“Expanding Horizons in High-Angular Resolution Astronomy”
Progress in astronomy has been driven by successive breakthroughs in angular resolution. From Galileo's first telescopic observations to modern optical interferometry, each leap in resolving power has transformed our view of the Universe. Over the past decades, the European Southern Observatory (ESO) has led this pursuit through facilities such as the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) and, soon, the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT).
ESO is now considering the next flagship facility for the 2040s: an observatory capable of opening entirely new discovery space as astronomy enters the middle of the 21st century. In response, the European high-angular-resolution astronomy community is developing new concepts for the next generation of interferometers, including reaching a better coverage of the uv plane at Paranal and building a Kilometric Baseline Interferometer (KBI). Building on two decades of technological advances achieved with the VLTI, these concepts would extend interferometric capabilities by orders of magnitude, providing an unprecedented leap in angular resolution and accuracy of image reconstruction. At near-infrared wavelengths, KBI would deliver near-Event Horizon Telescope-like resolving power while probing stars, planets, black holes, and galaxies in thermal light.
This five-day workshop will bring together the community to refine both the scientific case and the technical concept for new interferometric instruments, covering its interferometric architecture as well as its single-aperture capabilities. We warmly welcome not only experts in optical interferometry, but also researchers from across astronomy who wish to help shape the scientific vision of this future facility ahead of the submission of the community white paper to ESO. To encourage broad participation, one day of the workshop will be dedicated to introductory lectures on optical interferometry, hands-on sessions demonstrating the capabilities of the VLTI, and discussions aimed at helping newcomers incorporate high-angular-resolution techniques into their own research. We particularly encourage participation from the Italian astronomical community as we take this important step toward defining ESO's next major facility.