Kick-off of the Phase A study for the HIRES instrument on the E-ELT

The agreement to start the design study (Phase A) for HIRES was signed on 22 March 2016 by ESO and the HIRES consortium, led by INAF and constituted by institutes from 12 countries. This has been the successful result of a preliminary work that lasted several years and saw OATs as one of the core-team members since the beginning. The Phase A study will last two years and upon its successful completion, the next phases will start leading to the final HIRES construction.

Several OATs researchers are involved in the project as part of the science team as well as part of the technical team for software (science and control) and electronics of the whole instrument. In particular, INAF has full responsibility of the whole software work-package with Paolo Di Marcantonio from OATs acting as Software System Engineer.

The construction phase of the European telescope E-ELT (European Extremely Large Telescope, https://www.eso.org/sci/facilities/eelt/) that with a diameter of the order of 39-m will be the biggest telescope ever built in the world, proceed at full speed towards its completion foreseen in 2024.

HIRES is the high resolution spectrograph foreseen as one of the instruments for the E-ELT able to operate simultaneously from visible to infrared wavelengths that will be used for extremely detailed and accurate studies of individual objects. Its most relevant scientific cases will be:

  • the study of the atmospheres of planets around other stars in a search for the signatures of life;
  • to probe the evolution of galaxies;
  • the identification of the signature of the very first generation of stars in the primordial Universe;
  • to determine whether some of the fundamental constants of physics, which regulate most physical processes in the Universe, actually change with time.

Press Release ESO
Press release Media INAF