This week marks the 50th anniversary of one of the world’s
leading astronomical institutions, the European Southern
Observatory. In honor of ESO’s birthday, we take a look at some
of its most stunning shots of the night sky, amazing objects in
space, and the organization's beautiful telescope facilities.
ESO started when astronomers from five European countries –
Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden – came
together on Oct. 5, 1962 to build a telescope in the Southern
Hemisphere. Having a large telescope south of the equator gave
these member states access to unprecedented clear skies and
celestial objects that simply can’t be seen from the Northern
Hemisphere, such as the Magellanic Clouds. Over the decades,
many more countries have joined, including Denmark, Switzerland,
Italy, Portugal, the United Kingdom, Finland, Spain, the Czech
Republic, Austria, and, in 2010, Brazil, which became the first
non-European state to join. The 15 member countries produce
roughly 750 scientific papers annuall