ESOcast HD: Recent Episodes
European Southern Observatory
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.
Astronomers have finally obtained firm evidence that Betelgeuse, a famous star in the Orion constellation, is not alone. Using ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) they have obtained the clearest image ever of what likely is Betelgeuse B, a star orbiting Betelgeuse and which could explain some of its brightness variations. This video summarises the discovery.
39;s Very Large Telescope (VLT), astronomers have found an object in another planetary system that challenges astronomical labels. The object resembles a moon in that it orbits another object which in turn orbits a star. But the newly found ‘moon’ is itself as massive as a planet, and the object it orbits is neither a planet nor a star. This video summarises the discovery.
Astronomers have discovered a third planet orbiting the star Beta Pictoris using ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT). The new planet, Beta Pictoris d, is among the lightest exoplanets ever to be imaged from the ground. After the initial discovery, the team found it had been hiding in archive observations spanning more than a decade. This video summarises the study.
Using ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), astronomers have studied the relative abundances of carbon and nitrogen in 3I/ATLAS, the third interstellar comet discovered so far. Their findings suggest that the comet likely formed in the outskirts of the disc around a star older than the Sun. This video summarises the discovery.
Astronomers have found the strongest evidence yet that some planets outside our Solar System may have magnetic fields. Using ESO’s Very Large Telescope and the Gemini North telescope, the researchers measured wind speeds on seven very hot, Jupiter-like exoplanets.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Using ESO’s Very Large Telescope, astronomers have found the fingerprints left by the explosions of the first stars.
With the help of ALMA, astronomers have obtained a new image of the supermassive black hole at thecentre of the M87 galaxy.
Using ALMA, astronomers have detected a large reservoir of hot gas in the still-forming galaxy cluster around the Spiderweb galaxy –– the most distant detection of such hot gas yet. This further reveals just how early these structures begin to form.
Using ALMA, astronomers have detected the chemical signature of gaseous water in the planet-forming disc V883 Orionis. This acts as a timestamp for the water’s formation, allowing us to trace its journey.
Using ESO’s Very Large Telescope, barium has been detected in the atmosphere of two exoplanets.
Using ALMA, astronomers have found a hot bubble of gas that swirls around Sagittarius A*, the black hole at the centre of our galaxy, at 30% of the speed of light.
The black hole police, a team of astronomers known for debunking black hole discoveries, reported finding a "needle in a haystack". After searching nearly 1000 stars outside our galaxy, they found that one of them has a stellar-mass black hole as a companion. This short video summarises the discovery.
What does it take to capture an image of the black hole at the centre of our galaxy? This video explains how the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) works, and how astronomers managed to create one massive Earth-sized telescope big enough to “see” at the edge of black holes.
Astronomers have discovered a new type of explosion occurring on white dwarf stars in two-star systems. This video summarises the discovery.
How do the ingredients for life end up on planets? The discovery of the largest molecule ever found in a planet-forming disc is providing clues.
One team found a black hole, the other challenged their results. This is the story of how they got together to find out who was right.
Active galactic nuclei (AGNs) are extremely energetic sources powered by supermassive black holes. This short video provides insights into these peculiar objects by showcasing a new discovery on the AGN at the centre of the Messier 77 galaxy.
In this short video, we highlight the discovery of planet Proxima d around the star closest to the Sun.
Astronomers have used ESO telescopes to detect at least 70 rogue planets in our Milky Way, the largest group to date. Learn more about these elusive cosmic nomads in this video summarising the discovery!
To learn more about the Milky Way's supermassive black hole, Sgr A, scientists zoomed in towards our galaxy's centre with the help of ESO's Very Large Telescope Interferometer to watch how stars move around Sgr A. This video summarises what they found.
ESO’s Very Large Telescope has captured an image of a planet orbiting b Centauri, a pair of stars that can be seen with the naked eye. Find out why this next-door planetary system is extreme in this short video.
Using the ESO’s Very Large Telescope, astronomers have revealed the closest pair of supermassive black holes to Earth ever observed. This video summarises the discovery.
For the first time, astronomers have discovered a small black hole outside the Milky Way by looking at how it influences the motion of a star in its close vicinity. This video summarises the discovery.
