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The VLT Interferometer: a unique instrument for high-resolution astronomy

2000; SPIE; Volume: 4006; Linguagem: Inglês

10.1117/12.390163

1996-756X

Andreas Glindemann, Roberto Abuter, F. Carbognani, F. Delplancke, F. Dérie, A. Gennai, Philippe B. Gitton, P. Kervella, Bertrand Koehler, Samuel Lévêque, Serge Ménardi, Alain Michel, Francesco Paresce, T. Phan Duc, A. Richichi, Markus Schoeller, M. Tarenghi, Anders Wallander, Rainer Wilhelm,

Astronomical Observations and Instrumentation

The Very Large Telescope (VLT) Observatory on Cerro Paranal (2635 m) in Northern Chile is approaching completion in this year when the fourth of the 8-m Unit Telescopes will see first light. At the same time, the preparation for first fringes of the VLT Interferometer (VLTI) is advancing rapidly with the goal of having the first fringes with two siderostats within this year. In this article we describe the status of the VLTI and its subsystems, we discuss the planning for first fringes with the different telescopes and instruments. Eventually, we present an outlook for the future of interferometry with Very Large Telescopes.