ESO

A deeper look at Centaurus A

(Phys.org) -- The strange galaxy Centaurus A is pictured in a new image from the European Southern Observatory. With a total exposure time of more than 50 hours this is probably the deepest view of this peculiar ...

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created May 16, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

VISTA views a vast ball of stars

(Phys.org) -- A new image of Messier 55 from ESO's VISTA infrared survey telescope shows tens of thousands of stars crowded together like a swarm of bees. Besides being packed into a relatively small space, ...

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created May 09, 2012 | popularity 3.7 / 5 (6) | comments 15 | with audio podcast

Sifting through dust near Orion's Belt

the surface grime that hides the beauty of an object. But this new image of Messier 78 and surroundings, which reveals the submillimetre-wavelength radiation from dust grains in space, shows that dust can ...

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created May 02, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

A cluster within a cluster

(Phys.org) -- The star cluster NGC 6604 is shown in this new image taken by the Wide Field Imager attached to the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at the La Silla Observatory in Chile. It is often overlooked in ...

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Apr 25, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 2 | with audio podcast

Serious blow to dark matter theories? New study finds mysterious lack of dark matter in Sun's neighborhood

(Phys.org) -- The most accurate study so far of the motions of stars in the Milky Way has found no evidence for dark matter in a large volume around the Sun. According to widely accepted theories, the solar ...

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Apr 18, 2012 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (45) | comments 164 | with audio podcast

Many billions of rocky planets in the habitable zones around red dwarfs in the Milky Way

(PhysOrg.com) -- A new result from ESO’s HARPS planet finder shows that rocky planets not much bigger than Earth are very common in the habitable zones around faint red stars. The international team estimates ...

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Mar 28, 2012 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (18) | comments 37 | with audio podcast

VISTA stares deep into the cosmos: Treasure trove of new infrared data made available to astronomers

(PhysOrg.com) -- ESO's VISTA telescope has created the widest deep view of the sky ever made using infrared light. This new picture of an unremarkable patch of sky comes from the UltraVISTA survey and reveals ...

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Mar 21, 2012 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (9) | comments 2 | with audio podcast

The feeding habits of teenage galaxies

(PhysOrg.com) -- New observations made with ESO’s Very Large Telescope are making a major contribution to understanding the growth of adolescent galaxies. In the biggest survey of its kind astronomers ...

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Mar 14, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 6 | with audio podcast

VST captures collisions in young galaxy cluster

(PhysOrg.com) -- The VLT Survey Telescope (VST) at ESO’s Paranal Observatory in Chile has imaged a fascinating collection of interacting galaxies in the Hercules galaxy cluster. The sharpness of the new ...

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Mar 07, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

How to rediscover life on Earth by looking at the Moon

(PhysOrg.com) -- By observing the Moon using ESO's Very Large Telescope, astronomers have found evidence of life in the universe -- on Earth. Finding life on our home planet may sound like a trivial observation, ...

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Feb 29, 2012 | popularity 4.1 / 5 (11) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

APEX turns its eye to dark clouds in Taurus

(PhysOrg.com) -- A new image from the APEX (Atacama Pathfinder Experiment) telescope in Chile shows a sinuous filament of cosmic dust more than ten light-years long. In it, newborn stars are hidden, and dense ...

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Feb 15, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 1

VLT takes most detailed infrared image of the Carina Nebula

(PhysOrg.com) -- ESO's Very Large Telescope has delivered the most detailed infrared image of the Carina Nebula stellar nursery taken so far. Many previously hidden features, scattered across a spectacular ...

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Feb 08, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (6) | comments 3 | with audio podcast

A pocket of star formation

(PhysOrg.com) -- This new view shows a stellar nursery called NGC 3324. It was taken using the Wide Field Imager on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at the La Silla Observatory in Chile. The intense ultraviolet ...

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Feb 01, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

The wild early lives of today's most massive galaxies

(PhysOrg.com) -- Using the APEX telescope, a team of astronomers has found the strongest link so far between the most powerful bursts of star formation in the early Universe, and the most massive galaxies ...

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Jan 25, 2012 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (5) | comments 2 | with audio podcast

The Helix Nebula in new colors

(PhysOrg.com) -- ESO's VISTA telescope, at the Paranal Observatory in Chile, has captured a striking new image of the Helix Nebula. This picture, taken in infrared light, reveals strands of cold nebular gas ...

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Jan 19, 2012 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (6) | comments 0 | with audio podcast