ZIMPOL/CHEOPS

ZIMPOL/CHEOPS (Zurich Imaging Polarimeter) is a polarimetric imager being developed for the Very Large Telescope for the direct detection of extra-solar planets.^[1] The imager is operated by the European Southern Observatory on Cerro Paranal in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile.^[1]^[2]

It is also the imaging polarimeter subsystem of the VLT-SPHERE instrument.^[3]

The Zurich Imaging Polarimeter (ZIMPOL) provides diffraction limited classical imaging and differential polarimetric imaging (DPI) at 15 mas (milliarcsecond) resolution in the visible spectrum^[4] and is one of three scientific subsystem integrated into the VLT-SPHERE instrument used at VLT's Unit Telescope 3, Melipal.

CHEOPS is an acronym for CHaracterizing Exo-planets by Opto-infrared Polarimetry and Spectroscopy.^[5]

References

^ ^a ^b Schmid, H. M.; Gisler, D.; Joos, F.; Povel, H. P.; Stenflo, J. O.; Feldt, M.; et al. (2005-12-01) [15–19 March 2004]. A. Adamson; C. Aspin; C. J. Davis; T. Fujiyoshi (eds.). "ZIMPOL/CHEOPS: a Polarimetric Imager for the Direct Detection of Extra-solar Planets". Astronomical Polarimetry: Current Status and Future Directions ASP Conference Series, Conference Proceedings. 343. Waikoloa, Hawai'i, USA: 89. Bibcode:2005ASPC..343...89S.
^ "ZIMPOL - The Zurich IMaging POLarimeter". Retrieved 2012-01-21.^{[dead link]}
^ The ZIMPOL high contrast imaging polarimeter for SPHERE: system test results. (PDF) Ronald Roelfsema, Andreas Bazzon, Hans Martin Schmid, Johan Pragt, Daniel Gisler, Carsten Dominik, Andrea Baruffolo, Jean-Luc Beuzit, Anne Costille, Kjetil Dohlen, Mark Downing, Eddy Elswijk, Menno de Haan, Norbert Hubin, Markus Kasper, Christoph Keller, Jean-Louis Lizonf, David Mouillet, Alexey Pavlov, Pascal Puget, Bernardo Salasnich, Jean-Francois Sauvage, Francois Wildik. 2014.
^ "SPHERE Exposure Time Calculator – Instrument description". 26 February 2015. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
^ "CHaracterizing Extrasolar planets by Opto-infrared Polarimetry and Spectroscopy". Archived from the original on 2012-01-23. Retrieved 2012-01-21.