The Upcoming Spectroscopic Powerhouses At The Isaac Newton Group Of Telescopes

The Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes is completing a strategic change for the scientific use of its two telescopes, the 4.2-m William Herschel Telescope (WHT) and the 2.5-m Isaac Newton Telescope (INT).

After more than 30 years operating as multi-purpose telescopes, the telescopes will soon complete their shift to nearly-single instrument operation dominated by large surveys.

At the WHT, the WEAVE multi-fibre spectrograph is being commissioned in late 2022. Science surveys are expected to launch in 2023. 30% of the available time will be offered in open time. For the INT, construction of HARPS-3, a high-resolution ultra-stable spectrograph for extra-solar planet studies, is underway, with deployment planned for late 2024.

The INT itself is being modernised and will operate as a robotic telescope. An average of 40% of the time will be offered as open time. The ING will maintain its student programme. Plans call for moving student work from the INT to the WHT once the INT starts operating robotically.

Marc Balcells

Comments: Presented to the XV Scientific Meeting of the Spanish Astronomical Society, La Laguna, 4-9 Sep 2022
Subjects: Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics (astro-ph.IM)
Cite as: arXiv:2301.10641 [astro-ph.IM] (or arXiv:2301.10641v1 [astro-ph.IM] for this version)
https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2301.10641
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Submission history
From: Marc Balcells
[v1] Wed, 25 Jan 2023 15:24:10 UTC (456 KB)
https://arxiv.org/abs/2301.10641