MOONS – multi object spectroscopy for the VLT: integration and tests of the field corrector and the rotating front end

MOONS – Multi Object spectroscopy for the VLT: Design and testing of the MOONS metrology system

“…The reference cross, coded targets and scale bar are visible. The coordinates of the detected targets in each retractor position were recovered after multiple iterations of the retractor movement and the repeatability confirmed to be well within the requirements [4].…”

“…These modules provide PWM control of the power at 24 V. Control of the cameras on/off setup is done from the instrument control software via the MOONS RFE cabinet. A description and update of the MOONS RFE can be found in [4].…”

“…Similarly, all the FPUs need to be visible in all images (or as many as possible) to ensure a 3D coordinate recovery with high precision. To achieve this, the camera is attached to a rotation mechanism which was integrated into the RFE at the IA in Lisbon [4]. The metrology rotation mechanism allows for control of the camera to obtain the necessary number of images around a full rotation around the plate.…”

MOONS – multi object spectroscopy for the VLT: overview and instrument integration update

“…These are briefly described in the subsequent subsections together with an update on their integration procedure. A detailed description of all MOONS components can be found in [1] and in dedicated papers for the different subsystems [2], [3], [4], [5], [6], [7], [8], [9]. The MOONS RFE is mounted to the telescope and contains the focal plate and fibre positioning system used to align the optical fibres to their desired on-sky locations.…”

MOONS fibre positioning module: instrument build overview

“…MOONS is a highly efficient multi-object visible and near-infrared spectrograph for the VLT [1], currently nearing completion with first light due in 2023. The MOONS rotating front-end (RFE) [2] centrally comprises a fibre positioning module (FPM) which is made up of ~1000 independently-controlled, dual-arm fibre positioning units (FPUs), enabling up to 1000 spectra per observation. The two key MOONS science cases are surveys of stars in the dust-shrouded galactic centre and distant, red-shifted galaxies.…”