ESO

Illustration illustrating a planet orbiting two brown dwarfs at 90 degrees. Illustration: ESO

A planet has been discovered orbiting a pair of stars at a perfect 90-degree angle.

Principal Investigator: “The findings prove that the extreme conditions in which planets formed in perpendicular orbits are indeed possible in nature.”
Hidden in the southern sky, the constellation Vela hides a cosmic gem – the remnant of a spectacular supernova explosion that occurred 11,000 years ago. This mesmerizing image, captured in breathtaking detail by the Very Large Telescope, shows a swirl of pink and orange filaments, reminiscent of a celestial bird frozen in time. (Credit: ESO/VPHAS+ Team: CASU)

A supernova explosion that looks spectacular even after 11,000 years

When massive stars reach the end of their lives, they explode as supernovae, shedding their outer layers. These explosions send shock waves through the surrounding gas, compressing and reshaping it, creating spectacular displays.
Asteroid 2024 Yr4 as observed from ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile, image released on 25 February 2025

Advanced observations almost eliminate the risk of asteroid 2024 YR4 collision in 2032

The European Southern Observatory (ESO) tracked the asteroid with the Very Large Telescope in Chile and reached a more accurate prediction of the trajectory of the asteroid that threatened to destroy entire cities. * In recent weeks, calculations have been made according to which
El Médano 128 meteorite, a regular chondrite (L group), was found in the Atacama Desert in 2011 by a team of researchers from the Research and Teaching Center for Environmental Geosciences (CEREGE - University of Aix-Marseille/CNRS/INRAE/IRD). Credit: © Jérôme Gatakzka, CNRS, CEREGE

70% of the meteorites that landed on Earth came from a small number of collisions in the asteroid belt

A new study reveals that most of the meteorites on Earth were formed as a result of collisions that occurred in the asteroid belt in the last tens of millions of years. The discovery provides new insights into the origins of meteorites and the possible threat to Earth
This collage shows a small selection of regions of the Milky Way captured as part of a map created from the most detailed infrared wavelength imaging of our galaxy. Here you can see, from left to right and from top to bottom: NGC 3576, NGC 6357, Messia 17, NGC 6188, Messia 22 and NGC 3603. All are clouds of gas and dust in which stars are formed, with the exception of Messia 22, which is a very dense group of ancient stars. Photo: European Southern Observatory ESO

The most detailed infrared map of the Milky Way has been published

The images were taken with ESO's Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope (VISTA) in Chile and its VIRCAM infrared camera
This artist impression shows the pulsar PSR J1023+0038 stealing gas from its companion star. This gas accumulates in the disk around the pulsar, slowly falls into it and is eventually ejected in a narrow jet. In addition, there is a wind of particles blowing from the pulsar, represented in the figure by a cloud of very small dots. This wind collides with the gas falling in, heating it and causing the system to glow brightly in X-rays, UV and visible light. Eventually clumps of this hot gas are ejected with the jet, and the pulsar returns to its initial, weaker state, and repeats the cycle. This pulsar has been observed to continuously switch between these two states every few seconds or minutes. Credit: ESO/M. Kornmesser

Cosmic Shells: Solving the Mystery of Strange Pulsar Brightness Changes

Astronomers have deciphered the strange behavior of the pulsar J1023+0038. This pulsar, which rapidly transitions between two brightness states, emits material in sudden bursts that cause these transitions. Thanks to this breakthrough, which included observations and analyses
This image shows Neptune viewed with the MUSE instrument on ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT). At each pixel inside Neptune, MUSE splits the incoming light into its component colors or wavelengths. Figure: ESO

Dark spots on Neptune were first discovered from Earth

New research reveals mysterious dark and bright spots in Neptune's atmosphere using first ground-based observations with the VLT telescope
A simulation of a star system that was supposed to include the black hole closest to us, but in the end it was clarified that there is no black hole. Photo: ESO

A system in which the "nearest black hole" is allegedly found does not include a black hole

