Instrumentation

Current instrumental developments

Currently, the GUAIX group is involved in different instrumental developments for GTC, ELT and Calar Alto.

MEGARA

MEGARA (Multi-Espectrógrafo en GTC de Alta Resolución para Astronomía) is an optical integral-field Unit (IFU) and multi-object spectrograph (MOS) designed for the GTC

MEGARA offers two different observing modes to the community, the Large Compact Bundle (LCB) mode, and a Multi-Object Spectroscopy (MOS) mode.

MEGARA Webpage

MOSAIC

MOSAIC is a multi-object and multi-integral field spectrograph that will use the widest possible field of view provided by the ELT.

Local MOSAIC Webpage at UCM

TARSIS

TARSIS (Tetra-ARm Super-Ifu Spectrograph)

TARSIS (Tetra-ARm Super-Ifu Spectrograph) is a new instrument proposed by the TARSIS Consortium for the Calar Alto Observatory 3.5m.

TARSIS Webpage

LICA

Advanced instrumentación is developed in this laboratory.

LICA

The LICA is located in the Astrophysics Department headquarters of the Facultad CC. Físicas of the UCM.

LICA is considered a top priority facility by the Campus Moncloa Campus de Excelencia Internacional (UCM-UPM) Project. Prof. Gil de Paz is the coordinator for this facility.

PHOTOMETERS

We develop small instruments to measure sky brightness and monitor light polution

Small instruments for light pollution research

We design photometers to continously monitoring the sky brightness at night (TESS-W), hand portable photometers (TESS-P), automatic photometers to create all-sky brightness maps (TAS), multichannel photometers (COELOFOT)…

Professor Jaime Zamorano is the lead investigator of these developments.

Photometers

AtLAST

We participate in the AtLAST project, shaping the next generation of sub-mm observatories

Atacama Large Aperture Submm Telescope

We participate in the design studies of AtLAST, a future 50-class meter telescope to be installed at the Chajnantor plateau in Chile.

Dr. Francisco M. Montenegro-Montes is the lead person at the UCM-node for AtLAST

AtLAST

Other instrumental efforts

The GUAIX group is also actively involved in other instrumental developments for telescopes and satellites.

MESSIER

MESSIER Surveyor

MESSIER is a space mission designed specifically at exploring the last remaining niche in observational parameter space: the very low surface brightness universe

MESSIER Webpage

EMIR

EMIR (Especrografo Multiobjeto Infra-Rojo)

EMIR is a near-infrared (0.9 – 2.5 µm) wide-field imager and medium-resolution multi-object spectrograph installed at the Naysmith-A focal station.

EMIR Webpage

FRIDA

FRIDA (inFRared Imager and Dissector for the Adaptive optics system of GTC)

FRIDA is a second generation infrared instrument of the GRAN TELESCOPIO CANARIAS (GTC).
It will be the first GTC instrument to make use of the Adaptive Telescope Optics System (GTC-AO) and is designed to reach the diffraction limit.

FRIDA Webpage