ESO Opens its Doors to the Public on 19 October 2013

On 19 October, between 11:00 and 18:00 the Headquarters of the European Southern Observatory in Garching bei München, Germany, will open its doors to curious visitors. Most of the research institutes that are located on Garching research campus will also take part in Open House Day.

At ESO, visitors can participate in several exciting activities:

• Connect live with ALMA, the largest astronomical project in existence, located on the Chajnantor Plateau, Chile, at 5000 metres above sea level.
• Make a live connection also to ESO’s Very Large Telescope on the Paranal platform, the most advanced visible-light telescope in the world.
• Watch interesting documentaries such as Europe to the Stars — ESO’s first 50 years of exploring the southern sky, ALMA — in search of our cosmic origins.
• Listen to talks from ESO astronomers, with topics ranging from life on other planets to black holes.
• Learn how astronomers observe in the infrared and have your own infrared photo taken.
• Look through a telescope at the Sun and if weather conditions are not favourable you can always watch a planetarium show.
• Watch demos of ESO’s instruments, interact with ESO’s astronomers and engineers, enjoy wonderful vistas of the night sky and learn more by visiting several exhibitions.
• Take virtual tours around our telescopes in Chile.
• Visit the optical laboratory and learn how ESO creates artificial stars using powerful laser beams.
• Take a look from the outside at ESO’s newest building as it is being constructed.
• For children, have your face painted and take part in a competition to win gifts.
• Or simply enjoy a moment of relaxation by listening to our ESO Chile Chill sessions that combine serene music with impressive photos from our sites in Chile.

A complete programme and map can be found here. Our staff is international and while most activities are in German you may also meet people speaking other languages, so be prepared to practice your foreign language skills.

At ESO you will find a small cafeteria where drinks and snacks are available.

For more information on the activities happening in the entire Garching campus, please visit this page.

Courtesy of European Southern Observatory