The Visible Multi-Object Spectrograph (VIMOS) is a wide field imager and a multi-object

spectrograph An optical spectrometer (spectrophotometer, spectrograph or spectroscope) is an instrument used to measure properties of light over a specific portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, typically used in spectroscopic analysis to identify mate ...

installed at the

European Southern Observatory The European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere, commonly referred to as the European Southern Observatory (ESO), is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental research organisation made up of 16 mem ...

Very Large Telescope The Very Large Telescope (VLT) is a telescope facility operated by the European Southern Observatory on Cerro Paranal in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile. It consists of four individual telescopes, each with a primary mirror 8.2 m across, ...

(VLT), in Chile. The instrument used for deep astronomical surveys delivers visible images and spectra of up to 1,000 galaxies at a time. VIMOS images four rectangular areas of the sky, 7 by 8 arcminutes each, with gaps of 2 arcminutes between them. Its

principal investigator In many countries, the term principal investigator (PI) refers to the holder of an independent grant and the lead researcher for the grant project, usually in the sciences, such as a laboratory study or a clinical trial. The phrase is also often us ...

was Olivier Le Fèvre. The Franco-Italian instrument operates in the visible part of the spectrum from 360 to 1000

nanometer 330px, Different lengths as in respect to the molecular scale. The nanometre (international spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures; SI symbol: nm) or nanometer (American and British English spelling differences#-re ...

s (nm). In the conceptual design phase, the multi-object spectrograph then called VIRMOS included an additional instrument, NIMOS, operating in the near-infrared spectrum of 1100–1800 nm. Operating in the three different observation modes, direct imaging, multi-slit spectroscopy, and integral field spectroscopy, the main objective of the instrument is to study the early universe through massive

redshift survey In astronomy, a redshift survey is a survey of a section of the sky to measure the redshift of astronomical objects: usually galaxies, but sometimes other objects such as galaxy clusters or quasars. Using Hubble's law, the redshift can be used ...

s, such as the

VIMOS-VLT Deep Survey The VIMOS-VLT Deep Survey (VVDS) is a redshift survey carried out by a collaboration between French and Italian astronomical institutes using the VIMOS spectrograph, mounted on the telescope Melipal (UT3) of the Very Large Telescope, located at th ...

. VIMOS saw its first light on 26 February, 2002, and has since been mounted on the Nasmyth B focus of VLT's ''Melipal'' unit telescope (UT3). It was retired in 2018 to make space for the return of CRIRES+.

Gallery

File:Magnificent Spiral Galaxy NGC 7424.jpg, Galaxy NGC 7424 seen by VIMOS File:NGC 5317 (also NGC 5364).jpg, VIMOS takes its first light image of galaxy NGC 5364 File:NGC 6769.jpg, A triplet of galaxies seen by VIMOS File:Phot-09a-02-normal.jpg, The

Antennae Galaxies The Antennae Galaxies (also known as NGC 4038/NGC 4039 or Caldwell 60/Caldwell 61) are a pair of interacting galaxy, interacting galaxies in the constellation Corvus (constellation), Corvus. They are currently going through a Starburst Galaxies, ...

, one of VIMOS' first images File:A Pool of Distant Galaxies.jpg, The

Chandra Deep Field South The Chandra Deep Field South (CDF-S) is an image taken by the Chandra X-ray Observatory satellite. The location was chosen because, like the Lockman Hole, it is a relatively clear "window" through the ubiquitous clouds of H I region, neutral hydr ...

File:ACO 3341.jpg, VIMOS images the 500 million light years distant

galaxy cluster A galaxy cluster, or a cluster of galaxies, is a structure that consists of anywhere from hundreds to thousands of galaxies that are bound together by gravity, with typical masses ranging from 1014 to 1015 solar masses. They are the second-l ...

''ACO 3341'' File:Phot-09g-02-hires.jpg, Galaxy ''NGC 2613'', a

spiral galaxy Spiral galaxies form a class of galaxy originally described by Edwin Hubble in his 1936 work ''The Realm of the Nebulae''Milky Way The Milky Way is the galaxy that includes our Solar System, with the name describing the galaxy's appearance from Earth: a hazy band of light seen in the night sky formed from stars that cannot be individually distinguished by the naked eye ...

File:NGC 6118 (captured by ESO’s Very Large Telescope).jpg, VIMOS sees cluster

NGC 6118 NGC 6118 is a grand design spiral galaxy located 83 million light-years away in the constellation Serpens (the Snake). It measures roughly 110,000 light-years across; about the same as our own galaxy, the Milky Way. Its shape is classified as " S ...

at a distance of 80 million light-years File:ESO- SN 2006X in Messier 100-Phot-08b-06.jpg,

Messier 100 Messier 100 (also known as NGC 4321) is a grand design intermediate spiral galaxy in the southern part of the mildly northern Coma Berenices. It is one of the brightest and largest galaxies in the Virgo Cluster and is approximately 55 million ...

seen in different filters by VIMOS (left) and FORS 1. ''(Note supernova SN 2006X in the middle of the right image, just above the lower main spiral arm)''. File:The Hyperion Proto-Supercluster.jpg, Visualization of the Hyperion proto-supercluster found within

COSMOS The cosmos (, ) is another name for the Universe. Using the word ''cosmos'' implies viewing the universe as a complex and orderly system or entity. The cosmos, and understandings of the reasons for its existence and significance, are studied in ...

seen by VIMOS. File:Vlt-vimos close-up wide screen.jpg, Close-up of VIMOS

References

{{Reflist Astronomical instruments Telescope instruments Spectrographs 2002 introductions 2002 establishments in Chile

Gallery

See also

References