Very large telescope-ISAAC near-infrared spectroscopy of ISO-selected hubble deep field south galaxies by Rigopoulou, D, Franceschini, A, Aussel, H, Genzel, R, van der Werf, P, Cesarsky, C, Dennefeld, M, Oliver, S, Rowan-Robinson, M, Mann, R, Perez-Fournon, I, Rocca-Volmerange, B

Unveiling the central parsec region of an active galactic nucleus: The circinus nucleus in the near-infrared with the very large telescope by Almudhna Prieto, M, Meisenheimer, K, Marco, O, Reunanen, J, Contini, M, Clenet, Y, Davies, R, Gratadour, D, Henning, T, Klaas, U, Kotitanien, J, Leinert, C, Lutz, D, Rouan, D, Thatte, N

DESI-253.2534+26.8843: A New Einstein Cross Spectroscopically Confirmed with Very Large Telescope/MUSE and Modeled with GIGA-Lens by Aleksandar Cikota, Ivonne Toro Bertolla, Xiaosheng Huang, Saul Baltasar, Nicolas Ratier-Werbin, William Sheu, Christopher Storfer, Nao Suzuki, David J. Schlegel, Regis Cartier, Simon Torres, Stefan Cikota, Eric Jullo

“…We obtained spectroscopic observations of this system using the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer on ESO’s Very Large Telescope and confirmed its lensing nature. The main lens, which is the elliptical galaxy, has a redshift of z _L1 = 0.636 ± 0.001, while the spectra of the background source images are typical of a starburst galaxy and have a redshift of z _s = 2.597 ± 0.001. …”
Get full text

KMOS: Assembly, integration and testing of three 0.8-2.5 micron spectrographs by Masters, R, Lewis, I, Tosh, I, Tecza, M, Lynn, J, Watkins, R, Clack, A, Davies, R, Thatte, N, Tacon, M, Makin, R, Temple, J, Pearce, A

“…KMOS is a second generation instrument in construction for use at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) Very Large Telescope (VLT). It operates in the near-infrared (0.8 to 2.5 microns) and employs 24 deployable, image slicing integral field units (IFUs) feeding three spectrographs. …”

Strong lensing and shadow of Ayon-Beato–Garcia (ABG) nonsingular black hole by H. S. Ramadhan, M. F. Ishlah, F. P. Pratama, I. Alfredo

“…We also show that the ABG’s shadow radius is not compatible with bound estimates of Sgr A* from Keck and VLTI (Very Large Telescope Interferometer). Thus, the possibility of Sgr A* being a nonsingular ABG black hole is ruled out.…”
Get full text

Integral Field Spectroscopy of Planetary Nebulae with MUSE by Jeremy R. Walsh, Ana Monreal-Ibero

“…The Multi-Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) is a large integral field unit mounted on the ESO Very Large Telescope. Its spatial (60 arcsecond field) and wavelength (4800–9300Å) coverage is well suited to detailed imaging spectroscopy of extended planetary nebulae, such as in the Galaxy. …”
Get full text

Ammonia in Jupiter's troposphere from high-resolution 5 μm spectroscopy by Giles, R, Fletcher, L, Irwin, P, Orton, G, Sinclair, J

“…Jupiter's tropospheric ammonia (NH 3 ) abundance is studied using spatially resolved 5 μm observations from the cryogenic high-resolution infrared spectrograph (CRIRES) at the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope. The high-resolving power (R = 96,000) allows the line shapes of three NH 3 absorption features to be resolved. …”

Uranus's northern polar cap in 2014 by Toledo Carrasco, D, Irwin, P, Teanby, N, Simon, A, Wong, M, Orton, G

“…In October and November 2014, spectra covering the 1.436 – 1.863-μm wavelength range from the SINFONI Integral Field Unit Spectrometer on the Very Large Telescope showed the presence of a vast bright North polar cap on Uranus, extending northward from about 40ºN and at all longitudes observed. …”

First detection of the O III 495.8911 and 500.6843 nm lines in the Earth's upper atmosphere by O. Witasse, T. Slanger, R. Thissen

“…The measurements were performed on 30 October 2003 during the "Halloween" storms, with the Ultraviolet and Visual Echelle Spectrograph (UVES) mounted on the Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile. The intensities of these emissions are ~70 mRayleigh, and ~260 mRayleigh, respectively. …”
Get full text

Latitudinal variability in Jupiter's tropospheric disequilibrium species: GeH4, AsH3 and PH3 by Giles, R, Fletcher, L, Irwin, P

“…Jupiter's tropospheric composition is studied using high resolution spatially-resolved 5-mm observation from the CRIRES instrument at the Very Large Telescope. The high resolving power (R=96,000) allows us to spectrally resolve the line shapes of individual molecular species in Jupiter's troposphere and, by aligning the slit north-south along Jupiter's central meridian, we are able to search for any latitudinal variability. …”

A new era of spectroscopy: SINFONI, NIR integral field spectroscopy at the diffraction limit of an 8m telescope by Mengel, S, Eisenhauer, F, Tecza, M, Thatte, N, Roehrle, C, Bickert, K, Schreiber, J

