10 000th Free Image Published in the ESO Image Archive

The number of public images on the ESO website has reached a new milestone, with 10 000 images now free for public use.

The collection features an impressive array of cosmic phenomena — including galaxies, nebulae and star clusters. In addition there are also many spectacular views of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and the APEX telescope, high in the Andes, as well as of the Paranal and La Silla Observatories in the barren landscapes of northern Chile.

Must-see images include the famous Horsehead Nebula (eso0202a), the centre of the Milky Way (eso0846a) and the first direct image of an exoplanet (26a_big-vlt).

Each image can be downloaded in a variety of formats and resolutions, including the original version for maximum quality, as well as in the form of wallpapers.

The 10 000th image was posted to the Your ESO Pictures Flickr group by Adhemar Duro on 30 September 2015. This resource is growing each day with new, wonderful and quirky views of ESO from both the inside and outside. Adhemar’s picture is a spectacular night view of Otto, one of the ALMA transporters, with the Milky Way and ALMA antennas as a dramatic backdrop.

As well as the familiar and highly-ranked pictures in the archive there are many neglected gems, some dating back many decades. A few are shown here to whet the appetite for browsing further!

All of the ESO images are distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution licence, which allows them to be used freely so long as the credit information is retained and prominently displayed. Full details of our usage policy is available here.

Courtesy of European Southern Observatory