High resolution near IR spectroscopy with GIANO-TNG

GIANO is the high resolution near IR spectrograph recently commissioned at the 3.58m Telescopio Nazionale Galileo in La Palma (Spain). GIANO is the first worldwide instrument providing cross-dispersed echelle spectroscopy at a resolution of 50,000 over the 0.95 – 2.45 micron spectral range in a single exposure. There are outstanding science cases in the research fields of exo-planets, Galactic stars and stellar populations that could strongly benefit from GIANO observations down to a magnitude limit comparable to that of 2MASS. The instrument includes a fully cryogenic spectrograph and an innovative fiber system transmitting out to the K band. It also represents a formidable laboratory to test performances and prototype solutions for the next generation of high resolution near IR spectrographs at the ELTs. First results from sky tests at the telescope and science verification occurred between July 2012 and October 2013 will be presented.