Episodes
Astronomers have used ESO telescopes to detect at least 70 rogue planets in our Milky Way, the largest group to date. Learn more about these elusive cosmic nomads in this video summarising the discovery!
Published 12/22/21
To learn more about the Milky Way's supermassive black hole, Sgr A*, scientists zoomed in towards our galaxy's centre with the help of ESO's Very Large Telescope Interferometer to watch how stars move around Sgr A*. This video summarises what they found.
Published 12/14/21
ESO’s Very Large Telescope has captured an image of a planet orbiting b Centauri, a pair of stars that can be seen with the naked eye. Find out why this next-door planetary system is extreme in this short video.
Published 12/08/21
Using the ESO’s Very Large Telescope, astronomers have revealed the closest pair of supermassive black holes to Earth ever observed. This video summarises the discovery.
Published 11/30/21
For the first time, astronomers have discovered a small black hole outside the Milky Way by looking at how it influences the motion of a star in its close vicinity. This video summarises the discovery.
Published 11/11/21
A new finding, made with the ALMA observatory, in which ESO is a partner, is shedding light on how fluorine is forged in the Universe. Find out more in this discovery, and how it is related to our dental hygiene, in this video summary.
Published 11/04/21
Astronomers have used the ESO’s Very Large Telescope in Chile to image 42 of the biggest main-belt asteroids. Meet some of the 42 in this video summarising the discovery!
Published 10/12/21
ESOcast is a video podcast series dedicated to bringing you the latest news and research from ESO, the European Southern Observatory. Here we explore the Universe's ultimate frontier. The ESOcast HD is presented in High Definition.
Published 08/05/21
Why do we aim for bigger and bigger telescopes, such as ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope currently under construction in Chile’s Atacama Desert? And how does the effort pay back, not only in terms of astronomical discoveries but also to the whole of society? Four special guests have answered these questions, so fasten your belt and get ready for a breathtaking discovery journey in the world of big telescopes!
Published 07/29/21
Using ALMA, a team of astronomers have unambiguously detected a moon-forming disc around a distant planet for the first time. The planet is a Jupiter-like gas giant, hosted in a system still in the process of being formed. The result promises to shed new light on how moons and planets form in young stellar systems. This video summarises the discovery.
Published 07/22/21
A team of astronomers have released colourful new observations of nearby galaxies obtained with the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (ESO’s VLT) as part of the Physics at High Angular resolution in Nearby GalaxieS (PHANGS) project. By combining these new observations with data from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), in which ESO is a partner, the team is helping shed new light on what triggers stars to form. This ESOcast Light summarises the work.
Published 07/16/21
ESOcast is a video podcast series dedicated to bringing you the latest news and research from ESO, the European Southern Observatory. Here we explore the Universe's ultimate frontier. The ESOcast HD is presented in High Definition.
Published 06/16/21
Part of the world-wide effort to scan and identify potentially dangerous asteroids and other near-Earth objects, asteroid hunter Test-Bed Telescope 2 (TBT2), a European Space Agency telescope hosted at ESO’s La Silla Observatory in Chile, has now started operating.
Published 04/27/21
New observations with the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (ESO’s VLT) indicate that the rogue comet 2I/Borisov, which is only the second and most recently detected interstellar visitor to our Solar System, is one of the most pristine ever observed. This video summarises new findings on this mysterious alien visitor.
Published 03/30/21
The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) collaboration, who produced the first ever image of a black hole, has today revealed a new view of the massive object at the centre of the Messier 87 galaxy: how it looks in polarised light. This is the first time astronomers have been able to measure polarisation, a signature of magnetic fields, this close to the edge of a black hole. This video summarises the discovery.
Published 03/24/21
With the help of ESO’s Very Large Telescope, astronomers have discovered and studied in detail the most distant source of radio emission known to date. The source is a “radio-loud” quasar — a bright object with powerful jets emitting at radio wavelengths — that is so far away its light has taken 13 billion years to reach us. This video summarises the discovery.
Published 03/08/21
Using a combination of telescopes, including the Very Large Telescope of the European Southern Observatory (ESO's VLT), astronomers have revealed a system consisting of six exoplanets, five of which are locked in a rare rhythm around their central star. This video summarises the discoveries and explains why this puzzling system is challenging our theories of how planets form.
Published 01/25/21
Captured in astounding detail by ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), the eerie Skull Nebula is showcased in a new image in beautiful pink and red tones. This planetary nebula is the first known to be associated with a pair of closely bound stars orbited by a third outer star. This video offers stunning views of this object and tells the story of the three stars at its centre.
Published 10/30/20
Using telescopes from ESO and other organisations around the world, astronomers have spotted a rare blast of light from a star being ripped apart by a supermassive black hole. This video summarises the findings.
Published 10/12/20
ESOcast is a video podcast series dedicated to bringing you the latest news and research from ESO, the European Southern Observatory. Here we explore the Universe's ultimate frontier. The ESOcast HD is presented in High Definition.
Published 09/14/20
A team of astronomers used ALMA and ESO telescopes to study a peculiar system, GW Orionis, and to identify the first direct evidence that groups of stars can tear apart their planet-forming disc, leaving it warped and with tilted rings. This video provides a summary of the findings, showcasing stunning observations and animations of GW Orionis.
Published 09/03/20
Astronomers using ALMA, in which the ESO is a partner, have revealed an extremely distant galaxy that looks surprisingly like our Milky Way. This video summarises their findings.
Published 08/12/20
Astronomers using ESO's Very Large Telescope have imaged a 'space butterfly', a planetary nebula known as NGC 2899. This video offers stunning views of this object and the science behind it.
Published 07/30/20
The SPHERE instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope has captured the first ever image of a young, Sun-like star accompanied by two giant exoplanets.
Published 07/22/20
ESOcast is a video podcast series dedicated to bringing you the latest news and research from ESO, the European Southern Observatory. Here we explore the Universe's ultimate frontier. The ESOcast HD is presented in High Definition.
Published 07/22/20