Australia delivers critical subsystem for VISTA telescope

A major sub-system destined for one of the most sophisticated visual and infra-red optical telescopes ever built has arrived in Germany from its Australian makers.

The sub-system for the European Southern Observatory’s 4MOST instrument has arrived at the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP) ready for testing and installation on the four-metre VISTA telescope located in the Atacama Desert in Chile.

The instrument was built by Astralis, a consortium of Macquarie University, the Australian National University and the University of Sydney’s astronomical instrumentation groups.

Dubbed the Australian-European Southern Observatory Positioner (AESOP), it is an optical fibre positioner, which will allow astronomers to measure the light from thousands of galaxies at a time.

The University of Western Australia’s Professor Simon Driver said AESOP resembles the spines of an Echidna, with each spine containing a precisely positioned optical fibre to receive incoming light from faint galaxies before sending it on to be analysed by other instruments.

“The optical fibres are positioned with an accuracy of less than 10 micrometres — about one fifth the thickness of a human hair — and all 2,448 can be moved and repositioned in less than two minutes.

“That’s 120 times faster than the technology we’re using now at the Australian Astronomical Observatory in Siding Springs. It’s an incredible machine that will allow us the map the Universe more than 10 times faster.”

UWA and Curtin University contributed significant funding to the design and construction of the sub-system, and secured several million dollars in funding from European-based institutes.

Professor Driver said: “It’s taken four years to design and three years to manufacture this technology, but initial tests before sending it to Germany have shown excellent performance.”

Commencing operations in early 2024, 4MOST will be the largest spectroscopic survey facility of its kind in the Southern hemisphere.

Picture: spie.org

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