European Southern Observatory

Asteroid 2024 YR4 was discovered on 27 Dec 2024. Follow-up observations, including with ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), have found that it has an almost 99% chance of safely passing Earth on 22 Dec 2032, but a possible impact cannot yet be entirely ruled out. https://lnkd.in/dtKHcdjM   The clip below shows ESO’s VLT recent observations of asteroid 2024 YR4, which have helped refine its trajectory. It is estimated to be 40-100 m wide, but more data and analysis are needed to confirm the size, and to refine its trajectory. As part of the International Asteroid Warning Network, we contribute with ground-based observations to track Near Earth Objects such as 2024 YR4, as you can read in this ESO blog: https://lnkd.in/e3naUA48 📷 ESO/O. Hainaut et al.

#ESOjobs We are looking for an IT Specialist – Networks, in Santiago de Chile. The deadline to apply is 28 February 2025. Details at: https://orlo.uk/yPcsU 📷 R. Wesson/ESO #job #jobs #astronomy #jobopportunity #recruitment #jobposting #hiring #IT #Chile

This picture shows the clearest image yet of a filament from the cosmic web of dark matter!. Captured with our Very Large Telescope (VLT) and made of gas clumped together by the influence of dark matter, it stretches out for 3 million light-years, connecting two distant galaxies in the early Universe. The light from this filament took 11 billion years to reach us, and it shows exactly what theory predicted. In the early Universe, filaments of dark matter could have created a large web that entangled gas through their gravitational pull. Once gas accumulated at the intersection between filaments, it would have provided the fuel necessary to form galaxies. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eVznKHjV 📷 ESO/D. Tornotti et al./Hubble: M. Revalski, P. Francis et al.

The support for M5, the fifth mirror in the optical design of our Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), is one of the telescope's most challenging components. And it's now being tested at our Headquarters in Garching. M5 is the smallest mirror on the ELT, but the biggest tip-tilt mirror ever employed in a telescope. Together with M4, it is a crucial component of the ELT’s adaptive optics system. The precise tip and tilt movements enabled by the support will ensure images are stabilised before they reach the ELT instruments. Discover more: https://orlo.uk/sPx7s

#ESOjobs Important opportunity for students! We are looking for an Atmospheric Science/ Astronomy/ Structural Engineering, in Santiago de Chile. The deadline to apply is 15 February 2025. Details at: https://orlo.uk/sSIj8 📷 ESO & ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO) #job #jobs #astronomy #jobopportunity #recruitment #jobposting #hiring #engineer #engineering #Chile

#ESOjobs We are looking for an Automation Engineer, in Garching. The deadline to apply is 9 February 2025. Details at: https://orlo.uk/GM8hS 📷 S. Ströbele/ESO #job #jobs #astronomy #jobopportunity #recruitment #jobposting #hiring #PLC #electricalengineering #engineer #Germany

Using our Very Large Telescope (VLT), astronomers have discovered extremely powerful winds pummelling the equator of the giant gas exoplanet WASP-127b, 500 light-years away. Reaching speeds up to 33 000 km/h, the winds make up the fastest jetstream of its kind ever measured on a planet. In comparison, the fastest wind ever measured in the Solar System was found on Neptune, moving at 1800 km/h. Discover more: https://lnkd.in/eUyx73Qd Artist's impression by ESO/L. Calçada

New laser-sharp vision for Paranal’s facilities! Taken at our Headquarters in Germany, this image shows the first of nine new lasers that are being built for two of our Paranal Observatory facilities, in Chile’s Atacama Desert. Three of these lasers are part of the GRAVITY+ upgrade to the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI), while the remaining six will be installed on the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), currently under construction not far from the VLTI. These lasers are part of the telescopes’ adaptive optics system. This cancels out the blurring effect caused by turbulence in the atmosphere, allowing the telescopes to deliver much sharper images. The laser projection systems are being built in the Netherlands, and the first one has now successfully passed a review by our engineers. Discover more: https://lnkd.in/eTA-JMyt 📷 ESO/TNO/Demcon/Fred Kamphues

#ESOjobs We are looking for an HR Operations Assistant and an HR Officer, in Garching. The deadline to apply is 15 February 2025. Details at: https://orlo.uk/ABGT7 📷 ESO #job #jobs #astronomy #jobopportunity #recruitment #jobposting #hiring #erp #hr #humanresources #Germany