The VLTI is an interferometer made of 4 unit 8-m telescopes and 3 auxiliary 1.8-m telescopes. This interferometer will allow European astronomers to achieve the spatial resolution equivalent to the one of a 200-m telescope with a sensitivity of an 8-m telescope. The focus of the VLTI will be equipped with three instruments:

  • AMBER: imaging and spectroscopic instrument using phase closure operating first in the near infrared, then down to H alpha
  • MIDI:
    - ESO - Mid-infrared instrument operating at 10µm.
    - MPIA -
  • PRIMA:
    - ESO - Astrometric and phase-reference instrument using a differential interferometer
    - ESO - Phase-Referenced Imaging and Microarcsecond Astrometry

 

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