In this ESOcast, six astronomers tell us about the hottest topics in contemporary astronomy. Covering topics ranging from dark matter to exoplanets, these astronomers make the case for why these cutting-edge fields deserve time at ESO's telescopes.

This dazzling region of newly-forming stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) was captured by the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope. The relatively small amount of dust in the LMC and MUSE’s acute vision allowed intricate details of the region to be picked out in visible light.

The GRAVITY instrument on ESO's Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) has seen what seems an impossible sight...

The faint, ephemeral glow emanating from the planetary nebula ESO 577-24 persists for only a short time -- around 10,000 years, a blink of an eye in astronomical terms. ESO’s Very Large Telescope captured this shell of glowing ionised gas -- the last breath of the dying star whose simmering remains are visible at the heart of this image. As the gaseous shell of this planetary nebula expands and grows dimmer, it will slowly disappear from sight.

In Chile Chill 12 the evocative tunes of ESO’s Music Ambassador Dimitris Polychroniadis are set to stunning visuals from ESO’s expansive video archive. Sit back, relax, and enjoy a stellar walk through the Universe on the border between science and art.

ESOcast is a video podcast series dedicated to bringing you the latest news and research from ESO, the European Southern Observatory. Here we explore the Universe's ultimate frontier. The ESOcast HD is presented in High Definition.

ESOcast is a video podcast series dedicated to bringing you the latest news and research from ESO, the European Southern Observatory. Here we explore the Universe's ultimate frontier. The ESOcast HD is presented in High Definition.

The SPECULOOS project has made its first observations at the European Southern Observatory’s Paranal Observatory in northern Chile. SPECULOOS will focus on detecting Earth-sized planets orbiting nearby ultra-cool stars and brown dwarfs.

ESO, the European Southern Observatory, designs, builds and operates some of the most advanced telescopes and instruments in the world. To achieve this, ESO needs a host of talented engineers who design, develop and maintain these sensitive machines.

The VISIR camera on ESO’s VLT captured this stunning image of a newly-discovered massive binary star system. Nicknamed Apep after an ancient Egyptian deity, it could be the first gamma-ray burst progenitor to be found in our galaxy.