[ASA] First Announcement: High Angular Resolution Science with Next-Generation Optical-Infrared Capabilities at ESO, September 1-4, 2026 -- registration and abstract submission open

[Richard McDermid]

High Angular Resolution Science with Next-Generation Optical-Infrared Capabilities at ESO

Exploiting MAVIS and ELT instruments in the 2030s

ESO Garching, 1-4 September 2026

https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/wTSLCE8wmrt02PzDJhNfQI7U9Bw?domain=eso.org<https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/wTSLCE8wmrt02PzDJhNfQI7U9Bw?domain=eso.org>

mavis2026 at eso.org<mailto:mavis2026 at eso.org>



We are delighted to announce that the European Southern Observatory (ESO), INAF – Arcetri, and Astralis - AAO/Macquarie University, are jointly organising an international conference dedicated to exploiting MAVIS and ELT instruments in the 2030s.



We warmly encourage participation from the broader astronomical community, in addition to instrument science teams, with the goal of fostering novel ideas, cross-fertilisation, and new collaborations.



The coming decade will mark a transformative era for high–angular resolution astronomy. With the arrival of the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) and its first‐generation instruments - MICADO, HARMONI, and their AO component MORFEO - together with the next generation of high-sky-coverage adaptive-optics facilities in the optical on the VLT, such as MAVIS, the astronomical community will, for the first time, routinely access spatial resolutions of ~40 mas across the optical and infrared domains, with high sensitivity and diverse spectral and imaging capabilities. This unprecedented development will open new parameter spaces for exploring the formation and evolution of stars, planets, and galaxies, as well as probing the physics of compact objects and the distant Universe.


This international conference at ESO aims to bring together the diverse scientific communities developing and preparing to exploit these instruments. Although each facility has unique strengths - MAVIS pushing diffraction-limited performance into the visible on an 8-m telescope, and the ELT instruments delivering unmatched infrared sensitivity and resolution on a 39-m aperture - their science cases are deeply complementary.



Description: The High Angular Resolution Science with Next-Generation Optical-Infrared Capabilities at ESO conference will be held September 1-4, 2026, at the ESO Headquarters in Garching, Germany.  All information, including a link to register and submit abstracts, is available on the conference webpage<https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/wTSLCE8wmrt02PzDJhNfQI7U9Bw?domain=eso.org>.


For more information, please contact the organising committee at mavis2026 at eso.org<mailto:mavis2026 at eso.org>.



Important dates:

  *   9 February 2026 -- First Announcement & Registration and Abstract Submission open    
  *   15 May 2026  -- Abstract submission deadline
  *   End of June 2026 -- Programme release 
  *   12 July 2026 -- Registration and Payment deadline                  
  *   1 September 2026 -- Conference starts



SOC members:

Arthur Vigan (CNRS/LAM)

Benedetta Vulcani (INAF - Padova)

Eline Tolstoy (University of Groningen)

Francesca Annibali (INAF - OAS)

Giovanni Cresci (INAF - Arcetri, co-Chair)

Harald Kuntschner (ESO, co-Chair)

Mark Swinbank (Durham University)

Ric Davies (MPE)

Richard McDermid (Macquarie University, co-Chair)



LOC members: Bianca Moreschini, Daudi Mazengo, Harald Kuntschner, Maximilian Haberle, Natanael de Isídio, Nelma Alas Silva, Quincy Bosschaart, Rajesh Potlia, Sara Peluso.



We kindly invite you to share this announcement with colleagues who may be interested. We apologise if you receive this message more than once. This is to ensure that all potential participants are informed, and we look forward to meeting you in Garching in September!



On behalf of the SOC and LOC



Best wishes,
Richard

----
Professor Richard McDermid
(he/him)

Director, Australian Astronomical Optics (AAO)
Director, Astrophysics and Space Technologies Research Centre
President, Astronomical Society of Australia
Macquarie University,
Sydney, Australia

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