IRAC & IRAC2

The InfraRed Array Camera (IRAC) was ESO’s first infrared imager offered as common user instrument. IRAC was installed on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at La Silla Observatory and the camera saw first light in 1988.

IRAC was a versatile instrument for astronomers. Many different celestial objects emit in infrared wavelengths and, as a general use infrared instrument, the IRAC system was used for many different observations. This includes the impact of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 on Jupiter (eso9402) and gravitationally lensed quasars (eso9719).

In 1992, the IRAC system was upgraded to IRAC2. The system included an array 18 times larger than the original as well as more available filters. IRAC2 was decommissioned in July 1998, ten years after IRAC saw first light.