ATLAS is a ugriz imaging survey targeting ~4500 square degrees of the southern sky with the VLT Survey Telescope (VST). Data products resulting from the first release of the ATLAS public survey are now available via the dedicated Phase 3 query interface at the ESO Science Archive Facility.

The GaiaòÀÓESO survey is the first of the ESO public spectroscopic surveys. It is a systematic study of more than 100 000 stars covering all the major components of the Milky Way. Data products resulting from the first release of the GaiaòÀÓESO Public Spectroscopic Survey are now available via the dedicated Phase 3 query interface at the ESO Science Archive Facility.

ALMA proposals for Cycle 2 have been arriving since the publication of the Call for Proposals on 24 October 2013. ALMA Early Science Cycle 2, will start in June 2014. This Call provides an important opportunity for Early Science from this cutting-edge facility. The Cycle 2 period will span 17 months and users of any professional background, nationality, or affiliation may submit proposals.

The VIMOS Public Extragalactic Redshift Survey (VIPERS) is an ongoing Large Programme to map in detail the large-scale distribution of galaxies at 0.5<z<1.2. The project is focused on precisely measuring galaxy clustering and related cosmological quantities, while providing a detailed description of galaxy properties and evolutionary trends, when the Universe was about half its current age. The survey includes a broad legacy for the community, with fairly fast release of the measured redshifts.

If you wish to conduct a PhD in astronomy-astrophysics within one of the largest centres of astrophysical research in the world, which covers every subject from planets, stars, and galaxies to cosmology, you should seriously consider applying to the IMPRS studentship programme in Munich.

The Science Archive Facility now provides access to reduced scientific data obtained with the UVES spectrograph mounted on the VLT. More than 75000 spectra of point-like sources obtained in "ECHELLE mode" from the beginning of 2000 until 2013 are now published. The data consist of extracted wavelength- and, whenever possible, flux-calibrated 1-dimensional spectra in tabular format following the established ESO science data products standard.

ESO has recently expanded and improved the user experience in obtaining information about, and data from, Service and Visitor Mode runs on the Run Progress Pages. These pages, available via the User Portal link View your list of Observing Runs, now provide links for accessing all data from a run, data from one or more single OBs from a run, or even data from a single execution of a single OB. In addition, there is increased flexibility in how the user can specify the scope and content of pdf-formatted night logs on the Paranal Night Reports page. Full details are available by clicking on the Run Progress Legend tab on the Run Progress pages.

After a very successful start of commissioning in November 2012, KMOS officially began scientific operations this month. KMOS is an integrated-field-unit (24 sub-fields), medium-resolution (R~3000òÀÓ4000) spectrograph covering the 0.8òÀÓ2.5 micron region of the spectrum.

Herbig Ae/Be (HAeBe) stars are a class of early-type pre-main sequence objects whose stellar mass corresponds to the transition regime between Solar-type stars and high-mass stars. They are generally bright at most wavelengths allowing a detailed view of their evolving environment and are pivotal objects for the formation of both stars and planets. The high-resolution observational and theoretical advances of the past 10 to 15 years provide the primary motivation and the evolution of the circumstellar disc material constitutes the main, but not the exclusive topic, for the workshop. Areas to be addressed include circumstellar disc structure, transition and debris discs, disc dispersal, jets and outflows, young clusters and the impact of future instrumentation.

Exoplanet research is one of the major science drivers for the future European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT). This community workshop will explore the science cases and the planned capabilities of the E-ELT in the field of exoplanet research. The aim is to provide a synthesis of the goals to be achieved by the E-ELT with its planned instrumentation in the field of exoplanets and the most relevant issues in exoplanet science for the next decade. Topics to be discussed include: initial conditions for planet formation; planetary populations determined from detection surveys; characterisation through resolved imaging and direct and transit spectroscopy and the search for habitable planets.