The Near InfraRed Planet Searcher (NIRPS) is an instrument that was recently installed at the 3.6-metre telescope at the La Silla Observatory in Chile. Its design was carried out by an international collaboration led by the Observatoire du Mont-Mégantic (OMM), the Institute for Research on Exoplanets at the Université de Montréal and the Observatoire astronomique de l’Université de Genève in Switzerland.
The Canadian team, which also includes the Herzberg Research Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics of the National Research Council of Canada and the Centre d’optique, de photonique et de lasers (COPL) of the Université Laval, contributed to the conception and design of the NIRPS spectrograph. Professor Simon Thibault and his team, in collaboration with the OMM and iREx team, conducted mechanical and optical tests at the COPL laboratories.
The NIRPS spectrograph cryostat, which maintains the instrument at very low temperatures. Credit: Anne-Sophie Poulin Girard.
In January 2022, the NIRPS spectrograph was ready for its long journey. It left the Université Laval laboratories and went to Chile, finally reaching the La Silla Observatory in March.
The installation and testing phase of the spectrograph then began. Anne-Sophie Poulin Girard, Hugues Auger, and Guillame Alain from the Université Laval, accompanied by Benjamin Kung, Alex Segovial, and François Wildi from the Observatoire astronomique de l’Université de Genève, as well as Frédérique Baron, Philippe Vallée, Étienne Artigau, and Charles Cadieux from the OMM and iREx, visited the observatory site to install the instrument and make it operational before it could observe the sky for the first time.
Étienne Artigau (left), Charles Cadieux (centre) and Frédérique Baron (right) with the NIRPS instrument. Credits: Photos provided by Étienne (left) and Charles (centre), Gaspare Lo Curto (right).
iREx: Why did you go to Chile? What is your role in this project?
Étienne: I am a researcher at the Université de Montréal and I am the Project Scientist of the NIRPS instrument. I coordinate the scientific projects on the instrument. I am also very involved in the data analysis and the transformation of the data that are taken with NIRPS into usable measurements for astronomical research. However, it is not in this capacity that I participated in the mission last April. My role was to assist Philippe Vallée, mechanical specialist, in the very last tests before cooling the instrument for the first time.
Charles: I am a Ph.D. student in astrophysics at the Université de Montréal and a member of the NIRPS scientific collaboration. I went to Chile, more precisely to the La Silla Observatory, as part of the NIRPS installation. My Ph.D. project is dedicated to the study of small temperate exoplanets. In particular, I try to measure their mass and composition, which requires observations with an instrument such as NIRPS.
Frédérique: I am the Deputy Manager of the NIRPS project. I went to Chile to participate in the first phase of the installation of NIRPS. In particular, with Alex Segovia, we installed and tested the different electronic devices that allow to control the systems installed in the cryostat, the sealed chamber that maintains the instrument at very low temperatures.
iREx: Tell us about your trip!
Étienne: It started very badly! Because of the COVID pandemic, I had to do the PCR test before my departure… and my test was lost by the laboratory! After a few anxious moments spent on the phone, they were able to find a rapid test I could do at the airport. Once in Santiago, I was finally able to get out of the airport hotel, go to the Observatory Residence that welcomes visiting astronomers, and enjoy the city a bit. The next day, I left for the La Silla Observatory: a 500 km flight to La Serena, a 2 hour drive by truck, and finally arriving at the observatory.
Once there, all the days are similar and nothing marks the passage of time. We get up around 7 am, and we must not make too much noise, because there are colleagues who have just gone to bed in the neighbouring rooms! There is breakfast in the Observatory cafeteria, and we then go to the telescope to work on the instrument.
A guacano at the La Silla Observatory. Credit: Étienne Artigau.
The Observatory site at La Silla is quite large, and the telescope is about 2km from the dormitory. A car is at our disposal, but we try to make the walk when the weather allows it. There are guanacos everywhere in the surroundings and it is an absolutely magnificent setting!
There are a lot of small tasks that need to be done on the NIRPS instrument. At the time of my visit in April, the vacuum had been established inside the cryostat, and we were getting ready to start the cooling phase to get the spectrograph temperature down to near -200℃. The slightest leak in the cryostat could seriously jeopardize the project, so we made sure to eliminate them all!
