ARCES: an echelle spectrograph for the Astrophysical Research Consortium (ARC) 3.5m telescope

Abstract

A new echelle spectrograph was commissioned in 1999 for the ARC 3.5 meter telescope. The key features of the instrument are that it has a resolution of 9 km/sec, limited by the pixel size of the CCD; has no moving parts behind the slit during observation; provides complete spectral coverage from 3200A to 10000A, limited by the prism cross disperser material on the blue side and by the CCD sensitivity on the red side; provides blazeless spectra; achieves S/N>3000; and is remotely operable. The instrument is being used for studies of abundances in stars and for a large survey of diffuse interstellar bands.