Instrumentation and telescopes

Instrumentation and telescopes at the Institute

• 50 cm Cassegrain Telescope
  The modern Cassegrain reflecting telescope with 50 cm mirror diameter and 5 m focal length is on the roof terrace of the Institute in a dome building with 5.3 m in diameter.
• Vacuum vertical telescope
  The Siderostat on the roof of the physics building is used for light input into the vacuum vertical telescope (VVT), which is an integrated optical device in the building for high-resolution spectroscopy of the sun and bright stars.

Instrumentation and telescopes outside the Institute

European Southern Observatory ESO

Since 1990 the Institute for Astrophysics is involved in constructions of instruments for the ESO Paranal Observatory, funded by BMBF research fundings.


• ELT-CAM - MICADO
  MICADO is the Multi-AO Imaging Camera for Deep Observations, which has been designed to work with adaptive optics on the 39-m European Extremely Large Telescope
• ELT-MOS - MOSAIC
  Multi Object Spektrograph for the ESO/ E-ELT (phase A)
• ELT-ANDES
  High-resolution spectrograph for the ESO/ E-ELT (phase A)
• VLT/ CRIRES+
  Upgrade of ESO's high-resolution infrared spectrograph CRIRES at the VLT
• VLT/ MUSE
  8-tonnes integral-field 'Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer' at the VLT
• VST/ OmegaCAM
  Wide Field Imager of the 2.5m VLT Survey Telescope (VST)
• VLT/ FORS 1,2
  The FOcal Reducer Low Dispersion Spectrographs for the 8.2m VLT



Calar Alto Observatory



• CARMENES
  Calar Alto high-Resolution search for M dwarfs with Exoearths with Near-infrared and optical Échelle Spectrographs

Telescopes with participation of the Institute

• MONET
  The MONET (MOnitoring NEtwork of Telescopes) project is a network of two 1.2m telescopes operated by the Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, the McDonald Observatory, and the South African Astronomical Observatory.
• HET
  9.2m Hobby-Eberly-Telescope at McDonald Observatory in Texas
• SALT
  11m Southern African Large Telescope