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MOONS: the Multi-Object Optical and Near-infrared Spectrograph for the VLT

Cirasuolo, M. ; Afonso, J. ; Caro, M. ; Flores, H. ; Maiolino, R. ; Oliva, E. ; Paltani, S. ; Vanzi, L. ; Evans, C. and Abreu, M. , et al. (2014) 5th Conference on Ground-Based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy 9147. p.91470-91470
Abstract
MOONS (the Multi-Object Optical and Near-infrared Spectrograph) has been selected by ESO as a third-generation instrument for the Very Large Telescope (VLT). The light grasp of the large collecting area offered by the VLT (8.2m diameter), combined with the large multiplex and wavelength coverage (optical to near-IR: 0.8 -1.8 mu m) of MOONS will provide the European astronomical community with a powerful, unique instrument able to pioneer a wide range of Galactic, extragalactic and cosmological studies, and it will provide crucial follow-up for major facilities such as Gaia, VISTA, Euclid and LSST. MOONS has the observational power needed to unveil galaxy formation and evolution over the entire history of the Universe, from stars in our... (More)
MOONS (the Multi-Object Optical and Near-infrared Spectrograph) has been selected by ESO as a third-generation instrument for the Very Large Telescope (VLT). The light grasp of the large collecting area offered by the VLT (8.2m diameter), combined with the large multiplex and wavelength coverage (optical to near-IR: 0.8 -1.8 mu m) of MOONS will provide the European astronomical community with a powerful, unique instrument able to pioneer a wide range of Galactic, extragalactic and cosmological studies, and it will provide crucial follow-up for major facilities such as Gaia, VISTA, Euclid and LSST. MOONS has the observational power needed to unveil galaxy formation and evolution over the entire history of the Universe, from stars in our Milky Way, through the redshift desert, and up to the epoch of very first galaxies and reionization of the Universe at redshifts of z > 8-9, just a few million years after the Big Bang. From five years of observations MOONS will provide high-quality spectra for > 3M stars in our Galaxy and the Local Group, and for 1-2M galaxies at z > 1 (for an SDSS-like survey), promising to revolutionize our understanding of the Universe. The baseline design consists of similar to 1000 fibres, deployable over a field-of-view of similar to 500 arcmin(2), the largest patrol field offered by the Nasmyth focus at the VLT. The total wavelength coverage is 0.8 -1.8 mu m with two spectral resolving powers: in the medium-resolution mode (R similar to 4,000-6,000) the entire wavelength range is observed simultaneously, while the high-resolution mode will cover three selected sub-regions simultaneously: one region with R similar to 8,000 near the Ca II triplet to measure stellar radial velocities, and two regions at R similar to 20,000 (one in each of the J- and H-bands), for precision measurements of chemical abundances. (Less)
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organization
publishing date
type
Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
publication status
published
subject
keywords
instrumentation: VLT spectrograph - galaxies: evolution, stellar content
host publication
Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy V
volume
9147
pages
91470 - 91470
publisher
SPIE
conference name
5th Conference on Ground-Based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy
conference location
Montreal, Canada
conference dates
2014-06-22 - 2014-06-26
external identifiers
  • wos:000354527800020
  • scopus:84922728112
ISSN
1996-756X
0277-786X
DOI
10.1117/12.2056012
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
98bdff67-a852-4ece-aa5c-c7c5c93c7084 (old id 7411043)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 10:57:24
date last changed
2024-10-22 19:13:35
@inproceedings{98bdff67-a852-4ece-aa5c-c7c5c93c7084,
