A thousand eyes on the Universe: new UK-led astronomy instrument takes first look into the heart of the Milky Way

A thousand eyes on the Universe: new UK-led astronomy instrument takes first look into the heart of the Milky Way Sarah Collins Thu, 09/03/2026 - 14:30 The Multi-Object Optical and Near-infrared Spectrograph ( MOONS ) has achieved First Light at the European Southern Observatory’s (ESO) Very Large Telescope (VLT) at the Paranal Observatory in Chile. This milestone marks the beginning of a new era in cosmic exploration, as MOONS prepares to survey millions of stars and galaxies and reveal how the Universe evolved over billions of years, from its perch high in the Chilean mountains. In astronomy