ESO is pleased to announce the Science Verification (SV) for GRAVITY+ Adaptive Optics with Laser Guide Stars on VLTI-UT. The upgraded GRAVITY+ Adaptive Optics (GPAO) offer improved sensitivity and/or performance for the VLTI instruments GRAVITY and MATISSE. For example, under the best atmospheric turbulence conditions, the GRAVITY spectrograph can reach K=19.5 with a fringe tracking source K<13 and a tip-tilt star GRP<17, offering unique opportunities of observations of new classes of astrophysical objects.
GRAVITY+ Adaptive Optics with Laser Guide Stars Science Verification on VLTI-UT
Published: 04 Jul 2025
The equivalent of four nights has been reserved between January and April 2026 to execute science verification observations in service mode. The call is open on ESO phase 1 and will run until August 12th, at 12:00-noon CEST. Note that per the SV Policy, raw data are immediately public.
For more information, including offered performances for GRAVITY and MATISSE, please refer to the dedicated page.