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About COS

The Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) was installed on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) in May 2009. COS performs high-sensitivity, medium- and low-resolution spectroscopy of astronomical objects in the 815-3200 Å wavelength range. COS significantly enhances the spectroscopic capabilities of HST at ultraviolet wavelengths, providing observers with unparalleled opportunities for observing faint sources of ultraviolet light.

The primary science objectives of the instrument are the study of the origins of large scale structure in the Universe, the formation and evolution of galaxies, the origin of stellar and planetary systems, and the cold interstellar medium.

COS spectrum of a massive star in the LMC

This COS spectrum of a massive star in the LMC encodes information about the properties of its stellar wind, the intervening interstellar and circum-galactic media, enabling a wide range of legacy studies.

 

Program Information

COS Instrument Resources

Recent News

Recently Published Documents

Instrument Science Reports (ISRs)

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Recently Published ISRs

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ISR 2023-04: The G160M Spatial Resolution of the COS FUV channel at Lifetime Position 6

March 09, 2023N. Kerman et al.

ISR 2023-03: Changes in the background locations for COS/NUV XTRACTAB

February 14, 2023D. Kakkad, et al.

ISR 2023-02: The G160M Spectral Resolution of the COS FUV Channel at Lifetime Position 6

February 03, 2023N. Kerman, et al.

ISR 2023-01: Cycle 20-24 HST+COS Target Acquisition Monitoring

January 30, 2023S. Penton and D. Sahnow

ISR 2022-14: Flux Calibration of the COS/FUV Cenwaves G130M/1055 and G130M/1096 − the Blue Modes

December 14, 2022S. Dieterich, et al.

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Newsletters (STANs)

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January 2023 STAN

January 04, 2023

October 2022 STAN

October 13, 2022

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LAST UPDATED: 11/08/2022

Please Contact the HST Help Desk with any Questions

https://hsthelp.stsci.edu