doi.eso.org

• Arnaboldi, Magda [European Southern Observatory (ESO)]
• De Breuck, Carlos [European Southern Observatory (ESO)]
• Leibundgut, Bruno [European Southern Observatory (ESO)]

The symposium ESO@60: a stairway to the Universe was held during the European Astronomical Society (EAS) annual meeting in Valencia, Spain, in June 2022. The focus of the symposium was on the scientific achievements with ESO facilities over the last 60 years. The programme consisted of six sessions of 1.5 hours each. Each session covered a broad theme: Extrasolar Planets, Astrochemistry and Nucleosynthesis, Stellar Populations and Star Formation, Black Holes, Cosmology and Galaxy Evolution, and a Look Ahead to ESO’s Extremeley Large Telescope and the next decade. Eight keynote speakers introduced their topics by highlighting how the ESO facilities and their operations, including the end-to-end dataflow system and the ESO Science Archive Facility, contributed to the scientific advancements in their specific areas. The current and two former ESO Director Generals, namely Xavier Barcons, Catherine Cesarsky and Harry van der Laan, attended the symposium and participated in the lively discussions.