Cosmic Origins Spectrograph
About COS
The Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) was installed on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) in May 2009. COS performs high-sensitivity, medium- and low-resolution spectroscopy of astronomical objects in the 815-3200 Å wavelength range. COS significantly enhances the spectroscopic capabilities of HST at ultraviolet wavelengths, providing observers with unparalleled opportunities for observing faint sources of ultraviolet light.
The primary science objectives of the instrument are the study of the origins of large scale structure in the Universe, the formation and evolution of galaxies, the origin of stellar and planetary systems, and the cold interstellar medium.
This COS spectrum of a massive star in the LMC encodes information about the properties of its stellar wind, the intervening interstellar and circum-galactic media, enabling a wide range of legacy studies.
COS Handbooks and Documentation
- COS Instrument Handbook
- COS Data Handbook
- COS Walkthrough Notebooks
- COS Newsletters (STANs)
- COS Instrument Science Reports (ISRs)
General Instrument Status
COS/FUV is operating nominally.
COS/NUV is operating nominally.
Helpful Links
HST Spectroscopic Legacy Archive (HSLA)
Program Information
COS Instrument Resources
Recent News
Recently Published Documents
Instrument Science Reports (ISRs)
Recently Published ISRs
Filter Results
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November 06, 2025R. Sankrit et al.
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ISR 2025-17 : Focusing COS/FUV G130M/1222, 1291, 1055, and 1096 at Lifetime Position 7 and the G160M Observation Modes at Lifetime Position 10
September 29, 2025L.P. Miller et al. -
ISR 2025-16 : Wavelength Dependence of the COS/NUV Time-Dependent Sensitivity Correction
September 29, 2025J. Hernandez et al. -
ISR 2025-15 : Reference File Updates Following the Application of New Geometric Distortion and Walk Corrections III: LAMPTAB
September 10, 2025N. Indriolo et al. -
ISR 2025-14 : Rectifying Poor Flux Calibration of COS data due to Bad Time Intervals
August 28, 2025A. Damoah & S. Hasselquist
Newsletters (STANs)
Recently Published STANs
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July 2025 STAN
July 15, 2025 -
March 2025 STAN
March 24, 2025 -
January 2025 STAN
January 09, 2025 -
July 2024 STAN
July 15, 2024 -
May 2024 STAN
May 17, 2024
HST Prefooter
HST Help Desk
Please contact the HST Help Desk with any questions.