ESO and Astronomy

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 planets around other stars. We can begin to answer a fundamental question that fascinates every one of us: are we alone in the Universe?

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 observing facilities for astronomy to enable important scientific discoveries.

ESO operates the La Silla Paranal Observatory at two sites in the Atacama desert region of Chile. La Silla, a 2400 m high mountain 600 km north of Santiago de Chile, is home to several telescopes in the 3.5-m range dedicated to high-profile long-term programmes. The flagship facility is the Very Large Telescope (VLT) atop the Paranal mountain, whose design, instrument complement and operating principles set the standard for ground-based optical and infrared astronomy. The VLT Interferometer (VLTI) enhances the capabilities of this unique facility even further as do the survey telescopes VST (optical) and VISTA (infrared). Publication statistics show that the VLT provides data for a scientific paper every day, all year round.

ESO is also the focal point for Europe's participation in the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), an intercontinental collaboration with North America, East Asia and Chile. The ALMA partners are constructing this unique facility at the high-altitude site of Chajnantor in the Chilean Altiplano. ALMA will become operational in 2012, and promises to be as transformational for science as the Hubble Space Telescope.

The next step beyond the VLT is to build an Extremely Large optical/infrared Telescope with a primary mirror between 30 and 60 m in diameter. ESO has developed a pioneering new design, and is drawing up detailed construction plans together with the community. The ELT will provide our first ever images of earth-like planets around other stars, which would be a truly remarkable milestone.