29 April 2010

Speaker: Tim de Zeeuw (ESO (Director General))

Title:ESO and the E-ELT

Abstract:The European Southern Observatory is an intergovernmental organization for astronomy. Its mission is to enable scientific discoveries by constructing and operating powerful observational facilities and to organize collaborations in astronomy. ESO operates medium-sized optical telescopes on Cerro La Silla, the Very Large Telescope, the Interferometer and VISTA on Cerro Paranal, widely considered to be the most advanced optical/infrared observatory in the world, as well as the sub-millimeter observatory APEX on Llano Chajnantor, all located in Northern Chile. ESO represents Europe in a partnership with North America and East Asia that is constructing the Atacama Large Millimeter/sub-millimeter Array on Chajnantor. ESO is designing the European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT) with a 42m primary mirror and adaptive optics built-in, to be constructed in the next decade. The talk will summarize the current program, will discuss the status of the E-ELT design and briefly touch on the science it will enable.