The commissioning runs of MUSE in Wide-Field Mode Adaptive Optics (WFM-AO) were carried out at the VLT on UT4 in June and July 2017. Several astronomical targets were observed to demonstrate the the capability of this new mode, find the best observing strategies and optimise the performance of the pipeline data reduction. The commissioning data have been released to illustrate the power of GLAO correction with MUSE WFM on different science targets; they can also be used as a reference to plan future programmes. Reduced data will be made available later this summer.

The LEGA-C ESO Public Spectroscopic Survey conducted at the VLT with the VIMOS multi-object spectrograph selects its target galaxies from the UltraVISTA catalogue in the 1.6 square-degree area of the COSMOS field and obtains deep, high resolution spectra from which the kinematics and stellar population parameters of the galaxies are extracted. The LEGA-C second data release (DR2) consists of science products from the second year of observations. Due to refinements of the reduction pipeline, the spectra from the first year were reprocessed and are also included in DR2.  

Science workshops represent a unique opportunity to foster ideas and collaborations. In a recent ESOblog entry, ESO's Director General, Xavier Barcons, outlined the many ways in which ESO and ESA are working together, to facilitate exchanges between astrophysics-related space-born missions and ground-based facilities as well as between their respective communities. In particular, ESA and ESO are joining forces to organise a series of international Astronomy meetings, alternating between ESO and ESA sites. A new Call was recently issued inviting astronomers to submit proposals for an ESA-ESO conference to be held in 2019.

You are cordially invited to participate in the 2018 Global Survey of Mathematical, Computing, and Natural Scientists, recently launched by the project “A Global Approach to the Gender Gap in Mathematical and Natural Sciences: How to Measure It, How to Reduce It?”. This is an interdisciplinary collaboration led by the International Mathematical Union (IMU) and the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC), supported by the International Council for Science (ICSU) over the triennium 2017–2019, and endorsed by the International Astronomical Union (IAU), one of the main partners in the project.

Lisbon, Portugal, July 9-14, 2018

By combining the light from four telescopes, ESO's Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) delivers angular resolution at milli-arcsecond scales, and astrometry at tens of micro-arcseconds. The available instrumentation covers the H to N bands, with low to moderately high spectral resolution. As long-baseline optical interferometric observing techniques are not widespread in the community, VLTI schools are periodically organised. The next school will take place from 9–14 July in Lisbon and will provide practical hands-on training on observational programme preparation, data reduction and analysis. Full lodging and subsistence costs will be provided to all attendees. The registration deadline is 1 July 2018, and may close earlier if all available places are filled.

Leiden Observatory, The Netherlands, 8-12 October, 2018

The Network for Young Researchers in Instrumentation for Astrophysics (NYRIA) is organising its fourth annual workshop at Leiden Observatory. This international group of early career researchers was created after a summer school which took place in 2014 in Santiago, Chile. Many of the participants have convened every year since, organising a meeting or workshop at different institutes in Europe whilst expanding this network.
The meeting aims to create a space to present the work of the attendants, to hold open discussions and to encourage collaborations between participants and institutes. The workshop will include a series of talks by all participants and guest speakers, tours of the Leiden University and facilities in Dwingeloo, and a hack-a-thon, in which all participants will work together on a current instrumentation problem.

Pucón, Chile, December 10-14, 2018

The bulge is a primary component of the Milky Way, comprising ∼25% of its mass. All major Galactic stellar populations intersect there, reaching their highest densities. Exploring the bulge is fundamental to understanding Galactic formation, structure and evolution. With the advent of multiplexed spectrographs on 8-metre class telescopes, and the availability of wide-field near-infrared photometry, our knowledge of the structural, chemical and kinematical properties of the Galactic bulge has improved dramatically in the last few years. At the same time, the interpretation of the data is not straightforward, and many fundamental questions remain. In this context, a host of exciting new results are expected in 2018. This conference aims to gather the international astronomical community to discuss these developments, and to begin to establish a consensus on their interpretation.

The deadline for proposal submission for Cycle 6 was 19 April 2018. 1838 proposals were submitted, including 18 Large Programmes. This is a further increase on the 1661 proposals received for Cycle 5. The oversubscription rate remains high (over 6 on the 12-metre array for the European applicants). Detailed proposal submission statistics are available in a dedicated report. The report provides a summary of items such as the number of submitted proposals and time requested, subscription rates, and comparisons with the number of hours requested in previous Cycles.

ESO Headquarters, Garching, Germany, 3–6 December, 2018

The KMOS@5 workshop will bring together scientists working on all areas of star and galaxy formation using near-infrared IFU spectroscopy. KMOS's five-year milestone offers a perfect opportunity to assess the impact of this instrument on its core science cases and to develop new strategies and programmes, also in preparation for future IFU instruments.

GALACSI is part of the Adaptive Optics Facility (AOF), and is thus associated with the Deformable Secondary Mirror (DSM) and the 4 Laser Guide Star Facility (4LGSF). It defines an AO system developed to increase the performance of the MUSE instrument in narrow-field mode. Commissioning is proceeding and Science Verification is planned for August 2018, for which applications are invited.