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Mechanical Engineer Jonathan Strachan talks us through some of the complex design and engineering required on a large-scale scientific instrument like MOONS. Because MOONS operates in the infrared it needs to be extremely cold to function, otherwise the heat from the instrument itself would overwhelm its own sensors. The components give off less noise, light and heat, … Continue reading MOONS Blog – Building astronomy instruments that operate below subzero

MOONS reaches another important stage before shipping to Chile. MOONS (the Multi-Object Optical and Near-infrared Spectrograph) is a next generation spectrograph currently undergoing a series of tests before it heads to the Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile in the coming months.  This rigorous assessment process is to ensure MOONS works as expected and can fulfil … Continue reading MOONS update – successful software assessment testing

Instrument passes vital stage in Preliminary Acceptance Europe process. The Multi-Object Optical and Near-infrared Spectrograph (MOONS)​ has successfully passed the vibration tests carried out by the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in the Crawford Lab at UK ATC. An important stage of the Preliminary Acceptance Europe process, demonstrating to ESO that MOONS meets its specifications and … Continue reading MOONS update – vibration tests successfully completed

Institute of Astrophysics and Space Sciences at the University of Lisbon receives award from igus for ‘most spectacular energy chain application’. Presented every two years by igus, who manufacture high-performance polymers for mechanical components in motion. There were 328 submissions from 37 countries and IASS's use of their products on MOONS was considered 'the most … Continue reading MOONS energy chain wins Golden Vector Award

MOONS front end systems integrated and tested in science operations scenarios. There are two major components to MOONS (the Multi-Object Optical and Near-infrared Spectrograph) the cryogenic spectrograph, which contains all the cameras and detectors, and the rotating front end, which is the interface of MOONS with the Very Large Telescope.  While smaller than the eight-ton instrument, the … Continue reading MOONS update – end-to-end testing of science configurations with FPUs

MOONS reaches important stage on road to Chile. MOONS (the Multi-Object Optical and Near-infrared Spectrograph) is a next generation astronomy instrument designed for the Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile. It will be the first instrument to simultaneously provide optical to near-infrared spectra for 1000 objects. Now MOONS has reached a critical moment on its road … Continue reading MOONS update – fully populated instrument cooled to 40 Kelvin and controlled with final software

Systems Engineer Martin Black explains why LEGO is a useful tool to help engineers, designers and public engagement. MOONS model ​"I started making the models for fun, off the back of the mini models the team had designed for the Royal Observatory Edinburgh Doors Open Days. About the same time the mechanical engineer on NIX was leaving, and … Continue reading Blog – LEGO and Astronomy

After almost 1000 Fibre Positioning Units have been secured in place project reaches major milestone. MOONS (Multi-Object Optical and Near-infrared Spectrograph) is a groundbreaking spectrograph designed for the Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile. An international consortium spanning six countries is being led by the UK ATC and this large-scale astronomical instrument is currently being assembled … Continue reading MOONS update – Fibre Positioning Module connected to Rotating Front End

The MOONS team was saddened to hear of the recent death of David Sun, one of the key mechanical designers on the project. David had worked for many years at Cambridge University as part of the Kavli Institute for Cosmology, contributing to many different astronomical projects for telescopes around the world.  David was involved with … Continue reading Thank you David

MOONS is effectively two instruments, the Rotating Front End (RFE) that bolts to the telescope and gathers the incoming light into optical fibres, and then the spectrograph where the light from the fibres is analysed. The RFE has been designed and built in Lisbon and after many years or painstaking work, it has now arrived … Continue reading Two instruments for the price of one!