Supermassive black holes feed on cosmic jellyfish

An Italian-led team of astronomers used the MUSE (Multi-Unit Spectroscopic Explorer) instrument on the Very Large Telescope (VLT) at ESO's Paranal Observatory in Chile to study how gas can be stripped from galaxies. They ...

Cutting-edge Adaptive Optics Facility sees first light

The Unit Telescope 4 (Yepun) of ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT) has now been transformed into a fully adaptive telescope. After more than a decade of planning, construction and testing, the new Adaptive Optics Facility (AOF) ...

A tale of three stellar cities

Using new observations from ESO's VLT Survey Telescope, astronomers have discovered three different populations of baby stars within the Orion Nebula Cluster. This unexpected discovery adds very valuable new insights for ...

Dazzling spiral with an active heart

ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT) has captured a magnificent face-on view of the barred spiral galaxy Messier 77. The image does justice to the galaxy's beauty, showcasing its glittering arms criss-crossed with dust lanes—but ...

VST captures three-in-one

Two of the sky's more famous residents share the stage with a lesser-known neighbour in this enormous new three gigapixel image from ESO's VLT Survey Telescope (VST). On the right lies Sharpless 2-54, the iconic Eagle Nebula ...

ALMA finds ingredient of life around infant Sun-like stars

Two teams of astronomers have harnessed the power of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile to detect the prebiotic complex organic molecule methyl isocyanate in the multiple star system IRAS 16293-2422. ...

ESO signs contracts for the ELT's gigantic primary mirror

The unique optical system of ESO's Extremely Large Telescope consists of five mirrors, each of which represents its own significant engineering challenge. The 39-metre-diameter primary mirror, which will be made up of 798 ...

VISTA peeks through the Small Magellanic Cloud's dusty veil

VISTA's infrared capabilities have now allowed astronomers to see the myriad of stars in the Small Magellanic Cloud galaxy much more clearly than ever before. The result is this record-breaking image—the biggest infrared ...

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