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 m ...

Very Large Telescope The Very Large Telescope (VLT) is an astronomical facility operated since 1998 by the European Southern Observatory, located on Cerro Paranal in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile. It consists of four individual telescopes, each equipped with ...

(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 A minute of arc, arcminute (abbreviated as arcmin), arc minute, or minute arc, denoted by the symbol , is a unit of angular measurement equal to of a degree. Since one degree is of a turn, or complete rotation, one arcminute is of a tu ...

each, with gaps of 2 arcminutes between them. Its principal investigator 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 Molecule">molecular scale. The nanometre (international spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures; SI symbol: nm), or nanometer (American spelling Despite the va ...

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 astronomical surveys, 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 ...

s, such as the VIMOS-VLT Deep Survey. 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 galaxies in the constellation Corvus. They are currently going through a starburst phase, in which the collision of clouds of gas and d ...

, one of VIMOS' first images File:A Pool of Distant Galaxies.jpg, The Chandra Deep Field South 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. Clusters consist of galax ...

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

spiral galaxy Spiral galaxies form a galaxy morphological classification, class of galaxy originally described by Edwin Hubble in his 1936 work ''The Realm of the Nebulae''

that resembles our own

Milky Way The Milky Way or Milky Way Galaxy is the galaxy that includes the Solar System, with the name describing the #Appearance, galaxy's appearance from Earth: a hazy band of light seen in the night sky formed from stars in other arms of the galax ...

File:NGC 6118 (captured by ESO’s Very Large Telescope).jpg, VIMOS sees cluster NGC 6118 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 or the Mirror Galaxy) is a grand design spiral galaxy, grand design intermediate spiral galaxy in the southern part of the mildly celestial hemisphere, northern Coma Berenices. It is one of the brightest and l ...

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 The Hyperion proto-supercluster is the largest and earliest known proto- supercluster, 5,000 times the mass of the Milky Way and seen at 20% of the current age of the universe. It was discovered in 2018 by analysing the redshifts of 10,000 objec ...

found within

COSMOS The cosmos (, ; ) is an alternative name for the universe or its nature or order. Usage of the word ''cosmos'' implies viewing the universe as a complex and orderly system or entity. The cosmos is studied in cosmologya broad discipline covering ...

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