The Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA): Design, technical overview, and performance

Sutherland, W.; Emerson, J.; Dalton, G.; Atad-Ettedgui, E.; Beard, S.; Bennett, R.; Bezawada, N.; Born, A.; Caldwell, M.; Clark, P.; Craig, S.; Henry, D.; Jefers, P.; Little, B.; McPherson, A.; Murray, J.; Stewart, M.; Stobie, B.; Terrett, D.; Ward, K.; Whalley, M.; Woodhouse, G.

doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201424973

The Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA): Design, technical overview, and performance

Sutherland, W.; Emerson, J.; Dalton, G.; Atad-Ettedgui, E.; Beard, S.; Bennett, R.; Bezawada, N.; Born, A.; Caldwell, M.; Clark, P.; Craig, S.; Henry, D.; Jefers, P.; Little, B.; McPherson, A.; Murray, J.; Stewart, M.; Stobie, B.; Terrett, D.; Ward, K.; Whalley, M.; Woodhouse, G.

Authors

W. Sutherland

J. Emerson

G. Dalton

E. Atad-Ettedgui

S. Beard

R. Bennett

N. Bezawada

A. Born

M. Caldwell

P. Clark

S. Craig

D. Henry

P. Jefers

B. Little

A. McPherson

J. Murray

M. Stewart

B. Stobie

D. Terrett

K. Ward

M. Whalley

G. Woodhouse

Abstract

The Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA) is the 4-m wide-field survey telescope at ESO’s Paranal Observatory, equipped with the world’s largest near-infrared imaging camera (VISTA IR Camera, VIRCAM), with 1.65 degree diameter field of view, and 67 Mpixels giving 0.6 deg2 active pixel area, operating at wavelengths 0.8−2.3 μm. We provide a short history of the project, and an overview of the technical details of the full system including the optical design, mirrors, telescope structure, IR camera, active optics, enclosure and software. The system includes several innovative design features such as the f/1 primary mirror, thedichroic cold-baffle camera design and the sophisticated wavefront sensing system delivering closed-loop 5-axis alignment of the secondary mirror. We conclude with a summary of the delivered performance, and a short overview of the six ESO public surveys in progress on VISTA.

Citation

Sutherland, W., Emerson, J., Dalton, G., Atad-Ettedgui, E., Beard, S., Bennett, R., …Woodhouse, G. (2015). The Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA): Design, technical overview, and performance. Astronomy & Astrophysics, 575, https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201424973

Journal Article Type	Article
Acceptance Date	Dec 15, 2014
Publication Date	Mar 1, 2015
Deposit Date	Jun 30, 2015
Publicly Available Date	Jun 30, 2015
Journal	Astronomy and astrophysics.
Print ISSN	0004-6361
Electronic ISSN	1432-0746
Publisher	EDP Sciences
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	575
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201424973
Keywords	Telescopes, Instrumentation: photometers, Instrumentation: miscellaneous, Instrumentation: detectors.