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.
1 February 2021
Since its first light in 2006, the high-resolution infrared CRIRES spectrograph on ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) has made a number of exciting scientific discoveries. The new and improved CRIRES
+, which has now seen first light, will develop the work of its predecessor and search for potentially habitable super-Earth exoplanets.
+, an instrument built by ESO in collaboration with a consortium of European institutes, will search the sky for super-Earths located within the habitable zones of nearby low-mass stars, the range of planetary orbits within which scientists believe a planet can support life. These types of planets are difficult to detect due to their relatively low masses. With CRIRES