MPG/ESO telescope

MPG/ESO telescope
Part ofLa Silla Observatory Edit this on Wikidata
Location(s)Atacama Desert
Coordinates29°15′28″S 70°44′12″W / 29.25786°S 70.736648°W / -29.25786; -70.736648 Edit this at Wikidata
OrganizationEuropean Southern Observatory
Max Planck Institute for Astronomy Edit this on Wikidata
Altitude2,375 m (7,792 ft) Edit this at Wikidata
First light22 June 1983 Edit this on Wikidata
Telescope styleRitchey–Chrétien telescope Edit this on Wikidata
Diameter2.20 m (7 ft 3 in) Edit this at Wikidata
Secondary diameter0.84 m (2 ft 9 in) Edit this at Wikidata
Angular resolution0.3 arcsecond Edit this on Wikidata
Collecting area3.8 m2 (41 sq ft) Edit this at Wikidata
Focal length17.6 m (57 ft 9 in) Edit this at Wikidata
Mountingequatorial mount Edit this on Wikidata
Websitewww.eso.org/public/teles-instr/lasilla/mpg22/ Edit this at Wikidata
MPG/ESO telescope is located in Chile
MPG/ESO telescope
Location of MPG/ESO telescope
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The MPG/ESO telescope is a 2.2-metre f/8.0[1] (17.6-metre[2]) ground-based telescope at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in La Silla, Chile. It was built by Zeiss and has been operating since 1984. It was on indefinite loan to the European Southern Observatory from the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (MPIA). In October 2013 it was returned to the MPIA. Telescope time is shared between MPIA and MPE observing programmes, while the operation and maintenance of the telescope are ESO's responsibility.[3]

The telescope hosts three instruments: the 67-million-pixel Wide Field Imager[4] with a field of view able to cover the full Moon; GROND, the Gamma-Ray Burst Optical/Near-Infrared Detector, which chases the afterglows of the most powerful explosions in the universe, known as gamma-ray bursts; and the high-resolution spectrograph, FEROS, used to make detailed studies of stars.[5]

In November 2010 it was used to observe HIP 13044, and marked what was thought to be the first time a planetary system in a stellar stream of extragalactic origin had been detected.[6] However, subsequent analysis in 2014 found no evidence for a planet orbiting the star.[7]

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  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference ESO was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference WFI was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference ESOdata was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference BBC was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference JonesJenkins2014 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).