MUSE Commissioning Data Available

Published: 29 Jul 2014
eso1407c

MUSE raw data from the first two commissioning runs at VLT UT4 in February and April-May 2014 have now been released. Selected astronomical targets were observed to demonstrate the capabilities of the instrument and optimize observing strategies and pipeline reduction.

The collection of these datasets has been made possible by the very smooth operation of the instrument at the telescope. The data illustrate well the power of MUSE for a variety of science targets and can be used to plan future programmes, and, in some cases, for scientific work. However, the data-taking may be not be optimal, for example in terms of exposure times and observing strategies, and the headers of the files may not be complete and homogeneous. The full set of released commissioning data is listed here.