Abstract

MOONS is a Multi-Object Optical and Near-infrared Spectrograph currently under construction as a third generation instrument for the Very Large Telescope (VLT). It combines the large collecting area offered by the VLT (8.2m diameter), with a large multiplex and wavelength coverage (optical to near-IR: 0.8μm - 1.8μm). Integration of 2 of the arms of the spectrograph (RI and YJ) was recently completed at the UK Astronomy Technology Centre, and initial engineering tests carried out to assess the performance of the spectrograph. This paper presents an overview of the system, the integration and alignment process, and an assessment of the image quality of the two cameras, wavelength coverage and resolving power.

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