  abstract     = {{MOONS (the Multi-Object Optical and Near-infrared Spectrograph) has been selected by ESO as a third-generation instrument for the Very Large Telescope (VLT). The light grasp of the large collecting area offered by the VLT (8.2m diameter), combined with the large multiplex and wavelength coverage (optical to near-IR: 0.8 -1.8 mu m) of MOONS will provide the European astronomical community with a powerful, unique instrument able to pioneer a wide range of Galactic, extragalactic and cosmological studies, and it will provide crucial follow-up for major facilities such as Gaia, VISTA, Euclid and LSST. MOONS has the observational power needed to unveil galaxy formation and evolution over the entire history of the Universe, from stars in our Milky Way, through the redshift desert, and up to the epoch of very first galaxies and reionization of the Universe at redshifts of z > 8-9, just a few million years after the Big Bang. From five years of observations MOONS will provide high-quality spectra for > 3M stars in our Galaxy and the Local Group, and for 1-2M galaxies at z > 1 (for an SDSS-like survey), promising to revolutionize our understanding of the Universe. The baseline design consists of similar to 1000 fibres, deployable over a field-of-view of similar to 500 arcmin(2), the largest patrol field offered by the Nasmyth focus at the VLT. The total wavelength coverage is 0.8 -1.8 mu m with two spectral resolving powers: in the medium-resolution mode (R similar to 4,000-6,000) the entire wavelength range is observed simultaneously, while the high-resolution mode will cover three selected sub-regions simultaneously: one region with R similar to 8,000 near the Ca II triplet to measure stellar radial velocities, and two regions at R similar to 20,000 (one in each of the J- and H-bands), for precision measurements of chemical abundances.}},
  author       = {{Cirasuolo, M. and Afonso, J. and Caro, M. and Flores, H. and Maiolino, R. and Oliva, E. and Paltani, S. and Vanzi, L. and Evans, C. and Abreu, M. and Atkinson, D. and Babusiaux, C. and Beard, S. and Bauer, F. and Bellazzini, M. and Bender, R. and Best, P. and Bezawada, N. and Bonifacio, P. and Bragaglia, A. and Bryson, I. and Busher, D. and Cabral, A. and Caputi, K. and Centrone, M. and Chemla, F. and Cimatti, A. and Cioni, M-R. and Clementini, G. and Coelho, J. and Crnojevic, D. and Daddi, E. and Dunlop, J. and Eales, S. and Feltzing, Sofia and Ferguson, A. and Fisher, M. and Fontana, A. and Fynbo, J. and Garilli, B. and Gilmore, G. and Glauser, A. and Guinouard, I. and Hammer, F. and Hastings, P. and Hess, A. and Ivison, R. and Jagoure, P. and Jarvis, M. and Kaper, L. and Kauffman, G. and Kitching, A. T. and Lawrence, A. and Lee, D. and Lemasle, B. and Licausi, G. and Lilly, S. and Lorenzetti, D. and Lunney, D. and Maiolino, R. and Marmucci, F. and McLure, R. and Minniti, D. and Montgomery, D. and Muschielok, B. and Nandra, K. and Navarro, R. and Norberg, P. and Oliver, S. and Origlia, L. and Padilla, N. and Peacock, J. and Pedicini, F. and Peng, J. and Pentericci, L. and Pragt, J. and Puech, M. and Randich, S. and Rees, P. and Renzini, A. and Ryde, Nils and Rodrigues, M. and Roseboom, I. and Royer, F. and Saglia, R. and Sanchez, A. and Schiavon, R. and Schnetler, H. and Sobral, D. and Speziali, R. and Sun, D. and Stuik, R. and Taylor, A. and Taylor, W. and Todd, S. and Tolstoy, E. and Torres, M. and Tosi, M. and Vanzella, E. and Venema, L. and Vitali, F. and Wegner, M. and Wells, M. and Wild, V. and Wright, G. and Zamorani, G. and Zoccali, M.}},
  booktitle    = {{Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy V}},
  issn         = {{1996-756X}},
  keywords     = {{instrumentation: VLT spectrograph - galaxies: evolution; stellar content}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{91470--91470}},
  publisher    = {{SPIE}},
  title        = {{MOONS: the Multi-Object Optical and Near-infrared Spectrograph for the VLT}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1117/12.2056012}},
  doi          = {{10.1117/12.2056012}},
  volume       = {{9147}},
  year         = {{2014}},
}