Ground Instrumentation
MIRADAS
Multi-object infrared spectrograph of the new generation of instruments for the Gran Telescopio Canarias
MIRADAS (Mid-resolution InfRAreD Astronomical Spectrograph) is a third-generation near-infrared multi-object spectrograph to be installed on the 10.4-metre Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC) telescope at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory on the Canary Island of La Palma.
MIRADAS will operate in the infrared range of 1 to 2.5 micrometres, being able to study many objects simultaneously—up to 12 objects thanks to several articulated arms equipped with a mirror—and at high spectral resolution. The use of the instrument will enable cutting-edge science that has never been possible before, revealing the physics of the most massive stars and unveiling the structure of the inner Milky Way.
The MIRADAS Consortium is led by the University of Florida (USA) and the MIRADAS ScienceTeam already includes more than 40 scientists from 8 institutions.
THE IEEC CONTRIBUTION
The IEEC is part of the MIRADAS Consortium and is in charge of the design of the algorithms for the objects allocation in the arms, as well as the definition of the trajectories that the arms must follow to go from one object to the next. The geometric characteristics of these arms have required to define new algorithms to perform different tasks:
- Detection of collisions between arms
- Optimisation of the objects allocation in arms
- Definition of the trajectories between assignments
Some of these algorithms are based on metaheuristics, with the aim of optimising the possible solutions.