Press Releases

26 February 1986: 23 February was the last morning when Comet Halley could be seen in a dark sky. During the next two weeks, the moonshine will hamper further detailed observations of the incredibly complicated tail structure which was recently detected at the European Southern Observatory on La Silla.

18 February 1986: After the successful recovery of Comet Halley on 15 February, at the European Southern Observatory (ESO), observations have been made at the ESO La Silla Observatory every morning since. Accurate positions of the comet continue to be measured and transmitted within a few hours to the spacecraft centers in Darmstadt, Moscow, Tokyo and Pasadena. This is an important contribution to the accurate navigation of the five spacecrafts, including the European Space Agency's GIOTTO, now heading towards an encounter with Halley in early March.

16 February 1986: The first observation of Comet Halley after its passage behind the Sun was made at ESO La Silla by ESO Staff Astronomer R.M. West and Belgian astronomer H. Debehogne.

21 January 1986: An important contract was signed today in Milan, Italy between the European Southern Observatory and INNSE Innocenti Santeustacchio. It concerns the construction of a large astronomical telescope which will become the technologically most advanced in the world when it enters into operation in 1988.

13 January 1986: ESO has established a new service, which will from now on handle all public relations matters. It is located at the ESO Headquarters in Garching, FRG and can be reached as indicated below.

17 December 1985: Comet Halley was photographed with the ESO 1 metre Schmidt telescope at La Silla on 1985 December 9. The exposure was 10 min on a blue-sensitive emulsion. The telescope was guided on the moving comet. The stars in the field are therefore seen as short trails.