On Monday 12 September 2011, astronomers will report significant new results in the field of exoplanets, obtained with the High Accuracy Radial Velocity Planet Searcher, better known as HARPS, the spectrograph on ESO’s 3.6-metre telescope at La Silla Observatory in Chile.

An online press conference to announce the new results and offer journalists the opportunity for discussion with the scientists will be held at 16:00 CEST on Monday, 12 September 2011.
The teleconference presenters are:

* Dr. Francesco Pepe, Geneva Observatory, Switzerland
* Dr. Lisa Kaltenegger, Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Heidelberg, Germany
* Dr. Markus Kissler-Patig or Dr. Joe Liske, ESO, on the future of exoplanet research with the E-ELT

To participate in the teleconference and receive additional material, bona-fide members of the media must get accredited by contacting Richard Hook by email (rhook@eso.org).

Reporters will need access to a computer with a recent version of Adobe Flash Player installed and an adequately fast internet connection. Further information will be provided to the accredited reporters.

Contacts

Richard Hook
European Southern Observatory
Garching, Germany
Phone: +49 89 3200 6655
Mobile: +49 151 1537 3591
Email: rhook@eso.org