MUSE, à l'assaut des galaxies
Abstract
MUSE (standing for Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer) is a second generation instrument recently commissioned on the Very Large Telescope in Chile. It is an integral field spectrograph with a large field of view of 1 arcmin2, well-suited for the study of galaxies, together with a high sensitivity. We present in this article some of the most significant results MUSE was able to obtain since the beginning of science operations. Thanks to its strong capabilities MUSE is as efficient in studying the kinematics of the gas and stars within the nearby galaxies as discovering some of the most distant galaxies in the Universe through Lyman-alpha emission. Once combined with an adaptive optics system, MUSE will certainly revolutionize our understanding of the formation and evolution of galaxies.