In the evening, I participated in the observations with the technicians during the first half of the night several times. This was very helpful for me, as we will be conducting many nights of observations over the next five years, both in person and remotely.
Charles: This was my first time at the Observatory, where I spent two weeks. A good part of my time was spent learning the operation of the 3.6-metre telescope, the largest on-site, where NIRPS is installed. I familiarised myself with the control room of the instrument, where the observation and calibration sequences are launched. During my stay, I performed, amongst other things, routine checks of the NIRPS cooling system, optimised the calibration sequence of the instrument, and helped to realign the entrance of one of the optical fibers, a crucial operation to ensure the proper functioning of NIRPS.
iREx: What interests you about this project? What do you find most exciting?
Étienne: In exchange for the design of the instrument, our team got 720 nights spread over five years, which is absolutely huge! This will allow us to do what no other team in the world can afford to in terms of scale of observing projects.
Data analysis is also a lot of fun for me! It’s like doing a Wordle or a Sudoku, but on a much larger scale. We know that the signal of a planet that could harbor life is hidden in terabytes of data… we just have to decipher it.
Charles: The NIRPS will be one of the most powerful infrared spectrographs in the world. It will also be possible to operate the NIRPS simultaneously with the world-renowned HARPS spectrograph, a complementary instrument sensitive to visible light, which has been in operation for many years at the same telescope. Simultaneously obtaining the spectrum of a star in visible and infrared light makes it easier to identify signals related to its magnetic activity, which can sometimes be confused with signals from exoplanets. The NIRPS + HARPS combo will thus be very efficient to study exoplanets. For example, we will be able to determine the chemical composition of the atmosphere of exoplanets similar to the Earth.
iREx : What was the greatest challenge?
Charles: In my case, the biggest challenge was to quickly learn how NIRPS and the La Silla facility work.
Frédérique: The biggest challenge for me was not during my stay in La Silla, but rather before (and after!). The installation of NIRPS in La Silla required the presence of several people on site in addition to constant interaction with colleagues in Montreal and Geneva. The different phases of the instrument installation required people with different skills, so it was quite a puzzle to coordinate the most optimal schedule. In the end, everything went well and we even finished our work a little ahead of time!
iREx: What did you like most about your experience?
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Timelapses at the La Silla Observatory. Credit: Étienne Artigau.
Étienne: The nights are absolutely magical, especially when the Moon sets! The altitude of La Silla is optimal for naked eye observations because the oxygen deficit at higher altitudes makes the eye less sensitive to the faint light coming from the stars. I had fun making timelapse videos to show the vibe of the nights on the mountain.
Charles: I loved being on site, which is located in the middle of the desert at an altitude of 2400 metres. I had great meetings with astronomers from all over the world. It was a great honour to have participated in the preparation phase of NIRPS.
Frédérique: The sky ay La Silla is absolutely magnificent! Being used to the Observatoire du Mont-Mégantic, I particularly appreciated being able to look at the stars outside without being cold!
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The body of Ugandan Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei — who died after being set on fire by her partner in Kenya — was received Friday by family and anti-femicide crusaders, ahead of her burial a day later.
Cheptegei’s family met with dozens of activists Friday who had marched to the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital’s morgue in the western city of Eldoret while chanting anti-femicide slogans.
She is the fourth female athlete to have been killed by her partner in Kenya in yet another case of gender-based violence in recent years.
Viola Cheptoo, the founder of Tirop Angels – an organization that was formed in honor of athlete Agnes Tirop, who was stabbed to death in 2021, said stakeholders need to ensure this is the last death of an athlete due to gender-based violence.
“We are here to say that enough is enough, we are tired of burying our sisters due to GBV,” she said.
It was a somber mood at the morgue as athletes and family members viewed Cheptegei’s body which sustained 80% of burns after she was doused with gasoline by her partner Dickson Ndiema. Ndiema sustained 30% burns on his body and later succumbed.
Ndiema and Cheptegei were said to have quarreled over a piece of land that the athlete bought in Kenya, according to a report filed by the local chief.
Cheptegei competed in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics less than a month before the attack. She finished in 44th place.
