ESOcast SD

ESOcast 56: Gentle Giants in the Desert

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 15:00:00 +0200

For our newest ESOcast, we pose this puzzle: how do you move a 100-tonne giant ALMA antenna 30 kilometres up onto the oxygen-starved Chajnantor Plateau, 5000 metres above sea level and finish the job with millimetre precision?

ESOcast 55: The ALMA Inauguration

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 18:00:00 +0100

The ALMA inauguration ESOcast. Share the excitement of the inauguration ceremony and contemplate the breathtaking images from ALMA itself and views of its unique environment in the Atacama Desert. This event marks the completion of all the major systems of the giant telescope and the formal transition from a construction project to a fully fledged observatory. ALMA is a partnership between Europe, North America and East Asia in cooperation with the Republic of Chile.

The movie ALMA — In Search of our Cosmic Origins (29a)

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 18:00:00 +0100

This 16-minute video presents the history of ALMA from the origins of the project several decades ago to the recent first science results. Illustrated by dramatic helicopter footage, the movie takes you on a journey to the 5000-metre-high Chajnantor Plateau, where ALMA stands, in the unique environment of the Atacama Desert of Chile.

ESOcast 53: Chile Chill 3

Fri, 15 Feb 2013 10:00:00 +0100

This is the third installment of Chile Chill, a type of ESOcast designed to offer a calm experience of the Chilean night sky and ESO’s observing sites, undisturbed by facts or narration. In this episode we are treated to stunning views of the Atacama Desert, including the conical volcano Licancabur and slow moonrises over the Andes.

ESOcast 52: It's Raining Stars — a video podcast celebrating the Geminid meteor shower

Tue, 15 Jan 2013 15:00:00 +0100

ESOcast 51: All Systems Go for Highest Altitude Supercomputer

Fri, 21 Dec 2012 15:00:00 +0100

One of the most powerful supercomputers in the world has now been fully installed and tested at its remote, high altitude site in the Andes of northern Chile. This marks one of the major remaining milestones toward completion of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), the most elaborate ground-based telescope in history. The special-purpose ALMA correlator has over 134 million processors and performs up to 17 quadrillion operations per second, a speed comparable to the fastest general-purpose supercomputer in operation today.

ESOcast 50: Chile Chill 1

Thu, 15 Nov 2012 12:00:00 +0100

This episode of the ESOcast introduces a new type of ESOcasts called "Chile Chill". These ESOcasts offer a calm experience of the Chilean night sky and ESO's observatory sites, undisturbed by facts or narration. In this episode we follow a typical night of observing for ESO's telescopes.

ESOcast 49: On Air – Behind the Scenes of “A Day in The Life of ESO” Live Webcast

Wed, 17 Oct 2012 16:40:00 +0200

This exciting episode of the ESOcast gives viewers an exclusive backstage pass to see what went on behind the scenes while filming the ESO live webcast “A Day in the Life of ESO”.

ESOcast 48: Building Big — Special 50th anniversary episode #8

Tue, 02 Oct 2012 15:00:00 +0200

ESOcast 48 is the eighth special episode of this series.

ESOcast 47: Finding Life — Special 50th anniversary episode #7

Mon, 03 Sep 2012 18:30:00 +0200

ESOcast 47 is the seventh special episode of this series.

ESOcast 46: Catching Light — Special 50th anniversary episode #6

Wed, 01 Aug 2012 15:00:00 +0200

ESOcast 46 is the sixth special episode of this series. It describes how state-of-the-art cameras and spectrographs help ESO’s powerful telescopes collect and analyse the faint light from the distant Universe. Without these instruments, ESO’s eyes on the sky would be blind.

ESOcast 45: Reaching Out — Special 50th anniversary episode #5

Mon, 02 Jul 2012 18:15:00 +0200

ESOcast 45 -- Reaching Out -- is the fifth special episode of this series. In it we focus on ESO's mission of curiosity, wonder and inspiration, proclaimed through cooperation and outreach. Indeed, cooperation has always been the basis for ESO's success, ever since the organisation was founded fifty years ago. Together, ESO's Member States enable the best possible astronomical science at the world's largest observatories. ESO also works closely with industry, universities and research institutes around the world in developing state-of-the-art technologies. Furthermore, through engagement with the public, ESO provides countless ways to participate in the discovery of the cosmos, inviting everyone to join this exciting adventure.

ESOcast 44: Changing Views -- Special 50th anniversary episode #4

Tue, 05 Jun 2012 14:00:00 +0200

Leading up to ESO’s 50th anniversary in October 2012, we are releasing eight special ESOcasts, each a chapter from the movie Europe to the Stars -- ESO’s First 50 Years of Exploring the Southern Sky.

