FORS: a workhorse instrument for the ESO VLT

1 June 1994

proceedings article
Published by SPIE-Intl Soc Optical Eng

Vol. 2198, 213-219
https://doi.org/10.1117/12.176750

Abstract

The design and the expected performance of the FOcal Reducer/low- dispersion Spectrograph (FORS) for the Very Large Telescope (VLT) of the European Southern Observatory (ESO) are described. FORS is an all dioptric focal reducer designed for direct imaging, low- dispersion multi-object spectroscopy (MOS), imaging polarimetry and spectro-polarimetry of faint objects in the spectral range from 330 nm to 1.1 (mu) $m. The field of view is 6.83 X 6.83 arcmin² with an image scale of 0.2 arcsec/pixel. To take full advantage of excellent seeing, a configuration with an image scale of 0.1 arcsec/pixel can be selected. In the MOS mode, simultaneous spectroscopy of up to 19 objects is possible. Two copies of the instrument (denoted `FORS I' and `FORS II', respectively) are under construction and will be installed at the Cassegrain foci of the VLT unit telescope Nos. 1 and 3.

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