X-shooter, the new wide band intermediate resolution spectrograph at the ESO Very Large Telescope

X-shooter is the first 2nd generation instrument of the ESO Very Large Telescope (VLT). It is a very efficient, single-target, intermediate-resolution spectrograph that was installed at the Cassegrain focus of UT2 in 2009. The instrument covers, in a single exposure, the spectral range from 300 to 2500 nm. It is designed to maximize the sensitivity in this spectral range through dichroic splitting in three arms with optimized optics, coatings, dispersive elements and detectors. It operates at intermediate spectral resolution (R ~ 4000−17 000, depending on wavelength and slit width) with fixed échelle spectral format (prism cross-dispersers) in the three arms. It includes a 1.8″ × 4″ integral field unit as an…

• NO
  Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek
• MD
  Ministero dell’Istruzione, dell’Università e della Ricerca