EFOSC2 : ESO Faint Object Spectrograph and Camera

Summary

EFOSC2, or the ESO Faint Object Spectrograph and Camera (v.2) to give its full name, is a very versatile instrument for low resolution spectroscopy and imaging. The instrument has multi mode capability including normal/polarimetric imaging/spectroscopy (several submodes in each), and coronography. One can easily switch between most modes, even during a single night, with little loss of observing time; this flexibility and the ease of operation make for a very efficient instrument capable of handling most observing programmes in an efficient manner.

Despite its multi mode capability the real forte of EFOSC2 is low resolution spectroscopy - it is a very efficient instrument in terms of both photons and time. A second feature of this instrument is the sensitivity of its CCD to UV photons.

Note that as of April 2008 EFOSC2 is mounted at the Nasmyth B focus of the NTT. These web pages give information about the characteristics of the instrument at the NTT. The old EFOSC2 at ESO 3.6m information is still available for reference. For a general description of the changes due to the change of telescope, see Snodgrass et al. 2008, ESO Messenger 132, 18.

Publications based on data obtained with the EFOSC2 instrument should reference the following paper: Buzzoni et al. 1984, ESO Messenger 38, 9 .

Contact Information

  • All questions related to observations and proposal preparation should be addressed to the La Silla Science Operations.
  • Please send us your comments, suggestions and report errors and inaccurate statements in the web pages and manuals.

Content of these pages

The following items are available on all the EFOSC pages, using the bar on the left.