Abstract

ESPRESSO (Echelle SPectrograph for Rocky Exoplanets and Stable Spectroscopic Observations) is a VLT ultra-stable high resolution spectrograph that will be installed in Paranal Observatory in Chile at the end of 2017 and offered to the community by 2018. The spectrograph will be located at the Combined-Coud\'e Laboratory of the VLT and will be able to operate with one or (simultaneously) several of the four 8.2 m Unit Telescopes (UT) through four optical Coud\'e trains. Combining efficiency and extreme spectroscopic precision, ESPRESSO is expected to gaining about two magnitudes with respect to its predecessor HARPS. We aim at improving the instrumental radial-velocity precision to reach the 10 cm s$^-1$ level, thus opening the possibility to explore new frontiers in the search for Earth-mass exoplanets in the habitable zone of quiet, nearby G to M-dwarfs. ESPRESSO will be certainly an important development step towards high-precision ultra-stable spectrographs on the next generation of giant telescopes such as the E-ELT.

Full Text
Paper version not known

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.