SpectroPolarimètre Infrarouge Pyrénéen

This new generation infrared spectropolarimeter and velocimeter instrument is part of France’s largest telescope, the 2 meters Bernard Lyot Telescope (TBL) at the Pic du Midi de Bigorre, astronomical observatory of the Hautes-Pyrénées (2,877 meters altitude).

SPIP is dedicated to the observation and the characterization of planets outside our solar system, using radial velocity method, to the study of the magnetic field of stars and more particularly of red dwarfs, as well as to the analysis of their atmosphere. This new generation near infrared instrument allows in a single exposure the coverage of wavelengths from 0.95 to 2.5 µm (YJHK bands).

At Pic du Midi, SPIP shares the TBL with Neo-Narval (working at optical wavelengths). It also observe in coordination with ESPaDOns and with its companion SPIRou (near-infrared spectropolarimeter) installed since 2018 on the 3.6 meter Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT), atop Mauna Kea summit, in Hawaii.