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Two planets spotted forming around a young star | ESO News

Tue, 24 Mar 2026 14:00:00 +0100

Using ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), astronomers have observed two exoplanets forming around the young star WISPIT 2. Both planets are gas giants, more massive than Jupiter, and are carving out gaps in the disc of gas and dust around their host star. The WISPIT 2 system could therefore resemble a young Solar System. This video summarises the discovery.

An unexpected shock wave | ESO News

Mon, 12 Jan 2026 11:00:00 +0100

Astronomers are surprised by a mysterious shock wave around the dead star RXJ0528+2838, studied with ESO’s Very Large Telescope. The dead star moves through space creating a so-called bow shock, as the surrounding material is pushed away. Structures like this one are typically caused by a strong outflow from the star. However, in the case of RXJ0528+2838, no known mechanism could be causing the outflow. A hidden energy source, perhaps magnetic fields, might be the answer to this mystery.

What’s the true shape of a supernova? | ESO News

Wed, 12 Nov 2025 20:00:00 +0100

Astronomers have observed a supernova just a day after it was first detected. In the early stages of the blast, the explosion has not yet interacted with the material around the star, retaining its true shape. This initial shape has now been revealed for the first time. This video summarises the discovery.

Rogue planet found growing at record rate | ESO News

Thu, 02 Oct 2025 14:00:00 +0200

Astronomers have found an intense ‘growth spurt’ in a rogue planet –– a planet that doesn’t orbit a star. Observations with ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) reveal that this free-floating planet is eating up gas and dust from its surroundings at a rate of six billion tonnes a second, the strongest ever found for a planet of any kind. This video summarises the discovery.

Hayabusa2’s next target is smaller and faster than we thought | ESO News

Thu, 18 Sep 2025 11:00:00 +0200

Astronomers have discovered that the next target for Japan’s Hayabusa2 spacecraft, the asteroid 1998 KY26, is almost three times smaller than previously thought, and spinning much faster than expected. This study was conducted using ESO’s Very Large Telescope, and its results offer important new information for the upcoming mission, just six years out from the spacecraft’s encounter with this tiny asteroid.

Look into the stunning RCW 38 star cluster

Thu, 13 Feb 2025 14:00:00 +0100

What lies behind this chaotic extravaganza? This video takes you on a journey across the star cluster RCW 38, located 5500 light-years from us.

First ever binary star found near Sgr A* | ESO News

Tue, 17 Dec 2024 17:00:00 +0100

Two stars have been found orbiting each other in the vicinity of Sgr A*, the supermassive black hole at the centre of the Milky Way. A young binary star system forming and surviving in this extreme gravity means that black holes are not as destructive as we thought. This video summarises the discovery.

First zoomed-in picture of an extragalactic star | ESO News

Thu, 21 Nov 2024 14:00:00 +0100

Thanks to ESO’s Very Large Telescope Interferometer, astronomers have taken the first close-up picture of a star outside our galaxy, more than 160 000 light-years from us. The star is surrounded by a giant cocoon of dust, revealing it is in the last stages before becoming a supernova. This video summarises the discovery.

Most distant rotating galaxy yet is a space oddity | ESO News

Mon, 07 Oct 2024 16:00:00 +0200

New planet discovered orbiting closest single star to our Sun | ESO News

Tue, 01 Oct 2024 14:00:00 +0200

Record-breaking stellar black hole found nearby | ESO News

Tue, 16 Apr 2024 09:00:00 +0200

Clash of stars solves stellar mystery | ESO News

Thu, 11 Apr 2024 20:00:00 +0200

Survey reveals secrets of planet birth around dozens of stars | ESOcast Light

Tue, 05 Mar 2024 14:00:00 +0100

New link found between water and planet formation | ESOcast Light

Thu, 29 Feb 2024 11:00:00 +0100

Metal scar found on cannibal star | ESOcast Light

Mon, 26 Feb 2024 17:00:00 +0100

Using ESO’s Very Large Telescope, astronomers have found a metal ‘scar’ imprinted on the surface of a dead star. This video summarises the discovery.

Astronomers identify record-breaking quasar | ESOcast Light

Mon, 19 Feb 2024 17:00:00 +0100

Astronomers have characterised the most luminous quasar observed to date, which is powered by the fastest-growing black hole. This black hole is growing in mass by the equivalent of one Sun per day. The matter being pulled in toward this black hole forms a disc that measures seven light-years in diameter — about 15 000 times the distance from the Sun to the orbit of Neptune.

Supernovae give rise to black holes or neutron stars (ESOcast 269 Light)

Wed, 10 Jan 2024 17:15:00 +0100

Astronomers have found a direct link between the explosive deaths of massive stars and the formation of the most compact and enigmatic objects in the Universe — black holes and neutron stars. This video summarises the discovery.

The furthest ever galactic magnetic field (ESOcast 267 Light)

Wed, 06 Sep 2023 17:00:00 +0200

Using ALMA, astronomers have detected the magnetic field of a galaxy so far away that its light has taken more than 11 billion years to reach us. Never before had we detected a galaxy’s magnetic field this far away. This video summarises the discovery.

ESO telescopes help solve pulsar puzzle (ESOcast 266 Light)

Wed, 30 Aug 2023 14:00:00 +0200

Mysterious Neptune Dark Spot Detected from Earth (ESOcast 265 Light)

Thu, 24 Aug 2023 17:00:00 +0200

New type of star gives clues to magnetars' origins (ESOcast 264 Light)

Thu, 17 Aug 2023 20:00:00 +0200

Using multiple telescopes around the world, including European Southern Observatory (ESO) facilities, researchers have uncovered a living star that is likely to become a magnetar, an ultra-magnetic dead star. This video summarises the discovery.

Does this planet have a “sibling” sharing the same orbit? (ESOcast 263 Light)

Wed, 19 Jul 2023 14:00:00 +0200

Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), astronomers have found the possible ‘sibling’ of a planet orbiting a distant star. This video summarises the discovery.

Hidden views of vast stellar nurseries (ESOcast 262 Light)

Thu, 11 May 2023 14:00:00 +0200

Using ESO's VISTA telescope, astronomers have created a vast infrared atlas of five nearby stellar nurseries by piecing together more than one million images.

Observing the ashes of the first stars (ESOcast 261 Light)

Wed, 03 May 2023 14:00:00 +0200

Using ESO’s Very Large Telescope, astronomers have found the fingerprints left by the explosions of the first stars.

First image of a black hole expelling a powerful jet (ESOcast 260 Light)

Wed, 26 Apr 2023 17:00:00 +0200

With the help of ALMA, astronomers have obtained a new image of the supermassive black hole at the centre of the M87 galaxy.