ICYMI, our VLT has discovered a mysterious type of shock wave originating from the interaction between a dead star and the surrounding interstellar gas.

This shock wave can’t be explained by any known mechanism.

Video summary 🎥 👇

Full story: https://www.eso.org/public/news/eso2601/

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Take off to the bright orange star Betelgeuse 🚀🌟

The star underwent an unprecedented dimming in late 2019 and early 2020. Observations later revealed that it was caused by a dusty veil shading the star, due to a drop in temperature on the star's surface.

https://www.eso.org/public/news/eso2109/ 🔭

Join us on a trip to the dwarf star PDS 70, located 400 light-years away and with at least two planets orbiting it.

The final shot shows an ALMA image of the PDS 70 system, where a moon-forming disc is visible around planet PDS 70c.

Read more: https://www.eso.org/public/news/eso2111/ 🔭

Take a glimpse into APEX, located in Chile’s Atacama Desert 📡👀

Once a joint project of the Max-Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy (MPIfR), the Onsala Space Observatory and ESO, APEX now becomes a project solely of the MPIfR.

www.eso.org/public/video...

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This animation takes us to a Wolf–Rayet star in NGP–190387, a galaxy so far away its light took over 12 billion years to reach us.

Wolf–Rayet stars are hot and massive, and are thought to end in dramatic supernova explosions.

Read more: https://www.eso.org/public/news/eso2115/ 🔭

Happiest of holidays from ESO!

With all the discoveries made, milestones achieved & pictures captured, 2025 has been another successful year. We're excitedly looking ahead for the next one to come.

Until then, we wish you restful holidays and a happy new year!

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📹 ESO

Enjoy this trip to NGC 1850, a cluster of stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud.

This cluster harbours the first small black hole outside of our galaxy to be discovered by looking at its gravitational influence on the path of the star orbiting it

Read more: https://www.eso.org/public/news/eso2116/ 🔭