Unveiling our cosmic neighbourhood
with 3D spectroscopy

The Calar Alto Schmidt Surveys (CASS) is a new facility under construction at the Calar Alto Observatory that will generate the most detailed 3D spectroscopic maps of our neighbourhood in the Universe ever made. CASS will generate 3D spectral data cubes of the largest neighbour galaxies (Andromeda and Triangulum) at unprecedented spatial resolution and will survey the entire northern sky to map the local mass density and cosmic flows. Wide-field IFU and MOS spectroscopy will be performed using the 65 years old Schmidt telescope with a state-of-the-art fiber-fed spectrograph.

The core of CASS is a wide-field IFU survey of M31 and M33 as part of the project
and a planned MOS galaxy survey in a second phase,
Other mini-survey projects are being considered, i.e., Via Lactea Remnants (VLR) and The Calar Alto SpectroPhotometric Standards (CASPS).

Yo chance to become a partner!
CASS is currently under development and we are actively seeking funding from partners. Our institutional partners benefit from early access to data, participation in the survey planning and operations, and involvement of their faculty, postdocs, and students in the science collaborative efforts. If you are interested please contact us.

Leadership and contact information
CASS is led by Principal Investigator Francisco Prada and Project Scientist Enrique Pérez (Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía CSIC), with support from their Builders Team and Collaborators.

CASS institutional partners
Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía CSIC
Escuela de Ingeniería - Universidad de Almería
Observatorio de Calar Alto CAHA