​Michelle is a versatile mid-infrared instrument capable of observing between 8 and 25 microns. It offers both imaging and spectroscopy modes, both with a polarimetric capability which allows it to trace the magnetic field direction across dusty regions, including the central parsec of our G​alaxy. Spectral resolutions between 200 and 30,000 are provided by 5 selectable gratings, enabling observations of a variety of spectral features from fine structure lines to velocity broadened emission lines in stellar winds and active galactic nuclei.

​The UK ATC designed and built Michelle as the UK’s first long-slit mid-infrared spectrometer, capable of measuring the spectrum at dozens of locations across an extended target (planetary nebula or galaxy for example) in a single exposure. It was the first major project delivered by UK ATC, building ​​on the work of the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council​. 

It was designed to be capable for use at two of Mauna Kea’s largest telescopes in Hawai’i: the 3.8m UK Infrared Telescope (UKIRT) and 8m Gemini North. It was commissioned at UKIRT in 2001 and was shared between the two telescopes until 2004, when it became a dedicated Gemini instrument before returning to UKIRT in 2013.  

Major science results made by Michelle include: discovery of dust from colliding planetary embryos in the Pleiades; discovery of disrupted asteroids around a white dwarf; discovery of a free-floating brown dwarf; observing the outburst of a young erupting pre-main sequence star; and studying the morphology of active galactic nuclei.