Magdalena Ridge Observatory Interferometer Achieves “First Fringes”

jan 16, 2026

Infrared project hits benchmark for proof of concept

Aerial photo of MROI with telescopes superimposed to show artist's rendition of the completed astronomical facility. The MROI will simulate a telescope up to 347 meters in diameter when it is completed. Today MROI has 2 telescopes on the array. (Photo Credit: Tyson Eakman and Andres Olivares (MROI))

Nighttime close up of MROI's first two telescopes at an 8m separation. (Photo Credit:  Cole Mason (MROI))

The Magdalena Ridge Observatory Interferometer (MROI) is an ambitious astronomy installation developed by New Mexico Tech (NMT) in partnership with the University of Cambridge, UK, and the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory. On Saturday, July 12, the interferometer successfully achieved “first fringes.” This long-awaited proof-of-concept marks a critical step in a project more than two decades in the making and signals the dawn of a new era in high-resolution imaging of the cosmos.

False color image of first fringes of Epsilon Cygni at MROI from July 12, 2025 taken with the FOURIER instrument. (Photo Credit:  Paolo Barrios (Cambridge), James Luis (MROI) and Emma Floyd (MROI))
False color image of first fringes of Epsilon Cygni at MROI from July 12, 2025 taken with the FOURIER instrument. (Photo Credit:  Paolo Barrios (Cambridge), James Luis (MROI) and Emma Floyd (MROI))

The milestone measurement was recorded shortly before 3 a.m. local time (Mountain Daylight Time), when MROI combined the light from two of its telescopes for the first time.

Dr. Michelle Creech-Eakman, professor of physics and MROI Project Scientist at NMT, said, “We targeted Epsilon Cygni. For proof of concept, the team needed to look at a very bright, nearby, familiar celestial body. This bright star in the Swan constellation was perfect. The resulting interference pattern, known as ‘fringes,’ confirms that the instrument’s complex systems—from its telescopes and vacuum-sealed delay lines to its cryogenically cooled detectors—can work in precise, real-time coordination."

The MROI is designed to be exceptionally sensitive, requiring its light-guiding delay lines to be held in vacuum tubes and aligned with precision finer than the width of a human hair.

“Every component, down to the concrete piers and the half-dozen mirrors in the light path, had to perform perfectly. Achieving first fringes is the equivalent of successfully flying the glider you’ve built from a kit; it proves the fundamental design is sound. This success is a testament to the incredible dedication of our international team over the last 20 years.”

Cambridge University Professors Chris Haniff and David Buscher said, “This is a fantastic achievement for the whole project team and a long-awaited validation of a design that was first put on paper years ago.” Haniff and Buscher, along with colleagues at the Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge, have led much of the design of the MROI. “Getting these results so soon after we set up the first instrument augurs well for our next steps, which are to push the robustness and sensitivity of the telescopes even further, so we can study much dimmer stars and objects in space with a level of detail that has never been before possible for astrophysics here on Earth.”

This initial success, achieved with an 8-meter separation between telescopes, sets the stage for the facility’s future. When complete, the MROI will feature 10 telescopes with separations of up to 340 meters. It will produce images with unprecedented detail and is designed to observe astronomical targets more than 100 times fainter than what is possible with similar instruments today, as Dr. Creech-Eakman said, “providing a resolution equivalent to measuring the height of a small child standing on the Moon.”

(Update November 19, 2025) Since obtaining first fringes, the project now captures fringes on multiple targets during a single observing night on objects that range down to magnitude 8.9 at H-band. All indications are the instrument will be able to capture fringes on much fainter targets.

 

MROI team at NM Tech and Cambridge (on Zoom) toasting first fringes in July, 2025.
MROI team at NM Tech and Cambridge (on Zoom) toasting first fringes in July 2025.
 
The first two MROI telescopes on the array are ready for observing. The Milky Way is seen in the background and it's full of stars just waiting to be observed. (Photo Credit: Chris Salcido (MROI))
The first two MROI telescopes on the array are ready for observing. The Milky Way is seen in the background and it's full of stars just waiting to be observed. (Photo Credit: Chris Salcido (MROI))
 
 
Aerial photo of MROI with telescopes superimposed to show artist's rendition of the completedastronomical facility.  The MROI will simulate a telescope up to 347 meters in diameter whenit is completed.  Today MROI has 2 telescopes on the array. (Photo Credit:  Tyson Eakman andAndres Olivares (MROI))
Aerial photo of MROI with telescopes superimposed to show artist's rendition of the completed astronomical facility. The MROI will simulate a telescope up to 347 meters in diameter when it is completed. Today MROI has 2 telescopes on the array. (Photo Credit: Tyson Eakman and Andres Olivares (MROI))
 

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