We are attending SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation in Austin this june 2018. SPIE is an international society advancing an interdisciplinary approach to the science and application of light. You will find below our contribution to the event. Feel free to download our material.

The Multi-Object Spectrograph, also known as MOSAIC, is a proposed instrument for ESO’s forthcoming Extremely Large Telescope (ELT). MOSAIC is currently in the initial project stage known as Phase A. The study contract was signed at the Paris Observatory on 18 March 2016 by ESO and the CNRS–INSU, the leading technical institute in the MOSAIC consortium. The consortium includes institutions from five countries (France, United Kingdom, The Netherlands, Brazil and Germany) with six associated partners (Austria, Finland, Italy, Portugal, Spain and Sweden).

Read the article on the ESO website

The Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) will be the world's largest optical/IR facility for at least a generation. It will have an immense collecting area, equivalent to gathering together all the current large telescopes in use today. Multi-object spectroscopy will be a key capability of the observatory, immediately able to harness its unprecedented sensitivity to deliver unique surveys which address a broad range of important topics in contemporary astrophysics.

The conceptual design of MOSAIC, a powerful multi-object spectrograph for the ELT, will conclude in late 2017. The design combines high-multiplex near-IR and visible spectroscopy, together with AO-corrected spectroscopy in the near-IR that exploits the fantastic angular resolution of the ELT across a large field of view. These capabilities will enable MOSAIC to tackle fundamental questions, e.g. pertaining to the formation and evolution of galaxies, which are simply out of reach of other facilities.

This colloquium is timed to discuss the scientific opportunities of surveys with MOSAIC, focussing in particular on simulated performances from the conceptual design. It will also take stock of other developments that will influence surveys envisaged for the late 2020s.

Visit website : https://www.mosaictoledo.org/

The next important meeting for MOSAIC will be the MTR (Mid-Term Review) meeting in Garching - Germany (near Munich) at the ESO headquarters (European Southern Observatory). This meeting will take place on Tuesday 21st and Wednseday 22nd of March 2017. You can follow the news on the ELT project at this adress on the ESO web page.

The proposed MOSAIC multi-object spectrograph will be the workhorse instrument for the future Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), the biggest visible/infrared telescope in the world. It will be the world-leading multi-object spectrograph well into the 2020s, contributing to most fields of contemporary astronomy. Scientists from across the world are meeting in Toledo to explore the unprecedented capabilities of MOSAIC in tracking the earliest ‘first-light’ structures in the Universe, and to refine proposals for observations that will uniquely trace the amounts of dark and invisible matter in the deep Universe.

• Produced by Lightcurve Films
• Direction, Concept, Text, Post Production : Maarten Roos (Lightcurve Films)
• Graphical Animation : Dick Peterse (ScienceMedia.nl)
• Voice Over : Pamela van de Wal
• Voice Over & Translation Services
• Original Music Score : William Zeitler
• Scientific Advisor : Francois Hammer et al.

On March 18, 2016, during the MOSAIC kick-off meeting at the Paris Observatory in the presence of the team(*) led by François Hammer, The European Southern Observatory has signed a phase A study contract with the MOSAIC consortium. The multi-object spectrograph will be the workhorse instrument for the ELT, being the biggest telescope in the world with its 39m diameter primary mirror.