![Simulated HARMONI images of the Galilean satellites (Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto) compared to current VLT imaging (50 mas), illustrating the gain in spatial resolution (12 mas) enabled by the ELT for surface characterisation of Solar System bodies. Credit : Olivier Groussin for the Solar System Science group. -- [astro-ph.IM]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/HARMONI.png?fit=1200%2C678&ssl=1)
[astro-ph.IM] HARMONI is the integral field spectrograph for the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT). Designed as the primary workhorse near-infrared spectrograph of the ELT, it will deliver spatially resolved spectroscopy at diffraction-limited angular resolution over the wavelength range 0.75 – 2.4 um, addressing science questions ranging from the characterization of exoplanet atmospheres to the internal kinematics of galaxies at the epoch of reionization.
This paper presents the current status of the HARMONI project following its recent rescope, describing the new instrument architecture, its key subsystems, and the three adaptive optics modes (Single Conjugate AO (SCAO), Multi-Conjugate AO (MCAO) provided by MORFEO, and High Contrast AO (HCAO)).
We present the top-level technical specifications and the expected on-sky performance in terms of Strehl ratio, PSF FWHM, sky coverage, sensitivity, and astrometric accuracy. We describe the new project organization, with a new leadership and Project Management Office (PMO), and provide an update on the project schedule and the path toward instrument delivery.
HARMONI spectral coverage in the wide (R≈3000) and medium-resolution (R≈7000) settings across the Iz, J, H, and K bands (top), and the two spatial scales and corresponding fields of view delivered by the IFS (bottom). — [astro-ph.IM]
B. Neichel, J. Dunlop, S. Chittick, D. Le Mignant, M. Swinbank, A. de Lorenzo-Caceres, W. Taylor, M. Tecza, B. Johnson, A. Costille, N. Bouche, A. Delsanti, T. Morris, J. Piqueras Lopez, B. Garcia, M. Mateo, A. Carlotti, Dan Dickens, Edgard Castillo Dominguez, the HARMONI Consortium — [astro-ph.IM]
Subjects: Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics (astro-ph.IM); Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics (astro-ph.CO); Earth and Planetary Astrophysics (astro-ph.EP); Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA); Solar and Stellar Astrophysics (astro-ph.SR)
Cite as: arXiv:2607.26537 [astro-ph.IM] (or arXiv:2607.26537v1 [astro-ph.IM] for this version)
https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2607.26537
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Submission history
From: Benoit Neichel
[v1] Wed, 29 Jul 2026 07:05:06 UTC (1,038 KB)
https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.26537
Astrobiology,
