Tmt comp background

Image Gallery

< All Images

7950 tio tmt 0052

TMT InfraRed Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) Instrument

March 24th, 2023

Credit: TMT International Observatory

Close view of the IRIS instrument attached to the NFIRAOS adaptive optics system. This image shows one of TMT Nasmyth platforms with the IRIS instrument, a first-light adaptive optics fed spectro-imager, attached below the (blue) enclosure of TMT’s adaptive optics facility NFIRAOS. IRIS cable wrap is the circular containment below IRIS, on the floor of the Nasmyth platform. IRIS is attached with supporting rods that are also used to absorb vibrations. The top part of IRIS hosts the instrument wavefront sensors, which work with NFIRAOS to further improve IRIS image quality. Below is attached the cryostat which cools the optical components of the imager (top) and spectrograph (bottom) at -200 deg. Celsius. NFIRAOS can hold up to three instruments and a first-decade AO-fed instrument, which is not yet selected but could be a near-infrared multi-object spectrograph, is seen attached on the side of NFIRAOS enclosure. Two day workers are shown near the instrument to provide a perception of the size of TMT instruments. The ventilation vents are opened and let the air and light enter the inside of TMT enclosure.