The Cosmic Origins Spectrograph
James C. Green, Cynthia S. Froning, Steve Osterman, Dennis Ebbets,, Sara H. Heap, Claus Leitherer Jeffrey L. Linsky, Blair D. Savage, Kenneth, Sembach, J. Michael Shull, Oswald H.W. Siegmund, Theodore P. Snow, John, Spencer, S. Alan Stern, John Stocke, Barry Welsh

TL;DR
The Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) installed on Hubble has significantly enhanced ultraviolet spectroscopic observations, enabling new insights into intergalactic medium, planetary atmospheres, and cosmic reionization with higher sensitivity and data volume.
Contribution
This paper introduces the design and capabilities of COS, highlighting its unprecedented sensitivity and its impact on astrophysical observations since 2009.
Findings
First reliable detection of broad Lya absorbers and Ne VIII in intergalactic medium
Observed HeII reionization epoch along multiple sightlines
Detected CO emission and absorption in low-mass circumstellar disks
Abstract
The Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) is a moderate-resolution spectrograph with unprecedented sensitivity that was installed into the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) in May 2009, during HST Servicing Mission 4 (STS-125). We present the design philosophy and summarize the key characteristics of the instrument that will be of interest to potential observers. For faint targets, with flux F_lambda ~ 1.0E10-14 ergs/s/cm2/Angstrom, COS can achieve comparable signal to noise (when compared to STIS echelle modes) in 1-2% of the observing time. This has led to a significant increase in the total data volume and data quality available to the community. For example, in the first 20 months of science operation (September 2009 - June 2011) the cumulative redshift pathlength of extragalactic sight lines sampled by COS is 9 times that sampled at moderate resolution in 19 previous years of Hubble…
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Taxonomy
TopicsAstronomy and Astrophysical Research · History and Developments in Astronomy · Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae
