><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/coude/ces/"> CES </a></li></ul></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/marly/"> MarLy 1-metre telescope </a></li><li class="submenu"><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/09metre/"> Dutch 0.9-metre telescope <span class="desktop-children topmenu-arrow fa fa-angle-right"></span></a><span class="mobile-children"><span class="fa fa-angle-down"></span></span><ul id="submenu-aim-375" class="submenu-aim sublevel"><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/09metre/walraven/"> Walraven Photometer </a></li></ul></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/t70/"> Swiss T70 telescope </a></li><li class="submenu"><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/bochum/"> Bochum 0.61-metre telescope <span class="desktop-children topmenu-arrow fa fa-angle-right"></span></a><span class="mobile-children"><span class="fa fa-angle-down"></span></span><ul id="submenu-aim-378" class="submenu-aim sublevel"><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/bochum/bochum-scanner/"> Bochum Scanner </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/bochum/bochum-photometer/"> Bochum Photometer </a></li></ul></li><li class="submenu"><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/danish05/"> Danish 0.5-metre telescope <span class="desktop-children topmenu-arrow fa fa-angle-right"></span></a><span class="mobile-children"><span class="fa fa-angle-down"></span></span><ul id="submenu-aim-381" class="submenu-aim sublevel"><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/danish05/danish-two-channel-hb-photometer/"> Two-Channel Hβ Photometer </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/danish05/danish-four-channel-uvby-photometer/"> Four-Channel uvby Photometer </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/danish05/danish-six-channel-uvby-hb-photometer/"> Six-Channel uvby–Hβ Photometer </a></li></ul></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/gpo/"> Grand Prisme Objectif telescope </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/swiss04/"> Swiss 0.4-metre telescope </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/marseille/"> Marseille 0.36-metre telescope </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/grb/"> GRB Monitoring System </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/mascara/"> MASCARA </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/blackgem/"> BlackGEM </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/extra/"> ExTrA </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/test-bed/"> Test-Bed Telescope </a></li></ul></li><li class="submenu"><a href="/public/teles-instr/apex/"> APEX <span class="desktop-children topmenu-arrow fa fa-angle-right"></span></a><span class="mobile-children"><span class="fa fa-angle-down"></span></span><ul id="submenu-aim-393" class="submenu-aim sublevel"><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/apex/apex-2a/"> APEX–2A </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/apex/artemis/"> ArTéMiS </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/apex/aszca/"> ASZCa </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/apex/champ-plus/"> CHAMP+ </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/apex/concerto/"> CONCERTO </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/apex/flash/"> FLASH </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/apex/flash-plus/"> FLASH+ </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/apex/laboca/"> LABOCA </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/apex/mpi_11thz/"> MPI_1.1THz </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/apex/p-artemis/"> P-ArTéMiS </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/apex/pi230/"> PI230 </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/apex/polka/"> PolKa </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/apex/saboca/"> SABOCA </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/apex/sepia/"> SEPIA </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/apex/shefi/"> SHeFI </a></li></ul></li><li class="submenu"><a href="/public/teles-instr/alma/"> ALMA <span class="desktop-children topmenu-arrow fa fa-angle-right"></span></a><span class="mobile-children"><span class="fa fa-angle-down"></span></span><ul id="submenu-aim-409" class="submenu-aim sublevel"><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/alma/antennas/"> Antennas </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/alma/transporters/"> Transporters </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/alma/interferometry/"> Interferometry </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/alma/receiver-bands/"> Receiver Bands </a></li><li 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</a></li></ul></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/instruments/"> Instruments </a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </li> <li><a href="/public/science/">Discoveries<span class="fa fa-angle-down level0-children-arrows"></span></a> <span class="mobile-children"> <span class="fa fa-angle-down"></span> </span> <div class="level1-wrapper"> <div class="level1"> <ul id="submenu-aim-424" class="submenu-aim"> <li class=""><a href="/public/science/key-discoveries/"> ESO Key Astronomical Discoveries </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/science/exoplanets/"> Exoplanets </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/science/gravitationalwaves/"> Gravitational Wave Sources </a></li><li class="submenu"><a class="no-link children" href="#"> Black Holes <span class="desktop-children topmenu-arrow fa fa-angle-right"></span></a><span class="mobile-children"><span class="fa fa-angle-down"></span></span><ul id="submenu-aim-428" class="submenu-aim sublevel"><li class=""><a href="https://www.eso.org/public/science/event-horizon/"> First