The Mitchell Spectrograph: Studying Nearby Galaxies with the VIRUS Prototype
The Mitchell Spectrograph (a.k.a. VIRUS-P) on the 2.7 m Harlan J. Smith telescope at McDonald Observatory is currently the largest field of view (FOV) integral field unit (IFU) spectrograph in the world (1.7′×1.7′). It was designed as a prototype for the highly replicable VIRUS spectrograph which co...
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fthindawi:oai:hindawi.com:10.1155/2013/641612 2023-05-15T18:13:06+02:00 The Mitchell Spectrograph: Studying Nearby Galaxies with the VIRUS Prototype Guillermo A. Blanc 2013 https://doi.org/10.1155/2013/641612 en eng Advances in Astronomy https://doi.org/10.1155/2013/641612 Copyright © 2013 Guillermo A. Blanc. Review Article 2013 fthindawi https://doi.org/10.1155/2013/641612 2019-05-25T23:32:02Z The Mitchell Spectrograph (a.k.a. VIRUS-P) on the 2.7 m Harlan J. Smith telescope at McDonald Observatory is currently the largest field of view (FOV) integral field unit (IFU) spectrograph in the world (1.7′×1.7′). It was designed as a prototype for the highly replicable VIRUS spectrograph which consists of a mosaic of IFUs spread over a 16′ diameter FOV feeding 150 spectrographs similar to the Mitchell. VIRUS will be deployed on the 9.2 meter Hobby-Eberly Telescope (HET) and will be used to conduct the HET Dark Energy Experiment (HETDEX). Since seeing first light in 2007 the Mitchell Spectrograph has been widely used, among other things, to study nearby galaxies in the local universe where their internal structure and the spatial distribution of different physical parameters can be studied in great detail. These observations have provided important insight into many aspects of the physics behind the formation and evolution of galaxies and have boosted the scientific impact of the 2.7 meter telescope enormously. Here I review the contributions of the Mitchell Spectrograph to the study of nearby galaxies, from the investigation the spatial distribution of dark matter and the properties of supermassive black holes, to the studies of the process of star formation and the chemical composition of stars and gas in the ISM, which provide important information regarding the formation and evolution of these systems. I highlight the fact that wide field integral field spectrographs on small and medium size telescopes can be powerful cost effective tools to study the astrophysics of galaxies. Finally I briefly discuss the potential of HETDEX for conducting studies on nearby galaxies. The survey parameters make it complimentary and competitive to ongoing and future surveys like SAMI and MANGA. Review sami Hindawi Publishing Corporation Advances in Astronomy 2013 1 16 |
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The Mitchell Spectrograph (a.k.a. VIRUS-P) on the 2.7 m Harlan J. Smith telescope at McDonald Observatory is currently the largest field of view (FOV) integral field unit (IFU) spectrograph in the world (1.7′×1.7′). It was designed as a prototype for the highly replicable VIRUS spectrograph which consists of a mosaic of IFUs spread over a 16′ diameter FOV feeding 150 spectrographs similar to the Mitchell. VIRUS will be deployed on the 9.2 meter Hobby-Eberly Telescope (HET) and will be used to conduct the HET Dark Energy Experiment (HETDEX). Since seeing first light in 2007 the Mitchell Spectrograph has been widely used, among other things, to study nearby galaxies in the local universe where their internal structure and the spatial distribution of different physical parameters can be studied in great detail. These observations have provided important insight into many aspects of the physics behind the formation and evolution of galaxies and have boosted the scientific impact of the 2.7 meter telescope enormously. Here I review the contributions of the Mitchell Spectrograph to the study of nearby galaxies, from the investigation the spatial distribution of dark matter and the properties of supermassive black holes, to the studies of the process of star formation and the chemical composition of stars and gas in the ISM, which provide important information regarding the formation and evolution of these systems. I highlight the fact that wide field integral field spectrographs on small and medium size telescopes can be powerful cost effective tools to study the astrophysics of galaxies. Finally I briefly discuss the potential of HETDEX for conducting studies on nearby galaxies. The survey parameters make it complimentary and competitive to ongoing and future surveys like SAMI and MANGA. |
format |
Review |
author |
Guillermo A. Blanc |
spellingShingle |
Guillermo A. Blanc The Mitchell Spectrograph: Studying Nearby Galaxies with the VIRUS Prototype |
author_facet |
Guillermo A. Blanc |
author_sort |
Guillermo A. Blanc |
title |
The Mitchell Spectrograph: Studying Nearby Galaxies with the VIRUS Prototype |
title_short |
The Mitchell Spectrograph: Studying Nearby Galaxies with the VIRUS Prototype |
title_full |
The Mitchell Spectrograph: Studying Nearby Galaxies with the VIRUS Prototype |
title_fullStr |
The Mitchell Spectrograph: Studying Nearby Galaxies with the VIRUS Prototype |
title_full_unstemmed |
The Mitchell Spectrograph: Studying Nearby Galaxies with the VIRUS Prototype |
title_sort |
mitchell spectrograph: studying nearby galaxies with the virus prototype |
publisher |
Advances in Astronomy |
publishDate |
2013 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1155/2013/641612 |
genre |
sami |
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sami |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1155/2013/641612 |
op_rights |
Copyright © 2013 Guillermo A. Blanc. |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1155/2013/641612 |
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Advances in Astronomy |
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2013 |
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1 |
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16 |
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