ESO-Enews #7: November 2007
In this issue:
ESO is pleased to announce the arrival of a new interface connecting ESO and its users community: the ESO User Portal. Within this system, account information (username, password, contact information) for all science and observation-related web-based applications (e.g. routines for requesting data from the Archive) and standalone software (P2PP, the Phase 2 Proposal Preparation tool) is unified and user-controllable. The User Portal is intended to make the use of ESO web applications and other software simpler, and more manageable. Principal Investigators and registrants of the Science Archive Facility have been sent an e-mail welcoming them to the User Portal and providing them with a new, single, user-manageable account. Users expecting data deliveries (pre-imaging data or archive requests) must activate their User Portal accounts before these deliveries can be made! More details can be found at http://www.eso.org/ESOUserPortal/docs/faq.html and new users can create their User Portal account at http://www.eso.org/UserPortal.
As part of the Phase B study for the European Extremely Large Telescope Project, occurring from 2007 to 2009, a number of instrument studies are being launched by ESO in collaboration with consortia of institutes in the ESO member states. The scope of this effort is to arrive, by the end of 2009, at a well-founded overview of the scientific performance, cost and construction schedule of the instruments of higher scientific priority, in order to prepare a proposal on the first generation E-ELT instrumentation.
During November two Calls for Proposals will be issued (see the section "Specific Projects" at http://www.eso.org/public/industry/cp/index.html). One Call will be for the study of a mid-infrared instrument, where the initial specifications will be set by ESO, and the other will be for up to two new instrument Concept Studies where the initial specifications can be proposed by the external Consortia. Both Calls will have a deadline in March 2008.
On November 14 at 12:41 LT an earthquake with magnitude 7.7 (Richter) with epicenter north of Antofagasta affected the north of Chile. In Paranal it was registered with a magnitude of 5.7, a peak ground acceleration of 0.6m/s2 and for a duration of approx 2 minutes. This has been the strongest earthquake since 1997, the first "high risk" earthquake since the start of operation of the VLT, and the first strong earthquake since the opening of the residencia. Neither injuries to the people nor damages to the installations have been registered. After extended checkout procedures, the regular night time operations have been resumed at the sunset. All the systems have been operated without restrictions, including all four UTs (with their instruments and the LGS) and the ATs with VLTI. Several other minor episodes have been registered in the following 24 hours without any impact on the normal VLT activities. News about Paranal can be found at http://www.eso.org/paranal/insnews/news.html .