“…SINFONI, the SINgle Faint Object Near-infrared Investigation, is an instrument for the Very Large Telescope (VLT), which will start its operation mid 2002 and allow for the first time near infrared (NIR) integral field spectroscopy at the diffraction limit of an 8-m telescope. …”

Spectroscopy of the optical counterpart to Ser X-1 by Hynes, R, Charles, P, van Zyl, L, Barnes, A, Steeghs, D, O'Brien, K, Casares, J

“…We present William Herschel Telescope (WHT) and Very Large Telescope (VLT) spectroscopy of MM Ser, the optical counterpart to Ser X-1. …”

Kilonova Emission and Heavy Element Nucleosynthesis by Elena Pian

“…The accurate spectroscopy of the kilonova at ultraviolet-to-infrared wavelengths with the X-Shooter spectrograph of the ESO Very Large Telescope showed the long-sought-after signature of rapid neutron capture process (in short: r-process) nucleosynthesis. …”
Get full text

Exploring the nature of the brightest hyper-luminous X-ray source by Farrell, SA, Servillat, M, Wiersema, K, Barret, D, Godet, O, Heywood, I, Maccarone, T, Oates, SR, Plazolles, B, Webb, N

“…In this paper we review the current state of knowledge on this intriguing source and outline the results of multi-wavelength studies from radio to ultra-violet wavelengths, including imaging and spectroscopy of the recently identified optical counterpart obtained with the Very Large Telescope. These results continue to support an intermediate mass black hole in excess of 500 M⊙. © 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. …”

Jupiter's North Equatorial Belt expansion and thermal wave activity ahead of Juno's arrival by Fletcher, L, Orton, G, Sinclair, J, Donnelly, P, Melin, H, Rogers, J, Greathouse, T, Kasaba, Y, Fujiyoshi, T, Sato, T, Fernandes, J, Irwin, P, Giles, R, Simon, A, Wong, M, Vedovato, M

“…Inversions of thermal-IR imaging from the Very Large Telescope revealed a moderate warming and reduction of aerosol opacity at the cloud tops at 17–20°N, suggesting subsidence and drying in the expanded sector. …”

ULTRACAM: An ultrafast, triple-beam CCD camera for high-speed astrophysics by Dhillon, V, Marsh, T, Stevenson, M, Atkinson, D, Kerry, P, Peacocke, P, Vick, A, Beard, S, Ives, D, Lunney, D, McLay, SA, Tierney, C, Kelly, J, Littlefair, S, Nicholson, R, Pashley, R, Harlaftis, E, O'Brien, K

“…The instrument has been mounted on both the 4.2-m William Herschel Telescope on La Palma and the 8.2-m Very Large Telescope in Chile, and has been used to study white dwarfs, brown dwarfs, pulsars, black hole/neutron star X-ray binaries, gamma-ray bursts, cataclysmic variables, eclipsing binary stars, extrasolar planets, flare stars, ultracompact binaries, active galactic nuclei, asteroseismology and occultations by Solar System objects (Titan, Pluto and Kuiper Belt objects). …”

The 2003 radio outburst of a new X-ray transient: XTE J1720-318 by Brocksopp, C, Corbel, S, Fender, R, Rupen, M, Sault, R, Tingay, S, Hannikainen, D, O'Brien, K

“…We also present a K s-band image of XTE J1720-318 and its surrounding field taken with the Very Large Telescope.…”

Characterization of the transmitted near-infrared wavefront error for the GRAVITY/VLTI Coude Infrared Adaptive Optics System. by Yang, P, Hippler, S, Deen, C, Brandner, W, Clénet, Y, Henning, T, Huber, A, Kendrew, S, Lenzen, R, Pfuhl, O, Zhu, J

“…The adaptive optics system for the second-generation VLT-interferometer (VLTI) instrument GRAVITY consists of a novel cryogenic near-infrared wavefront sensor to be installed at each of the four unit telescopes of the Very Large Telescope (VLT). Feeding the GRAVITY wavefront sensor with light in the 1.4 to 2.4 micrometer band, while suppressing laser light originating from the GRAVITY metrology system, custom-built optical components are required. …”

A signature of the donor star in the extra-galactic X-ray binary LMC X-2 by Cornelisse, R, Steeghs, D, Casares, J, Charles, P, Shih, I, Hynes, R, O'Brien, K

“…Two nights of phase-resolved medium-resolution Very Large Telescope spectroscopy of the extra-galactic low-mass X-ray binary LMC X-2 have revealed a 0.32 ± 0.02 d spectroscopic period in the radial velocity curve of the He ii λ4686 emission line that we interpret as the orbital period. …”

Dynamical constraints on the neutron star mass in EXO 0748-676 by Muñoz-Darias, T, Casares, J, O'Brien, K, Steeghs, D, Martínez-Pais, I, Cornelisse, R, Charles, P

“…We present Very Large Telescope (VLT) intermediate resolution spectroscopy of UY Vol, the optical counterpart of the low mass X-ray binary (LMXB) X-ray burster EXO 0748-676. …”