As part of an important milestone, two instruments destined for what will be the world's largest optical telescope, the Extremely Large Telescope in Chile, successfully completed the final design review. These instruments will provide unprecedented images of the universe in remarkable detail: METIS, a camera plus spectrograph in the mid-infrared range, will be able to peer through clouds of dust and gas and trace the formation of stars and planets. The 20-ton MICADO camera will provide images of star systems in nearby galaxies, exoplanets and black holes, etc. The Austrian partnership A* (universities of Vienna and Innsbruck, JKU Linz, RICAM Linz) is involved in the development.

The world's largest optical telescope, the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) of the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in the Chilean Atacama Desert, is expected to be operational in approximately three years. Fitted with various instruments that one can switch between within minutes, from Earth, the ELT will provide previously unprecedented images of the universe. A number of Austrian experts have been involved in creating two of these instruments which have now passed the final design review, marking an important milestone. The design phase for the “Multi-AO Imaging Camera for Deep Observations” (MICADO), a powerful high-resolution camera for the ELT, was completed in the summer; the “Mid-infrared ELT Imager and Spectrograph” (METIS) was completed in May. Both instruments are scheduled to go into operation at the start of the ELT, or shortly thereafter.

METIS is a camera and spectrograph in one, capable of mid-infrared observation and ideal to study cold and dusty objects. Kieran Leschinski (Institute of Astrophysics at the University of Vienna) is part of the Austrian group of experts which also includes researchers the University of Vienna, the University of Innsbruck, the Johannes Kepler University Linz, and RICAM Linz/Austrian Academy of Sciences, and remarked: “Whereas extremely hot objects, such as our sun, emit primarily visible light, colder objects, such as planets and dust clouds, radiate mostly in the mid-infrared range. By analyzing light in this frequency range, METIS can study how stars and planets form in dust and gas clouds as well as peer through the dust at the center of galaxies to study their supermassive black holes.”

Contributions to Conducting Research on Exoplanets
As part of the search for habitable environments, METIS is also expected to contribute to exciting research on exoplanets by observing small, rocky exoplanets and studying the temperature, weather and chemical composition of their atmospheres. Norbert Przybilla, professor at the Institute of Astro-Physics and Particle Physics at the University of Innsbruck, remarked: “METIS will pursue a wide range of scientific missions, ranging from studying our solar system's origin, to probing the center of galaxies and studying their enigmatic supermassive black holes. METIS' scientific focus lies in investigating planet-forming bodies as well as recently formed - and nearby - exoplanets.”

The 20-Ton MICADO Camera will Observe Distant Galaxies
The second instrument that has completed the design process is the “Multi-AO Imaging Camera for Deep Observations”, or MICADO for short. MICADO will provide high-resolution images of the universe and reveal how distant galaxies were formed. In developing MICADO, researchers focused on maximizing precision and stability to attain the required high sensitivity, resolution, astrometric accuracy and coverage of a large wavelength range. To function as expected, the camera will be approximately six meters in height and will weigh 20 tons.

Like METIS, the instrument's core will be contained in a cryostat designed to keep it cool and allowing it to operate effectively in the near-infrared range without any interference by other heat sources. As a result, MICADO will not only be able to capture high-resolution images of the universe and reveal detailed structures and formation mechanisms of distant galaxies, it will also allow astronomers to study individual stars and stellar systems in nearby galaxies and planets, and how they form outside our solar system. In addition, MICADO is expected to be a uniquely powerful instrument to study environments in which the gravitational forces are extremely high, such as near the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy, the Milky Way.

Ronny Ramlau, professor at the JKU’s Institute of Industrial Mathematics and Scientific Director at RICAM Linz/ÖAW, explains: “Earth-based planetary observations are often disrupted because of turbulence in the Earth's atmosphere. When we observe space with the naked eye, we perceive these disruptions as ‘twinkling stars’. The team at JKU Linz and RICAM is contributing significantly to the project by creating algorithms that will correct these turbulent forces, and by using deformable mirrors to capture sharp images of distant celestial object.”

The experts weigh in:

Roland Wagner (RICAM Linz, Austrian Academy of Sciences): “As part of MICADO, RICAM and the JKU Linz will use a so-called point spread function to create the software that will evaluate image quality, allowing researchers to analyze images and to identify the observed stars’ properties more accurately than before. Researchers are currently testing the method on data acquired from telescopes in use.”

Kieran Leschinski, Institute of Astrophysics at the University of Vienna: “The Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) will be the most powerful optical/infrared telescope ever built. Equipped with an enormous 39-meter high primary mirror, ELT will be able to observe the dimmest and most remote objects in the cosmos, ranging from the first galaxies to form after the ‘Big Bang’, to potentially habitable exoplanets orbiting nearby stars.
Our team here in Austria is responsible for developing MICADO’s and METIS’ software, allowing astronomers to gather groundbreaking scientific findings based on the raw data collected directly from the telescope's instruments.”

Werner Zeilinger, Institute of Astrophysics at the University of Vienna: “The ELT’s spatial resolution is so high it can observe a Lego brick on a space station. The high resolution, however, means that even the slightest bit of atmospheric turbulence can blur the image, like looking at an object from the bottom of a swimming pool. To counteract the effect, the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) includes several flexible mirrors that shift hundreds of times per second, thereby eliminating atmospheric distortions in real-time. This means that the ELT will be able to capture images up to 400 times sharper than the Hubble Space Telescope.”

Manuel Güdel, Professor at the Institute of Astrophysics at the University of Vienna: “METIS will revolutionize the way we understand planetary systems. Researchers can study the high-resolution infrared images and spectra to learn more about exoplanets and their atmospheres in unprecedented detail. This cutting-edge instrument will also help identify potentially habitable new worlds and bring us one step closer to solving the profound question of whether or not life exists outside our solar system. METIS will also provide insight into how stars form and what happens with young stars, which, in turn, fuels planet formation and evolution.”

Wolfgang Kausch, Institute for Astro Physics and Particle Physics at the University of Innsbruck: “MICADO will have to be six meters tall and weigh no less than 20 tons in order to meet the required high sensitivity, resolution, astrometric accuracy and wavelength coverage within the ELT environment.”

Watch a video to learn more about MICADO:

https://www.eso.org/public/unitedkingdom/videos/elt0001a/, opens an external URL in a new window

Watch a video to learn more about METIS:

https://www.eso.org/public/videos/elt0002a/, opens an external URL in a new window

MICADO - Description and consortium: https://elt.eso.org/instrument/MICADO/, opens an external URL in a new window

METIS - Description and consortium: https://elt.eso.org/instrument/METIS/, opens an external URL in a new window

Video and Image Resources

ELT

https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso1617i/, opens an external URL in a new window

https://www.eso.org/public/belgium-de/announcements/ann20031/, opens an external URL in a new window

MICADO: 

https://www.eso.org/public/videos/elt0001a/, opens an external URL in a new window

https://www.eso.org/public/images/ann24007b/, opens an external URL in a new window

METIS : 

https://www.eso.org/public/videos/elt0002a/, opens an external URL in a new window

https://www.eso.org/public/images/ann24007b/, opens an external URL in a new window