SpIOMM: An imaging Fourier transform spectrometer in the visible for astronomical observations

Attached to the 1.6-meter telescope of the Observatoire du Mont Mégantic in southern Québec, SpIOMM is an imaging Fourier transform spectrometer designed to obtain the visible range (350 – 850 nm) spectrum of every astronomical light source in a circular field of view of 12 arcminutes in diameter. I will present some results of four recent successful observing runs, which highlight SpIOMM’s capabilities to map emission line objects over a very wide field of view and a broad spectral range. In particular, we present data cubes from planetary nebulae, supernova remnants, and distant galaxies.

Based on the success of SpIOMM, ABB and Université Laval, in collaboration with colleagues in France and Canada, are proposing to build a similar instrument, called SITELLE, for the Canada-France-Hawaii 3.6-meter telescope.