A new finding, made with the ALMA observatory, in which ESO is a partner, is shedding light on how fluorine is forged in the Universe. Find out more in this discovery, and how it is related to our dental hygiene, in this video summary.
Astronomers have used the ESO’s Very Large Telescope in Chile to image 42 of the biggest main-belt asteroids. Meet some of the 42 in this video summarising the discovery!
A team of astronomers have used ESO’s Very Large Telescope in Chile to shed new light on planets around a nearby star that resemble those in the inner Solar System. This video summarises what they found about the planetary system, called L 98-59.
Why do we aim for bigger and bigger telescopes, such as ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope currently under construction in Chile’s Atacama Desert? And how does the effort pay back, not only in terms of astronomical discoveries but also to the whole of society? Four special guests have answered these questions, so fasten your belt and get ready for a breathtaking discovery journey in the world of big telescopes!
Using ALMA, a team of astronomers have unambiguously detected a moon-forming disc around a distant planet for the first time. The planet is a Jupiter-like gas giant, hosted in a system still in the process of being formed. The result promises to shed new light on how moons and planets form in young stellar systems. This video summarises the discovery.
A team of astronomers have released colourful new observations of nearby galaxies obtained with the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (ESO’s VLT) as part of the Physics at High Angular resolution in Nearby GalaxieS (PHANGS) project. By combining these new observations with data from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), in which ESO is a partner, the team is helping shed new light on what triggers stars to form. This ESOcast Light summarises the work.
When Betelgeuse, a bright orange star in the constellation of Orion, became visibly darker in late 2019 and early 2020, the astronomy community was puzzled. A team of astronomers have now published new research done with ESO's Very Large Telescope and Very Large Telescope interferometer that solves the mystery of Betelgeuse's dimming. This ESOcast Light summarises the discovery.
Part of the world-wide effort to scan and identify potentially dangerous asteroids and other near-Earth objects, asteroid hunter Test-Bed Telescope 2 (TBT2), a European Space Agency telescope hosted at ESO’s La Silla Observatory in Chile, has now started operating.
New observations with the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (ESO’s VLT) indicate that the rogue comet 2I/Borisov, which is only the second and most recently detected interstellar visitor to our Solar System, is one of the most pristine ever observed. This video summarises new findings on this mysterious alien visitor.
The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) collaboration, who produced the first ever image of a black hole, has today revealed a new view of the massive object at the centre of the Messier 87 galaxy: how it looks in polarised light. This is the first time astronomers have been able to measure polarisation, a signature of magnetic fields, this close to the edge of a black hole. This video summarises the discovery.
With the help of ESO’s Very Large Telescope, astronomers have discovered and studied in detail the most distant source of radio emission known to date. The source is a “radio-loud” quasar — a bright object with powerful jets emitting at radio wavelengths — that is so far away its light has taken 13 billion years to reach us. This video summarises the discovery.
Using a combination of telescopes, including the Very Large Telescope of the European Southern Observatory (ESO's VLT), astronomers have revealed a system consisting of six exoplanets, five of which are locked in a rare rhythm around their central star. This video summarises the discoveries and explains why this puzzling system is challenging our theories of how planets form.
Captured in astounding detail by ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), the eerie Skull Nebula is showcased in a new image in beautiful pink and red tones. This planetary nebula is the first known to be associated with a pair of closely bound stars orbited by a third outer star. This video offers stunning views of this object and tells the story of the three stars at its centre.
Using telescopes from ESO and other organisations around the world, astronomers have spotted a rare blast of light from a star being ripped apart by a supermassive black hole. This video summarises the findings.
A team of astronomers used ALMA and ESO telescopes to study a peculiar system, GW Orionis, and to identify the first direct evidence that groups of stars can tear apart their planet-forming disc, leaving it warped and with tilted rings. This video provides a summary of the findings, showcasing stunning observations and animations of GW Orionis.
Astronomers using ALMA, in which the ESO is a partner, have revealed an extremely distant galaxy that looks surprisingly like our Milky Way. This video summarises their findings.
Astronomers using ESO's Very Large Telescope have imaged a 'space butterfly', a planetary nebula known as NGC 2899. This video offers stunning views of this object and the science behind it.
The SPHERE instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope has captured the first ever image of a young, Sun-like star accompanied by two giant exoplanets.