CRIRES+ instrument sees first light at Paranal
03 Feb 2021
ESO infrared spectrograph will now assist in search for super-Earth exoplanets.
On the lookout: CRIRES+
An upgraded high-resolution infrared spectrograph installed on the European Southern Observatory s Very Large Telescope (VLT) at Paranal, Chile, has now seen first light.
CRIRES+, built by ESO and a five-strong European consortium, is an evolution of the CRIRES instrument operational at Paranal since 2006.
The first CRIRES, or CRyogenic high-resolution InfraRed Echelle Spectrograph, was located at Unit Telescope 1 of the VLT. CRIRES+ has been installed at UT 3, to extend the work of its predecessor and search for super-Earth exoplanets, worlds larger than Earth but smaller than our solar system s gas giants.
In this photo, a scientist at the European Space Agency's Materials and Electrical Components Laboratory at the ESTEC technical center in the Netherlands works on essential mission work.
NGC 613, a barred spiral galaxy 67 million light-years away in the southern constellation of Sculptor, shows its stunning stellar markings in this image taken by the Hubble Space Telescope.