HET VIRUS Structure

McDonald_Observatory-340.jpg

McDonald_Observatory-340.jpg

This square black unit attached the Hobby-Eberly Telescope is one of two "saddlebags" that ride along with the telescope as it turns. (Part of the telescope's segmented mirror is visible at bottom left.) Each saddlebag will hold multiple spectrographs that together make up VIRUS, the instrument that will carry out a study of dark energy. The project is called HETDEX, the Hobby-Eberly Telescope Dark Engergy Experiment. More information about the project, and VIRUS, is available at http://hetdex.org. Credit: Ethan Tweedie Photography