BlueMUSE is an optical seeing-limited, blue-optimised, medium spectral resolution, panoramic integral-field-spectrograph, to be installed on one of the telescopes of the VLT on Cerro Paranal (Chile). The project is an evolution of the technology used on the very successful VLT / MUSE instrument, with a similar architecture and technology inovation, but with new and distinct science case enabled by its main characteristics:
- a wavelength coverage 350 – 580 nm
- an average spectral resolution R=4000
- a field-of-view higher than 1arcmin²
BlueMUSE will offer new and unique science opportunities in many fields of astrophysics, beyond those possible with MUSE. Among the science goals available with this new instrument, it will survey large sample of massive stars in our galaxy and the Local Group, study ionized nebulae, starburst and low surface-brightness galaxies. At high redshift, it would allow us for the first time to detect the IGM unambiguously in emission, as well as study the evolution of the CGM properties near the peak of the Cosmic Star formation history.
Project News
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The BM Project Office at SPIE Conference – Copenhaguen, July 2026
The BlueMUSE Project Office spent last week at the SPIE Conference in Copenhagen. It was an opportunity to present the instrument’s overall architecture, as well as its technical and scientific progress. The presentations and posters from the consortium members were very well received. The event also provided a…
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Phase B Kick-off meeting in Lyon
We were very happy to host the BlueMUSE Phase B Kick-off meeting, which happened on February 13th, both at CRAL / Lyon Observatory and online. We shared the current progress / status since Phase A review and discussed the organisation for the next phases. The teams involved in prototyping activities also shared their progress. We…
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Contract Signature !
On January 30th 2026, the agreement for the construction of BlueMUSE has been signed between ESO and CNRS at ESO headquarters, Garching. The signing marks a new important step in the development of BlueMUSE. The CNRS’s Centre de Recherche Astrophysique de Lyon (CRAL) is the institution leading the instrument consortium, which consists of nine institutes…