Cheptegei’s father, Joseph, said that the body will make a brief stop at their home in the Endebess area before proceeding to Bukwo in eastern Uganda for a night vigil and burial on Saturday.
“We are in the final part of giving my daughter the last respect,” a visibly distraught Joseph said.
He told reporters last week that Ndiema was stalking and threatening Cheptegei and the family had informed police.
Four in 10 women or an estimated 41% of dating or married Kenyan women have experienced physical or sexual violence perpetrated by their current or most recent partner, according to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2022.
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — A rare Bronze-Era jar accidentally smashed by a 4-year-old visiting a museum was back on display Wednesday after restoration experts were able to carefully piece the artifact back together.
Last month, a family from northern Israel was visiting the museum when their youngest son tipped over the jar, which smashed into pieces.
Alex Geller, the boy’s father, said his son — the youngest of three — is exceptionally curious, and that the moment he heard the crash, “please let that not be my child” was the first thought that raced through his head.
The jar has been on display at the Hecht Museum in Haifa for 35 years. It was one of the only containers of its size and from that period still complete when it was discovered.
The Bronze Age jar is one of many artifacts exhibited out in the open, part of the Hecht Museum’s vision of letting visitors explore history without glass barriers, said Inbal Rivlin, the director of the museum, which is associated with Haifa University in northern Israel.
It was likely used to hold wine or oil, and dates back to between 2200 and 1500 B.C.
Rivlin and the museum decided to turn the moment, which captured international attention, into a teaching moment, inviting the Geller family back for a special visit and hands-on activity to illustrate the restoration process.
Rivlin added that the incident provided a welcome distraction from the ongoing war in Gaza. “Well, he’s just a kid. So I think that somehow it touches the heart of the people in Israel and around the world,“ said Rivlin.
Roee Shafir, a restoration expert at the museum, said the repairs would be fairly simple, as the pieces were from a single, complete jar. Archaeologists often face the more daunting task of sifting through piles of shards from multiple objects and trying to piece them together.
Experts used 3D technology, hi-resolution videos, and special glue to painstakingly reconstruct the large jar.
Less than two weeks after it broke, the jar went back on display at the museum. The gluing process left small hairline cracks, and a few pieces are missing, but the jar’s impressive size remains.
The only noticeable difference in the exhibit was a new sign reading “please don’t touch.”
VICTORIA – The British Columbia government is partnering with a bear welfare group to reduce the number of bears being euthanized in the province.
Nicholas Scapillati, executive director of Grizzly Bear Foundation, said Monday that it comes after months-long discussions with the province on how to protect bears, with the goal to give the animals a “better and second chance at life in the wild.”
Scapillati said what’s exciting about the project is that the government is open to working with outside experts and the public.
“So, they’ll be working through Indigenous knowledge and scientific understanding, bringing in the latest techniques and training expertise from leading experts,” he said in an interview.
B.C. government data show conservation officers destroyed 603 black bears and 23 grizzly bears in 2023, while 154 black bears were killed by officers in the first six months of this year.
Scapillati said the group will publish a report with recommendations by next spring, while an independent oversight committee will be set up to review all bear encounters with conservation officers to provide advice to the government.
Environment Minister George Heyman said in a statement that they are looking for new ways to ensure conservation officers “have the trust of the communities they serve,” and the panel will make recommendations to enhance officer training and improve policies.
Lesley Fox, with the wildlife protection group The Fur-Bearers, said they’ve been calling for such a committee for decades.
“This move demonstrates the government is listening,” said Fox. “I suspect, because of the impending election, their listening skills are potentially a little sharper than they normally are.”
Fox said the partnership came from “a place of long frustration” as provincial conservation officers kill more than 500 black bears every year on average, and the public is “no longer tolerating this kind of approach.”
“I think that the conservation officer service and the B.C. government are aware they need to change, and certainly the public has been asking for it,” said Fox.
Fox said there’s a lot of optimism about the new partnership, but, as with any government, there will likely be a lot of red tape to get through.
“I think speed is going to be important, whether or not the committee has the ability to make change and make change relatively quickly without having to study an issue to death, ” said Fox.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 9, 2024.
