Step Inside the Headquarters of the Most Productive Ground-based Observatory in the World!

On Saturday 19 October, the European Southern Observatory (ESO) will open its doors to the public between 11:00 and 19:00 CEST. The event is part of the Open House Day activities for the Garching research campus, near Munich, Germany. The whole campus — and several other institutes — will put on a programme of activities for astronomy and science fans of all ages, in German and English.

Visitors to ESO (location number 29 on this map) will have the opportunity to experience the world of ESO first hand! Among the activities planned for the day are:

• Virtual and 3D tours — embark on all-inclusive journeys into and around some of ESO’s most breathtaking sites and groundbreaking instruments,
• Live connection to ALMA — connect to the largest astronomical project in existence, consisting of 66 antennas at an altitude of 5000 metres on the Chajnantor plateau in Chile,
• ESO Chile Chill — take a moment to relax by watching incredible images from our sites in Chile and listening to chillout soundtrack,
• Talks, podcasts and documentaries — listen, watch, and learn more about ESO,
• Planetarium show — see the stars in our planetarium activity, even though it will be daytime!
• Face painting and gifts for the little ones — children will have lots of fun having their faces painted in diverse astronomical motifs such as stars, galaxies or comets,
• See ESO’s new building for the first time — the innovatively styled office building will help to house the growing number of Garching staff, and be the cradle of technological innovations needed for ESO’s ambitious projects such as the European Extremely Large Telescope,
• and much more…

Visitors do not need to book a visit in advance. You can simply show up for the activities you are interested in. ESO has a cafeteria where light refreshments will be available.

Media representatives who wish to attend the event are kindly asked to confirm their participation to [email protected].

Information on how to travel to ESO HQ in Garching can be found here.

More information will be available soon on the event’s page.

Courtesy of European Southern Observatory