ESOcast 43: Seeing Sharp — Special 50th anniversary episode #3

Thu, 10 May 2012 14:00:00 +0200

The third special episode of this series -- ESOcast 43 overall -- presents ESO’s flagship facility: the Very Large Telescope (VLT). In this episode we discover the state-of-the-art technology behind this telescope, which has provided astronomers with an unequalled view of the Universe.

ESOcast 42: Looking Up — Special 50th anniversary episode #2

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 17:00:00 +0200

"Looking Up" is the second special episode of this series and ESOcast 42 overall. In it we look at how, over the past fifty years, ESO has helped to unravel some of the mysteries of the Universe in which we live. Astronomers were in need of more powerful tools to observe the sky and ESO provided them. A new generation of revolutionary ground-based telescopes has offered astronomers a front-row seat to study the wonders of the Universe.

ESOcast 41: Going South — Special 50th anniversary episode #1

Wed, 21 Mar 2012 16:45:00 +0100

Leading up to ESO's 50th anniversary in October 2012, we are releasing eight special ESOcasts, each a chapter from the movie Europe to the Stars -- ESO's First 50 Years of Exploring the Southern Sky.

ESOcast 40: When Speed Matters — Discovery of the Accelerating Universe Wins 2011 Nobel Prize for Physics

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 15:30:29 +0100

In the past two decades, astronomers have made a truly revolutionary discovery: that the cosmos is not only expanding, but is doing so at an ever-faster rate. The discovery of the accelerated expansion of the Universe was awarded the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics.

ESOcast 39: A Black Hole’s Dinner is Fast Approaching

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 19:00:00 +0100

Astronomers using ESO's Very Large Telescope have discovered a gas cloud with several times the mass of the Earth accelerating towards the black hole at the centre of the Milky Way. This is the first time ever that the approach of such a doomed cloud to a supermassive black hole has been observed. This ESOcast explains the new results and includes spectacular simulations of how the cloud will break up over the next few years.

ESOcast 38: Faraway Eris is Pluto’s twin

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 19:00:00 +0200

This ESOcast describes how astronomers have accurately measured the diameter of the faraway dwarf planet Eris for the first time by catching it as it passed in front of a faint star. This event was seen at the end of 2010 by telescopes in Chile, including the TRAPPIST telescope at ESO’s La Silla Observatory. The observations show that Eris is an almost perfect twin of Pluto in size. Eris seems to have a very reflective surface, suggesting that it is covered in ice, probably a frozen atmosphere.

ESOcast 37: Full-size Mock-up of World's Largest Telescope Mirror Built at ESO's Open House Day

Wed, 19 Oct 2011 11:00:00 +0200

On Saturday 15 October 2011 ESO opened the doors of its headquarters in Garching bei München, Germany, to the public. Throughout the day, thousands of visitors had the chance to help build a full-size mock-up mirror of the European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT) -- the largest planned telescope in the world -- and to experience many other aspects of ESO's work.

ESOcast 36: ALMA Opens Its Eyes

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 11:30:00 +0200

The most complex ground-based astronomy observatory in the world, the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), has officially opened for astronomers. The first released image, from a telescope still under construction, reveals a view of the Universe that cannot be seen at all by visible-light and infrared telescopes.

ESOcast 35: Fifty New Exoplanets

Mon, 12 Sep 2011 18:00:00 +0200

Astronomers using ESO’s leading exoplanet hunter HARPS have today announced more than fifty newly discovered planets around other stars. Among these are many rocky planets not much heavier than the Earth. One of them in particular seems to orbit in the habitable zone around its star. This ESOcast we look at how astronomers discover these distant worlds and what the future may hold for finding rocky worlds like the Earth that may support life.

ESOcast 34: How To Stop a Star's Twinkle - The astronomy podcast exploring the cosmic frontier with Dr J

Mon, 05 Sep 2011 10:15:00 +0200

We have all looked up at the sky at night and seen the stars twinkle. It may be pretty and romantic, but it is also a big problem for astronomers, as the shimmering starlight blurs observations.

ESOcast 33: Under Chilean Skies

Thu, 11 Aug 2011 14:00:00 +0200

In the pursuit of pristine skies, ESO, the European Southern Observatory, operates its telescopes far beyond Europe, in the remote and arid landscape of the Atacama Desert in Chile. Check why in this ESOcast episode.

ESOcast 32: Most Distant Quasar Found

Wed, 29 Jun 2011 19:00:00 +0200

This ESOcast is about the discovery of the most distant quasar found to date. This brilliant beacon is powered by a black hole with a mass two billion times that of the Sun. It is by far the brightest object yet discovered in the early Universe.