The next generation of giant eyes.
ELT and TMT are coming. ORKID-II ensures that CELESTE grows with them — turning the world's largest telescopes into the sharpest visible-light instruments ever pointed at the sky.
Imagery · ESO / G. Vecchia
Key Project
ORKID
ORKID
— II.
The forward-path upgrade for ELT-class apertures — extending the CELESTE science programme to 30-meter and 40-meter telescopes.
ORKID-II is the next-generation instrument designed for the focal stations of the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) and the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT). Where ORKID exploits a 10-meter aperture, ORKID-II scales the same approach to apertures three to four times larger — delivering angular resolution approaching 3 mas at 500 nm and raw coronagraphic contrast below 10⁻⁹.
At these specifications, ORKID-II resolves the molecular-cloud scale in nearby galaxies, reaches deeper into the habitable zones of the nearest stars, and resolves the broad-line regions of AGN at cosmological distances. It represents the full science potential of the CELESTE architecture — a capability that no other technology can approach before the 2040s.
The Brief
i.
Science Objectives
Deliver CELESTE science at ELT and TMT apertures — tripling the angular resolution of ORKID, quadrupling the collecting area, and reaching coronagraphic contrast of 10⁻⁹ at inner working angles of 10 mas.
ii.
Observables & Measurements
3 – 6 mas resolution visible imaging on 30 – 40 m apertures. Coronagraphic images at 10⁻⁹ raw contrast for direct detection of Earth-sized planets in the habitable zones of the nearest stars. Integral-field spectroscopy at R ≈ 300 for detailed atmospheric characterisation.
iii.
Key Functional Requirements
Extended wavelength coverage 0.35 – 1.3 μm. Higher-order AO bench compatible with ELT and TMT wavefront-sensor architectures. Coronagraph IWA reduced to 1.5 λ/D with improved starlight suppression masks.
iv.
CELESTE Uniqueness
ORKID-II is the only instrument concept that combines a space-borne reference star with a 30 – 40 meter ground aperture. The result is a visible-light telescope of unmatched resolution and contrast — equivalent to a 30-meter space telescope, delivered from the ground.