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| VLT/VIMOS | |
|---|---|
| Name | VIMOS |
| Type | Multi-object spectrograph and imager |
| Location | Paranal Observatory, Chile |
| Telescope | Unit Telescope 3 (Melipal), Very Large Telescope |
| Operation | 2002–2018 |
| Wavelength | 360–1000 nm |
| Resolution | R ~ 200–2500 |
| Field of view | 14 × 16 arcmin (four quadrants) |
| Detector | CCD mosaic |
VLT/VIMOS
VIMOS operated as a multi-object spectrograph and imager on the Very Large Telescope at Paranal, enabling large spectroscopic surveys that connected projects led by institutions such as European Southern Observatory, Observatoire de Paris, Max Planck Society, University of Cambridge, University of Oxford and groups working with Keck Observatory, Subaru Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope, Spitzer Space Telescope and Chandra X-ray Observatory. Its deployment contributed to campaigns associated with surveys like the Canada–France–Hawaii Telescope Legacy Survey, Sloan Digital Sky Survey, 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey and collaborations involving teams from California Institute of Technology, Harvard University, Princeton University, University of California, Berkeley, University of Chicago and Space Telescope Science Institute. The instrument enabled work cited alongside results from Planck (spacecraft), WMAP, GALEX, ROSAT, XMM-Newton, VISTA (telescope) and ALMA.
VIMOS was installed on Unit Telescope 3 (Melipal) at Paranal by teams from European Southern Observatory, Observatoire de Paris and industrial partners including Thomson-CSF and later contributors from INAF and CNRS. The instrument delivered multi-object spectroscopy and direct imaging used in studies of extragalactic astronomy led by researchers affiliated with Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris, University of Bologna, University of Leiden, University of Padua, University of Geneva, ETH Zurich and survey consortia collaborating with Max Planck Institute for Astronomy and Kavli Institute for Cosmology. VIMOS supported programs coordinated with survey facilities such as Subaru Telescope Prime Focus Camera teams, Gemini Observatory instruments and survey pipelines from European Southern Observatory archives accessed by groups at STScI and NASA-funded centers.
The optical design comprised four quadrants feeding separate spectrographs, developed by engineers associated with Thomson-CSF, ESO, CNRS and INAF, and used CCD mosaics similar to detectors from EEV (company) and MIT Lincoln Laboratory. The multi-slit mechanism was informed by mask design work at European Southern Observatory and manufacturing partners in Italy and France, with alignment procedures referenced in technical reports by teams at Osservatorio Astronomico di Capodimonte, Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris and Observatoire de Marseille. VIMOS covered the visible range with gratings and low- to medium-resolution modes comparable to setups on Keck/DEIMOS, Subaru/FOCAS and Gemini/GMOS, enabling comparisons with spectral libraries from Sloan Digital Sky Survey and calibration standards used by ESO. Mechanical and thermal control systems were developed with expertise from European Southern Observatory engineering groups and industrial contractors working with INAF.
VIMOS operated in multi-object spectroscopy (MOS), integral field unit (IFU) and imaging modes, enabling observing programs analogous to those executed with Keck Observatory, Gemini Observatory, Subaru Telescope and Hubble Space Telescope parallel surveys. Typical MOS observations targeted surveys coordinated with teams at University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, Princeton University and Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, using slit masks produced following mask design software influenced by projects at European Southern Observatory. The IFU enabled spatially resolved spectroscopy applied in studies connected to work at Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics and Leiden Observatory. Performance metrics were routinely compared to standards from ESO instrument teams and cross-validated against spectrographs such as VLT/FORS, Keck/LRIS and Gemini/GMOS.
VIMOS was central to redshift surveys and galaxy evolution studies that informed results published alongside those from Sloan Digital Sky Survey, 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey, DEEP2 Redshift Survey and the COSMOS survey involving teams at California Institute of Technology and University of Hawaii. It contributed to measurements of large-scale structure compared with analyses from Planck (spacecraft), WMAP and theoretical work from groups at Institute for Advanced Study and Princeton University. VIMOS surveys produced catalogs used in research by scientists at Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, INAF, CNRS, Leiden University and University of Cambridge addressing star formation histories cited alongside studies by Spitzer Space Telescope, GALEX and Herschel Space Observatory. Results influenced follow-up programs with ALMA, Chandra X-ray Observatory and XMM-Newton and informed models developed by researchers at University of Chicago and Columbia University.
Commissioned in 2002, VIMOS was maintained by European Southern Observatory instrument teams with technical input from INAF and CNRS until its decommissioning in 2018; operations were overseen by Paranal staff coordinating with scientists from Observatoire de Paris, Max Planck Society and partner universities including University of Bologna and University of Leiden. Upgrades over its lifetime addressed detector replacements and software improvements analogous to refurbishment campaigns on instruments at Keck Observatory and Gemini Observatory, with planning meetings held at ESO Headquarters and partner institutes such as INAF and CNRS.
Data reduction pipelines for VIMOS were developed by teams at European Southern Observatory, INAF and CNRS and paralleled software architectures used for Sloan Digital Sky Survey and HST spectroscopic reductions created at STScI. Publicly available catalog products were archived at ESO Science Archive Facility and reused by researchers at Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Leiden Observatory, University of Cambridge, University of Oxford and Harvard University. Reduction toolchains incorporated calibration procedures similar to those from FORS2 and were utilized in analysis workflows employed by groups at ETH Zurich, University of Geneva and Observatoire de Paris.
Major collaborations included consortia from European Southern Observatory, CNRS, INAF, University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, Leiden University, University of Bologna and research teams that linked VIMOS observations with space missions such as Hubble Space Telescope, Spitzer Space Telescope, Chandra X-ray Observatory and XMM-Newton. Large observing programs coordinated with surveys like COSMOS, VVDS and projects analogous to DEEP2 involved institutions including Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Caltech, Harvard University, Princeton University and STScI, fostering cross-facility follow-up at ALMA, Keck Observatory and Gemini Observatory.
Category:Astronomical instruments