First successful tests of new planet hunter “CARMENES”

17/12/2015
After five years of preparation, the highly complex instrument CARMENES was for the first time used in November at the 3.5m telescope of the Observatorio de Calar Alto, near Almería in southern Spain, which is operated jointly by the Max-Planck-Society (MPG) and the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC). Scientists and engineers of the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) have participated in the design and construction of the new “planet hunter”. The Severo Ochoa program at the IAC has supported the manufacture of its optomechanical mounts.