Orion Nebula

This fresh look at the Orion Nebula (Messier 42) is courtesy of the ESO's La Silla Observatory and data unearthed during ESO's Hidden Treasures competition.

Credit: ESO and Igor Chekalin

Compare it with Hubble's highest resolution view from 2006 below.

Credit: NASA,ESA, M. Robberto (Space Telescope Science Institute/ESA) and the Hubble Space Telescope Orion Treasury Project Team

ESO's Hidden Treasures

The ESO launched a rather technical competition in 2010 inviting amateur astronomers to sift through their vast archives of astronomical data for diamonds in the rough. First prize--and what a prize it was, a trip to ESO's Very Large Telescope at Paranal, Chile--went to astronomy enthusiast Igor Chekalin. Below is a sampling of the 20 highest ranked images out of the nearly 100 entries submitted, including Chekalin's winning submission of the reflection nebula Messier 78.

M78

Abell 1060

Orion Nebula

NGC3169 & NGC3166 and SN 2003cg

NGC 3521

Source/Credit: ESO

NGC 1365

This infrared light image taken by the Very Large Telescope's HAWK-I camera is of the barred spiral galaxy NGC 1365.
Credit: ESO/P. Grosbøl

NGC 300

This La Silla Observatory image of the spiral galaxy NGC 300 is assembled from many different images with a combined exposure time of about fifty hours. NGC 300 is similar in structure to our own Milky Way galaxy.
Credit: ESO

NGC 4666

Visible light image of the starburst galaxy NGC 4666 (center) and neighbouring galaxy NGC 4668 (lower left) from the ESO's La Silla Observatory in Chile.
Credit: ESO/J. Dietrich

First Light

The ESO's new robotic telescope, TRAPPIST (TRAnsiting Planets and PlanetesImals Small Telescope), has taken three spectacular first light images of the spiral galaxy Messier 83, globular cluster Omega Centauri and the Tarantula Nebula. The 60-cm TRAPPIST based at the La Silla Observatory in Chile will study planetary systems via the duel tasking of studying local comets and through the detection and characterization of exoplanets. -- Press Release

Credit: TRAPPIST/E. Jehin/ESO

Credit: TRAPPIST/E. Jehin/ESO

Credit: TRAPPIST/E. Jehin/ESO

ESO: Lightest Exoplanet Yet Discovered

Well-known exoplanet researcher Michel Mayor today announced the discovery of the lightest exoplanet found so far. The planet, “e”, in the famous system Gliese 581, is only about twice the mass of our Earth. The team also refined the orbit of the planet Gliese 581 d, first discovered in 2007, placing it well within the habitable zone, where liquid water oceans could exist. -- ESO Press ReleaseBy refining the orbit of the planet Gliese 581 d, first discovered in 2007, a team of astronomers has shown that it lies well within the habitable zone, where liquid water oceans could exist. This diagram shows the distances of the planets in the Solar System (upper row) and in the Gliese 581 system (lower row), from their respective stars (left). The habitable zone is indicated as the blue area, showing that Gliese 581 d is located inside the habitable zone around its low-mass red star.
Based on a diagram by Franck Selsis, Univ. of Bordeaux.

An Artist's impression below the fold.

Gliese 581 e (foreground) is only about twice the mass of our Earth. The Gliese 581 planetary system now has four known planets, with masses of about 1.9 (planet e, left in the foreground), 16 (planet b, nearest to the star), 5 (planet c, centre), and 7 Earth-masses (planet d, with the bluish colour). The planet furthest out, Gliese 581 d, orbits its host star in 66.8 days, while Gliese 581 e completes its orbit in 3.15 days.

The Helix Nebula

"A deep new image of the magnificent Helix planetary nebula has been obtained using the Wide Field Imager at ESO's La Silla Observatory. The image shows a rich background of distant galaxies, usually not seen in other images of this object." -- ESO
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The Carina Nebula

The latest ESO image reveals amazing detail in the intricate structures of one of the largest and brightest nebulae in the sky, the Carina Nebula (NGC 3372), where strong winds and powerful radiation from an armada of massive stars are creating havoc in the large cloud of dust and gas from which the stars were born.