The Multiconjugate adaptive Optics Relay For ELT Observations (MORFEO, previously known as MAORY), an upcoming instrument for ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), has recently passed its preliminary design review. MORFEO’s adaptive optics system will use special sensors to measure the blurring effects of the Earth’s atmosphere, correcting them with deformable mirrors. This will allow astronomers to get an unprecedented view into the Universe, offering detailed observations of distant galaxies and stars at the centre of the Milky Way.
ELT MORFEO Instrument Passes Preliminary Design Review
Published: 31 Mar 2023
MORFEO will work with the Multi-AO Imaging CamerA for Deep Observations (MICADO), which requires very stable and sharp images to precisely measure the positions, brightness, and motions of stars, one of its scientific goals. MORFEO will enable MICADO to capture perfect images across its large field of view in the near-infraredby using deformable mirrors and other state-of-the-art systems, such as the ELT’s laser guide stars, to correct for turbulence in different layers of the Earth’s atmosphere.
MORFEO will be one of first-generation four instruments on the ELT when it is first used to take astronomical images after construction is finished later this decade. More information is available.