NIX, the imager for ERIS: the AO instrument for the VLT
Abstract
ERIS will be the next-generation AO facility on the VLT, combining the heritage of NACO imaging, with the spectroscopic capabilities of an upgraded SINFONI. Here we report on the all-new NIX imager that will deliver diffraction-limited imaging from the J to M band. The instrument will be equipped with both Apodizing Phase Plates and Sparse Aperture Masks to provide high-angular resolution imagery, especially suited for exoplanet imaging and characterization. This paper provides detail on the instrument's design and how it is suited to address a broad range of science cases, from detailed studies of the galactic centre at the highest resolutions, to studying detailed resolved stellar populations.
- Publication:
-
Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy VI
- Pub Date:
- August 2016
- DOI:
- 10.1117/12.2234074
- Bibcode:
- 2016SPIE.9908E..3FP