Free Astronomy Magazine November-December 2018

19 NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2018 SPACE CHRONICLES The accession cements the position of Ireland’s astronomical research community as an asset to worldwide astron- omy. With the ESO Membership, Ireland gets access to ESO’s world-class suite of tele- scopes and instruments, including the Very Large Telescope (VLT) on Paranal and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submil- limeter Array (ALMA) at Chajnantor, as well as the opportunity to contribute to the construction of the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) in coming years. By joining ESO, Ireland adds to their already rich as- tronomical history, stretching back centuries. For several decades in the 19 th century, Ireland hosted the world’s largest telescope — the Leviathan of Parsonstown — a 1.8-metre reflecting telescope at Birr Castle (whose grounds are now home to I- LOFAR, port of a Europe-wide low-frequency radio telescope). Ireland’s vibrant research community and high-tech industrial sector have supported ESO E SO’s Director General, Xavier Barcons, and John Halligan T.D., Irish Minister of State for Training, Skills, Innova- tion, Research and Devel- opment, today signed the Accession Agreement that will lead to Ireland join- ing the European South- ern Observatory. [ESO] ! membership for many years, and will now gain access to a range of instrumentation and industrial opportunities as a result of ESO membership. Speaking at the signing, Minister Halligan welcomed this important step in Ireland’s membership process: “I am delighted to have signed this membership agree- ment with the European Southern Observatory. This represents the culmination of significant work by the Government and ESO as well as the Irish astrophysics commu- nity. As a member of the leading astronomical research organisa- tion in the world, Ireland has an opportunity to gain access to ex- cellent research, innovation, col- laboration and industry contracts. This significant investment in our scientific community demonstrates the Irish Government’s continued commitment to research and de- velopment in both our academic and industrial sectors.” E SO’s Director General, Xavier Barcons (front right), and John Halligan T.D., Irish Minister of State for Training, Skills, Innovation, Research and Development (front left), sign the Accession Agreement that will lead to Ireland joining the Euro- pean Southern Observatory. [ESO]