In 2020, a team led by astronomers from the European Southern Observatory (ESO) reported the closest black hole to Earth, which is only 1000 light years away. But other researchers have disputed their results.
The most detailed image of the planetary nebula NGC 2899 as captured by the FORS instrument on ESO's Very Large Telescope in northern Chile. This object has never been photographed in such striking detail, with even the faint outer edges of the planetary nebula glowing against the background stars. Photo: ESO

Like a butterfly floating in space

This image, taken by the SPHERE instrument on ESO's Very Large Telescope, shows the star TYC 8998-760-1 accompanied by two giant exoplanets, TYC 8998-760-1b and TYC 8998-760-1c. This is the first time that astronomers have directly observed more than one planet orbiting a Sun-like star. Both planets are visible as two bright spots in the center of the image (TYC 8998-760-1b) and lower right (TYC 8998-760-1c), indicated by arrows. Other bright spots, which are background stars, are also visible in the image. By taking different images at different times, the team was able to differentiate between the planets and the background stars. The image was taken by blocking the light from the young Sun-like star (top left of center) using a coronagraph, which allows the detection of fainter planets. The light and dark rings that you see on the image of the star are optical devices. Credit: ESO/Bohn et al

A rare direct photograph of planets around a sun similar to ours

This artist's impression shows the orbits of the objects in the triple system HR 6819. This system consists of an inner pair with one star (orbit in blue) and a recently discovered black hole (orbit in red), as well as a third object, another star, in a wider orbit (also in blue). Figure: ESO/L. Calçada

The closest black hole to our solar system has been discovered

The predicted planet with a mass 3.2 times that of Earth orbits the red dwarf known as Barnard's Star. Figure: ESO

Super Earth orbits Barnard's star

Many luminous galaxies fill this rich image taken with ESO's VLT Survey Telescope, an advanced 2.60-metre telescope designed to survey the sky in visible light. The features of the many galaxies scattered across the image allow astronomers to reveal the finest details of the galaxy's structure.

A night full of galaxies

Many luminous galaxies fill this rich image taken with ESO's VLT Survey Telescope, an advanced 2.60-metre telescope designed to survey the sky in visible light. The properties of the many galaxies
This image shows the galaxy cluster MACS J1149.5 + 2223 taken by the NASA / ESA Hubble Space Telescope. The image in the magnifying square is the distant galaxy MACS1149-JD1, as seen 13.3 billion years ago and recently observed by Alma. The oxygen concentration discovered by 'Alma' is depicted in red. Photo: ESO

Evidence of stars formed only 250 million s after the big bang

The asteroid Chariklo. ESO/L. Calçada/Nick Risinger (skysurvey.org)

Rings were discovered around an asteroid for the first time

The European Southern Observatory's Vista telescope at Parnell in Chile captured this spectacular image of the Helical Nebula. Credit: ESO/VISTA/J. Emerson.

"The Eye of God" changed its color from blue to brown

Imaging of the giant telescope E-ELT of the European Southern Observatory in Chile

The giant European telescope is on its way - the biggest eye in the sky

The star formation region ngc_6729t. Photo: ESO

Newborn stars make names in their delivery room

A planet from another galaxy (right) and its star (left), the yellowish star HIP 13044 in the lower right and its planet HIP 13044 b. This solar system is a remnant of a dwarf galaxy that was engulfed by the Milky Way billions of years ago. Credit: ESO/L. Calçada

A planet without a galaxy

Artist's impression shows the planetary system around the Sun-like star HD 10180. Copyright: ESO/L Calçada

A solar system similar to ours has been discovered

Comparison of the sizes of stars of different types - red dwarf, solar-type star, blue dwarf and the recently discovered star Comparison of the sizes of different types of stars - red dwarf, solar-type star, blue dwarf and the recently discovered star R136a1. Figure: European Southern Observatory ESO

The heaviest star has been discovered - 300 times that of the Sun

The southern star field GOODS - as imaged from the VLT with the help of a filter that enables the detection of light from galaxies that have so far not been observed

90% of the lost galaxies in the early universe have been found

Cosmic scene with DNA, stars, solvents and atomic circles in oral flow.

Ruby Galaxy