Press Releases
February 2010
26 February 2010 - ESO
ESO Expresses Support for Victims of Chile Earthquake; No Damage to ESO Observatories
A magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck central Chile at 03:34 local time (07:34 CET) on Saturday 27 February 2010. The epicentre was 115 km north-northeast of the city of Concepción and 325 km south-west of the capital Santiago. The earthquake has caused significant casualties and damage in the country.
17 February 2010 - ESO
No Place to Hide: Missing Primitive Stars Outside Milky Way Uncovered
After years of successful concealment, the most primitive stars outside our Milky Way galaxy have finally been unmasked. New observations using ESO’s Very Large Telescope have been used to solve an important astrophysical puzzle concerning the oldest stars in our galactic neighbourhood — which is crucial for our understanding of the earliest stars in the Universe.
10 February 2010 - ESO
Orion in a New Light
The Orion Nebula reveals many of its hidden secrets in a dramatic image taken by ESO’s new VISTA survey telescope. The telescope’s huge field of view can show the full splendour of the whole nebula and VISTA’s infrared vision also allows it to peer deeply into dusty regions that are normally hidden and expose the curious behaviour of the very active young stars buried there.
9 February 2010 - ESRF
A new perspective for understanding the mechanisms of catalytic conversion
The oxidation of toxic carbon monoxide (CO) to carbon dioxide occurs every day in millions of cars. Despite being one of the most studied catalytic processes, the exact mechanism of interaction between the carbon monoxide molecule and the catalyst, often platinum, is not fully understood. An important step in the reaction is the adsorption of CO on the surface of the catalyst. A team of scientists from the ESRF and the ETH in Zurich (Switzerland) has managed to see how the electrons in the platinum reorganize as the adsorption is taking place and why catalysts are 'poisoned', i.e. why their activity is reduced. It is the first time that this type of experiment is carried out at the same high temperatures and pressures as in a real car exhaust catalyst.
3 February 2010 - ESO
The Stars behind the Curtain
ESO is releasing a magnificent VLT image of the giant stellar nursery surrounding NGC 3603, in which stars are continuously being born. Embedded in this scenic nebula is one of the most luminous and most compact clusters of young, massive stars in our Milky Way, which therefore serves as an excellent “local” analogue of very active star-forming regions in other galaxies. The cluster also hosts the most massive star to be “weighed” so far.