After months of hard work on Maunakea and more than a decade in the making, SPIRou, or SpectroPolarimetre InfraRouge, Canda-France-Hawaii Telescope’s new planet hunting instrument, made its first significant recording earlier this year.
At about 7:50 p.m. April 24, astronomers were able to capture light coming from the star AD Leonis, a very active red dwarf located 16 light years from Earth. This is the first impressive collection of data from SPIRou since the instrument’s arrival from France.
“We anticipate the astronomy community will use SPIRou extensively in the following decade,” said Jean-Francois Donati, principal investigator of SPIRou and leader of the SPIRou science team. “SPIRou will play a key role in the coordinated exoplanet surveys to come, involving multiple space-based missions.”
SPIRou was designed to discover Earth-like planets and explore baby stars and their planetary systems in the making. Using a technique known as “velocimetry,” SPIRou detects the tiny wiggle in a star that indicates the presence of planets to very precise levels.
The instrument’s camera, a Hawaii 4RG or H4RG, is a new kind of infrared device that will greatly enhance the capabilities of SPIRou.
“A sincere congratulations to the entire SPIRou team for the work they have put into this outstanding instrument,” said CFHT Director of Science Daniel Devost.
SPIRou was designed, funded and constructed with the support of a worldwide consortium of institutes.