CODEX and ESPRESSO are concepts for ultra-stable, high-resolution spectrographs at the E-ELT and VLT, respectively. Both instruments are well motivated by distinct sets of science drivers. However, ESPRESSO will also be a stepping stone towards CODEX both in a scientific as well as in a technical sense. Here we discuss this role of ESPRESSO with

In the frame of the call for proposal for the E-ELT instrumentation studies, the CODEX team carried out the feasibility study for a spectrograph for extremely stable Doppler measurements. The CODEX project and its scientific goals are described in [L. Pasquini, S. Cristiani et al. in Messenger 122, 10 (2005)]. During the development of this study

ESPRESSO is a new generation, super stable, high-resolution optical spectrograph, conceived to obtain the best performance in Doppler shift measurements. A concept study of the instrument is being carried out by a Consortium of scientific institutions formed by ESO, OG, IAC, INAF and Institute of Astronomy in Cambridge, all of them leaded by ESO

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Division II of the IAU provides a forum for astronomers and astrophysicists studying a wide range of phenomena related to the structure, radiation and activity of the Sun, and its interaction with the Earth and the rest of the solar system. Division II encompasses three Commissions, 10, 12 and 49, and four Working Groups.

We present deep and accurate Near-Infrared (NIR) photometry of the Galactic Globular Cluster omega Cen . Data were collected using the Multi-Conjugate Adaptive Optics Demonstrator (MAD) mounted on the VLT (ESO). We combined the NIR photometry with optical space data collected with the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) for the same region of the