image of a black hole </a></li><li class=""><a href="https://www.eso.org/public/science/EHT-MilkyWay/"> First image of the Milky Way central black hole </a></li><li class=""><a href="https://www.eso.org/public/science/gc/"> More about the black hole at the galactic centre </a></li></ul></li><li class=""><a href="/public/science/grb/"> Gamma-Ray Bursts </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/science/archive/"> Science Archive </a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </li> <li><a href="/public/events/">Events<span class="fa fa-angle-down level0-children-arrows"></span></a> <span class="mobile-children"> <span class="fa fa-angle-down"></span> </span> <div class="level1-wrapper"> <div class="level1"> <ul id="submenu-aim-434" class="submenu-aim"> <li class=""><a href="/public/events/press-evt/"> Press Events </a></li><li class="submenu"><a href="/public/events/special-evt/"> Special Events <span class="desktop-children topmenu-arrow fa 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<div class="container " id="body"> <div class="row no-page"> <div class="col-md-12"> </div> </div> <div class="row page"> <div class="col-md-12 one-column"> <div id="edit-info-block"> <div id="page-edit-success" class="alert alert-success alert-dismissible" role="alert" style="display: none"> <button type="button" class="close" data-dismiss="alert" aria-label="Close"><span aria-hidden="true">×</span></button> Page saved successfully </div> <div id="page-edit-failure" class="alert alert-danger alert-dismissible" role="alert" style="display: none"> <button type="button" class="close" data-dismiss="alert" aria-label="Close"><span aria-hidden="true">×</span></button> Couldn't save page :( Please try again. </div> </div> <div class='page-content'> <div id="editable-content"> <h1>ESO at a glance</h1> <p><a href="/public/images/eso50_obs_compo/"><img src="/public/archives/images/screen/eso50_obs_compo.jpg" width="100%" border="0" /></a></p> <p>Astronomy is often described as the oldest science and there can be no doubt that a view towards the majestic Milky Way band of stars — as it stretches across the sky on a clear night — must have been an awe-inspiring sight to people of all ages and cultures. Today, astronomy stands out as one of the most modern and dynamic sciences, using some of the most advanced technologies and sophisticated techniques available to scientists. And these are exciting times for astronomy: technology now allows us to study objects at the far edge of the Universe and to detect evidence for <a href="http://www.eso.org/public/science/exoplanets.html">planets around other stars</a>. We can begin to answer a fundamental question that fascinates every one of us: are we alone in the Universe?</p> <p>The European Southern Observatory (ESO) is the pre-eminent intergovernmental science and technology organisation in astronomy. It carries out an ambitious programme focused on the design, construction and operation of powerful ground-based <a href="http://www.eso.org/public/teles-instr.html">observing facilities</a> for astronomy, in order to enable <a href="http://www.eso.org/public/science/top10.html">important scientific discoveries</a>. ESO also plays a leading role in promoting and organising cooperation in astronomical research.</p> <p>ESO operates three unique world-class observing sites in the Atacama Desert region of Chile: <a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/">La Silla</a>, <a href="http://www.eso.org/public/teles-instr/paranal-observatory/">Paranal</a> and Chajnantor. ESO's first site is at La Silla, a 2400 m high mountain 600 km north of Santiago de Chile. It is equipped with several optical telescopes with mirror diameters of up to 3.6 metres. The <a href="http://www.eso.org/public/teles-instr/lasilla/ntt.html">3.5-metre New Technology Telescope</a> broke new ground for telescope engineering and design and was the first in the world to have a computer-controlled main mirror, a technology developed at ESO and now applied to most of the world's current large telescopes. The <a href="http://www.eso.org/public/teles-instr/lasilla/36.html">ESO 3.6-metre telescope</a> is now home to the world's foremost extrasolar planet hunter: <a href="http://www.eso.org/sci/facilities/lasilla/instruments/harps/">HARPS</a> (High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher), a spectrograph with unrivalled precision.</p> <p>While La Silla remains at the forefront of astronomy, and is still the second most scientifically productive ground-based astronomical observatory, the 2600 m high Paranal site — home to the Very Large Telescope array (VLT) — is the flagship facility of European astronomy. Paranal is situated about 130 km south of Antofagasta in Chile, 12 km inland from the Pacific coast, in one of the driest areas of the world. Scientific operations began at Paranal in 1999 and have resulted in many extremely successful research programmes.</p> <p>The <a href="http://www.eso.org/public/teles-instr/vlt.html">VLT</a> is a most unusual telescope which is based on the latest technology. It is not just one, but an array of four Unit Telescopes, each with a main mirror measuring 8.2 metres in diameter. With one Unit Telescope, images of celestial objects as faint as magnitude 30 have been obtained in a one-hour exposure. This corresponds to observing objects that are four billion times fainter than those seen with the naked eye.<br /><br />The VLT also has four additional 1.8-metre moveable <a href="http://www.eso.org/public/teles-instr/paranal-observatory/vlt/auxiliarytelescopes/">Auxiliary Telescopes</a>. One of the most exciting features of the VLT is the option to use it as a giant optical interferometer (<a href="http://www.eso.org/sci/facilities/paranal/telescopes/vlti/">VLT Interferometer</a> or VLTI). This is done by combining the light from several of either the Unit Telescopes or the Auxiliary Telescopes. In this interferometric mode, the telescope has a vision equivalent to that of a single telescope the size of the separation between the most distant mirrors. For the VLTI using the Auxiliary Telescopes, this distance can be up to 200 metres.