GRAAL is part of the Adaptive Optics Facility (AOF), and 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 HAWK-I instrument. Commissioning is proceeding and Science Verification is planned for January 2018, for which applications are invited. The call for proposals for HAWK-I/GRAAL can be found here.
The deadline for proposal submission is 31 October 2017, 18:00 CET.

ESO is offering the possibility of conducting Public Spectroscopic Surveys using Arizona Radio Observatory telescopes as part of an agreement with the University of Arizona. The deadline for submitting Public Survey proposals for ESO ARO time is 19 October 2017. Detailed information on the Public Spectroscopic Surveys with the ARO telescopes is available here, together with a Latex template for proposal submission.

The ESO research studentship programme provides an outstanding opportunity for PhD students to experience the exciting scientific environment at one of the world's leading observatories for a period of up to two years.

If you wish to conduct a PhD in astronomy-astrophysics within one of the largest centres of astrophysical research in the world, which covers every subject from planets, stars, and galaxies to cosmology, you should seriously consider applying to the IMPRS studentship programme in Munich.

The deadline for proposal submission for Period 101 (1 April 2018 - 1 October 2018) was 28 September 2017. 899 valid proposals were submitted, including 16 Large Programmes, of which two are GTO Large Programmes. The number of proposals for P101 is very similar to that of periods 91 (893), 92 (892), 93 (898), 94 (901), 98 (901), 99 (887) and 100 (895). This confirms the leveling off observed after the peak of periods 95 (934), 96 (960) and 97 (1024).

As of 1 October 2017, users of designated visitor mode programs are able to view from their computer at home the relevant operation panel in the Paranal control room, via the Paranal Observatory Eavesdropping Mode. Access credentials will be provided by the mountain staff in advance of the run. Further details are available via the Paranal Science Operations page.

ESO's telescope bibliography telbib (telbib.eso.org) has been enhanced resulting in a number of new features. In particular, the updated interface provides more information about which data were used in a particular paper, and enables access to data products as well as raw data.

More details on the outcome of the ALMA Cycle 5 review are now available. The highest priority Cycle 5 projects are listed on a dedicated webpage. In addition a full report describes the proposal review process in detail, and presents the proposal statistics and regional distribution, as well as the distribution of proposals across science categories and receiver bands. The report can be downloaded here.

The anticipated configuration schedule for Cycle 5 has been modified from that posted in the Proposer's Guide and the updated schedule is available via this link. The most significant change is that Cycle 5 will begin in the configuration C43-10 instead of C43-7, and then move to more compact configurations.

ESO Headquarters, Garching, Germany, 17–19 January 2018

ESO is co-organising a workshop on the scientific merit for – and technical implementation of – an Atacama Large Aperture Submm/mm Telescope (AtLAST). The workshop will be a crucial forum to collect insights and feedback, and commit to a single vision for realising a single dish facility. The programme will cover aspects of the science case driving the telescope and instrument requirements as well as potential telescope concepts.