This ESO workshop will focus on variability in young stellar objects and its role in the evolution of their protoplanetary disks. Specifically, addressing accretion and ejection variability and their connection to outer disk scales. Such variability is observed at the time of formation of stars and planets, two closely linked events. With the ratio of accretion to ejection still not fully understood, it remains an open question how exactly protoplanetary disks lose their mass and disperse. Since the mass budget within disks directly influences how and where planets can form, it is critical to understand and discuss results from the time-dependent nature of these environments. ESO welcomes researchers to join in May 2025.

The X-Shooting ULLYSES project (XShootU, ESO programme ID 106.211Z) aims to provide near-UV to near-IR spectra for the massive stars targeted by the HST Director’s Discretionary programme ULLYSES. This first public data release (DR1) contains UVB and VIS X-Shooter spectra (wavelength coverage of 300-1020 nm) of 232 massive stars in the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds (LMC, SMC). All stars were observed in STARE Mode, using 0.8” and 0.7” slits for the UVB and VIS, respectively, resulting in a resolving power of ~6700 in the UVB and ~11400 in the VIS. The observations were spread on 102 different nights from October 2020 to Juli 2021 and include 129 LMC and 113 SMC stars. Both individual and co-added spectra are included in the release. Generally, individual exposures (INDIV1D) are available as ancillary files, and co-added spectra with UVB and VIS merged (COADD1D) as the main science spectra, except for some of the binaries, for which only the individual exposures are provided. Detailed information is available in the related documentation.

ESO is delighted to announce a special conference in honor of Bruno Leibundgut’s 65th birthday, during which a new value of the Hubble constant will also be revealed. The event will take place at the ESO headquarters in Garching from 7th to 11th April 2025.

The registration and abstract submission for this workshop are now open. Abstracts can be submitted until 10 November, while the registration form and the payment page will stay open until 20 January 2025. This workshop will focus on understanding the chemical composition and evolution of young star and planet-forming systems, leveraging recent advancements in observational techniques from facilities like ALMA, NOEMA, VLA and JWST. Key questions include how molecular content evolves and influences exoplanet chemistry. The workshop aims to explore current knowledge and limitations, foster collaboration, and provide insights into future observational advancements with upcoming ESO facilities and new instruments.

The Call for Proposals for observations at ESO telescopes in Period 115 (1 April 2025 – 30 September 2025) has been released. Please consult the Period 115 document before applying for time on ESO telescopes. All technical information about the offered instruments and facilities can be found on the ESO webpages linked from the Call for Proposals. The proposal submission deadline is on 26 September 2024, 12:00 CEST.

On the 16^th April 2024, the ESO Directors Team approved a Phase A project to investigate the possibility of installing a second-generation deformable secondary mirror (2GDSM) at the VLT. In addition to providing a full cost and feasibility estimate, the Phase A study will evaluate the best location for the 2GDSM, by investigating the technical and scientific impact of possible combinations of instruments.

The ALMA Observatory is starting the release process of the data acquired in the Observatory Projects 2022.A.00032.S ("A 5-pc-Scale Study of Molecular Clouds in the Antennae") and 2022.A.00034.S ("B3 observation of a super-deep field in HDF-S"). The status of the data delivery can be checked through the corresponding link for each project. The same links can be used to download the data once they are delivered. These ALMA Science Archive links can also be accessed from the main page for the Observatory Projects.

A development study aimed at validating and improving the current atmospheric radiative transfer model implemented for ALMA (atmospheric transmission model, ATM) has been successfully completed. The model is important for both planning and helping in the calibration of ground-based observations at millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths.

On 16 September 2022, Tom Marsh – the founding professor of astrophysics at the University of Warwick – was reported missing on La Silla. On 10 November 2022, the Chilean authorities announced that they had found Tom’s body approximately 2.5 km from the summit. Tom’s family, friends and colleagues, with the considerable help of ESO staff, have recently installed a memorial for him on La Silla.

ESO’s prestigious postdoctoral fellowship programme in both Garching (Germany) and Santiago (Chile) offers outstanding early-career scientists the opportunity to further develop their independent research programmes. From exoplanets to cosmology, observational, theoretical and fundamental astrophysics, these are all areas where ESO Fellows can benefit from a highly dynamic scientific environment, at some of the most advanced ground-based telescopes in the world. Do watch ESOCast 165 to hear what previous ESO fellows have to say about the fellowship programme or watch the virtual tour to ESO’s premises from 2020 or 2021 where young scientists could ask questions about the fellowship programme.