</p> <p>Each year, about 2000 research proposals are made for the use of <a href="http://www.eso.org/public/teles-instr.html">ESO telescopes</a>, requesting between four and six times more nights than are available. ESO is the most productive astronomical observatory in the world, and annually results in many peer-reviewed publications: in 2013 alone, over 840 refereed papers based on ESO data were published. Moreover, research articles based on VLT data are in the mean quoted twice as often as the average. The very high efficiency of ESO's "science machines" now generates huge amounts of data at a very high rate. Data are stored in a permanent <a href="http://www.eso.org/public/science/archive.html">Science Archive Facility</a> at ESO Headquarters. The archive now contains more than 1.5 million images or spectra with a total volume of about 65 terabytes (65 000 000 000 000 bytes) of data. This corresponds to the content of about 30 million books of 1000 pages each; they would occupy more than 1000 kilometres of bookshelves!</p> <p>The <a href="/public/teles-instr/alma/">Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array</a> (ALMA), the largest ground-based astronomy project in existence, is a revolutionary facility for world astronomy. ALMA is comprised of an array of 66 giant 12-metre and 7-metre diameter antennas observing at millimetre and submillimetre wavelengths. ALMA started scientific observations in 2011 and was inaugurated in 2013. ALMA is located on the high altitude Llano de Chajnantor, at 5000 m elevation, making it one of the highest astronomical observatory sites in the world. ALMA is a partnership between ESO (representing its Member States), NSF (USA) and NINS (Japan), together with NRC (Canada), NSC and ASIAA (Taiwan), and KASI (South Korea), in cooperation with the Republic of Chile. The Joint ALMA Observatory is operated by ESO, AUI/NRAO and NAOJ.</p> <p>The next step beyond the VLT is to build the <a href="https://elt.eso.org/">Extremely Large Telescope</a> (ELT) with a 39-metre primary mirror. The ELT will be "the world's biggest eye on the sky" — the largest optical/near-infrared telescope in the world. The ELT will address many of the most pressing unsolved questions in astronomy. It may, eventually, revolutionise our perception of the Universe, much as Galileo's telescope did 400 years ago. The green light for ELT construction was given in late 2014, with science first light planned for 2027.</p> <p>The ESO Headquarters are located in Garching, near Munich, Germany. This is the scientific, technical and administrative centre of ESO where technical development programmes are carried out to provide the observatories with the most advanced instruments.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div>  <div class="row footernote"> <div class="col-xs-12 col-md-3"> <a href="mailto:information@eso.org">Send us your comments!</a> </div> <div class="col-xs-12 col-md-3"> <a href="/public/outreach/newsletters/esonews/">Subscribe to receive news from ESO in your language</a> </div> <div class="col-xs-12 col-md-3"> <a href="https://www.cdn77.com">Accelerated by CDN77</a> </div> <div class="col-xs-12 col-md-3"> <a href="/public/about-eso/privacy/">Terms & Conditions</a> </div> </div> <link href="/public/archives/djp/css/extras.d3e54451ebbb.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" /> <script type="text/javascript">var MEDIA_URL = "/public/archives/"</script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/public/archives/djp/js/main.04a7335af5a0.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </div>  <div id="social-share" class="hidden-print"> <div class="link facebook" data-toggle="tooltip" data-placement="right" title="Share on Facebook"> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://www.eso.org/public/about-eso/esoglance/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><i class="fa-brands fa-facebook-f" aria-hidden="true"></i></a> </div> <div class="link twitter" data-toggle="tooltip" data-placement="right" title="Share on X/Twitter"> <a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https://www.eso.org/public/about-eso/esoglance/&text=ESO, the European Southern Observatory&via=ESO" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><i class="fa-brands fa-x-twitter"></i></i></a> </div> <div class="link pinterest" data-toggle="tooltip" data-placement="right" title="Share on Pinterest"> <a href="https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://www.eso.org/public/about-eso/esoglance/&media=&description=ESO, the European Southern Observatory" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><i class="fa-brands fa-pinterest-p" aria-hidden="true"></i></a> </div> <div class="link print" data-toggle="tooltip" data-placement="right" title="Print"> <a href="javascript:window.print()" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><i class="fa fa-print" aria-hidden="true"></i></a> </div> <div class="link email" data-toggle="tooltip" data-placement="right" title="Share by email"> <a href="mailto:%20?subject=ESO — ESO, the European Southern Observatory&body=https://www.eso.org/public/about-eso/esoglance/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><i class="fa-regular fa-envelope" aria-hidden="true"></i></a> </div> </div> <script> $('[data-toggle="tooltip"]').tooltip(); </script> <input type='hidden' name='csrfmiddlewaretoken' value='z2bbdERGWov2LZzUpHqEvsJYyUkln1cnAJaw8BtZLlvAph6uJxAgQIMKCB3OAWoV' /> </body> </html>

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