Constructed 1966-68, the Harlan J. Smith Telescope has a 2.7-meter (107-inch) mirror, which was the third largest in the world when built.
The physical location of the telescope is
Longitude: 255.97801 ˚(W)
Latitude: +30.68049 ˚
Elevation: 2057.185 meters
Telescope Safety and Operating Information
Night Reports (Read only. To file, use the TCS manual)
Telescope Parameters
Optical
| Primary Mirror | |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 2.72 m (107") |
| Focal length | 10.68 m (35') |
| F-ratio | 3.93 |
| Cassegrain f/8.8 Ritchey-Chretien focus |
|
| Focal length | 23.91 m (78.4') |
| F-ratio | 8.8 |
| Field of view | 61.5 arcmin |
| Plate scale | 8.62 arcsec/mm |
| Cassegrain f/17.7 focus | |
| Focal length | 47.98 m (157.4') |
| F-ratio | 17.65 |
| Field of view | 31 arcmin |
| Plate scale | 4.29 arcsec/mm |
| Coudé f/32.5 focus | |
| Focal length | 88.43 m (290.1') |
| F-ratio | 32.54 |
| Field of view | 6 arcmin |
| Plate scale | 2.32 arcsec/mm |
Mechanical
| Primary Mirror | |
|---|---|
| Weight | 3540 kg (7800 lbs) |
| Thickness | 31.8 cm (12.5") |
| Material | fused silica |
| Telescope Tube | |
| Diameter | 3.66 m (12') |
| Length | 9.75 m (32') |
| Telescope | |
| Weight | 145 metric tons (160 U.S. tons) |
| Bearings | |
| Polar axis | pressurized oil and radial thrust bearings |
| Dec axis | preloaded ball bearings |
| Dome | |
| Diameter | 23 m (76') |
| Weight | 200 metric tons (220 U.S. tons) |
Historical
| Construction | |
|---|---|
| Started | April 1966 |
| Completed | October 1968 |
| Contractor | |
| Design | Charles Jones, Inc. |
| Telescope | Westinghouse |
| Dome | C.H. Lovell Construction Co. |
| Optics | Davidson Optronics |
Instruments
Cassegrain f/8.8 Ritchey-Chretien Focus
- Immersion GRating INfrared Spectrometer (IGRINS)
- High spectral resolving power near-infrared (H,K) spectrograph
- Direct Imaging Auxiliary Functions Instrument (DIAFI)
- Large field-of-view optical camera
- George and Cynthia Mitchell Spectrograph (GCMS)
- Wide field-of-view, low-to-medium spectral resolution Integral Field Unit
- VIRUS-W
- Wide field-of-view, medium spectral resolution Integral Field Unit
Coudé f/32.5 Focus
- Cross-Dispersed Echelle Spectrograph
- High-to-very-high spectral resolving power, broad band-pass, optical spectrograph
Future Instruments
- VIRUS-2
Data Reduction Pipelines
Data reduction pipelines are available, at various levels of completeness, for the Harlan J. Smith Telescope spectrometers. Please see the Pipelines section of these web pages for details.
Detailed Information About the Instrument and Its Uses
- Telescope Control System (TCS) full user manual
- The TCS manual includes a number of sub-manuals that can be called from within the document or can be called individually from the list of sub-manuals below.
- Telescope Control System sub-manuals
- Telescope Cautions