ISAAC and SOFI

On this photo, two major astronomical instruments equipped with state of the art infrared array detectors are seen undergoing final integration and testing at the Assembly Laboratory at the ESO Headquarters (Garching, Germany) prior to being shipped to the ESO observatories in Chile. It was obtained a few days after a visit to this laboratory by the ESO Council at the time of its June 1997 meeting in Garching. The larger one in the foreground, ISAAC (Infrared Spectrometer And Array Camera), is destined for the VLT (Very Large Telescope) at the Paranal Observatory where it is currently used to make both infrared images and spectra at wavelengths up to 5 microns (about seven times longer than can be seen by the human eye). For maximum sensitivity the complete optical system is housed in the large vacuum vessel seen in the photo (with a diameter about 1.7-m) and cooled to a temperature of -200 o C. One of the main scientific goals of ISAAC is the detection of distant, primeval galaxies whose light has been red-shifted into the infrared region by the expansion of the Universe since the Big Bang. The smaller instrument (in the background) that is known as SOFI, is similar but is restricted to shorter infrared wavelengths and was mounted on the NTT (New Technology Telescope) at ESO's La Silla Observatory around the end of 1997. Although less sensitive, due to the smaller size (3.5-m) of the telescope, this instrument has a larger field of view which is exploited to search for distant galaxies and other objects which can then be studied in more detail with ISAAC at the VLT.

Credit:

ESO

About the Image

Id:eso9715a
Type:Photographic
Release date:17 June 1997
Related releases:eso9715
Size:800 x 516 px

About the Object

Name:ISAAC, SOFI
Type:Unspecified : Technology : Observatory : Instrument
Category:Paranal

Image Formats

Large JPEG
193.9 KB
Screensize JPEG
260.2 KB

Wallpapers

1024x768
333.8 KB
1280x1024
458.2 KB
1600x1200
587.3 KB
1920x1200
676.0 KB
2048x1536
799.3 KB