Harps-N First Light
The star Groombridge 1830, aka HD103095, a G8, metal poor, fast moving halo star was aimed with TNG and its spectrum recorded by the complete optical path of the newly installed Harps-North. In this first 120 second long exposure, still uncalibrated, the Oxygen B band lines are spotted and evidenced on the screen in the image (inset).
The Harps-N spectrograph is in its final assembly phase at TNG and the complete integration with the telescope complex system has to be finalized, with all the control software and automatic data reduction pipeline.
With this images the opto-mechanical components were proved to be within expectations. The whole Harps-N team contributed to this success with hard work and coordination for the last year, culminating in a crowded telescope during last month, where people from Switzerland and Scotland joined TNG staff in the island of La Palma.
Figure1: A picture of the team celebrating the Harps-N first light.
Figure2: Champagne in front of the recorded spectrum. In the inset the spectral range with the oxygen band.