With three spectrographs, and a hexagonal field-of-view of 4.2 square degrees, 4MOST will gather spectra of over 20 million stars and galaxies during its first five years of surveys.

4MOST will capture thousands of these spectra at once, helping us map the structure and evolution of the Universe!

Each peak and dip reveals what elements are present, how fast the object is moving, and how far away it lies. In this example spectrum of an active galactic nucleus (AGN, the region around a massive black hole) you can see strong emission lines from magnesium (Mg), oxygen (O), and hydrogen (Hγ, Hβ).

We’re so lucky to have such an incredible team, and we can’t wait to share our exploration of the Universe with you, 2400 spectra at a time!

Pictured here are just a portion of the 4MOST collaboration, an international group of astronomers and engineers responsible for 4MOST’s design, construction, and the upcoming research being conducted by our Consortium and Community surveys.

"We cannot exactly predict what breakthroughs 4MOST will bring, but I really look forward to all the excitement of getting our hands on the data. Let’s get ready for the next fifteen years!"

"A project like this is only possible by the dedication, determination, and strong collaboration of many people, bringing their diverse knowledge and mentality."

"Little did those photons know that they would one day meet the fibres of 4MOST, forming the spectra of our First Light."

"Fifteen years ago, a bunch of photons began their journey to Earth. At the same time, a team from institutes across the globe were aligning to build a next-generation multi-object spectrograph."

This marks the start of 4MOST's journey to explore our Galaxy and beyond, and we are very excited to bring you all along with us!

4MOST simultaneously collected light from 2000 objects, including the Sculptor galaxy, the globular cluster NGC 288, and the active core of a distant galaxy, revealing their detailed chemical signatures.