The Struve Telescope has a 2.1-meter (82-inch) primary mirror, with three available foci (primary, Cassegrain and coudé, of which only the Cassegrain is currently used). The telescope was the first one at McDonald Observatory, constructed 1933-39, at which time it was the second largest in the world. The Telescope Control System (TCS) was recently upgraded to modern standards.
Telescope Safety and Operating Information
Telescope Parameters
Optical
Primary mirror | |
---|---|
Diameter | 2.08 m (82") |
Focal length | 8.13 m (26.7') |
F-ratio | 3.9 |
Field angle | 63.5 arcmin |
Plate scale | 25.4 arcsec/mm |
Cassegrain focus | |
Focal length | 28.53 m (96.6') |
F-ratio | 13.7 |
Field angle | 20 arcmin |
Plate scale | 7.23 arcsec/mm |
Coudé focus - decommissioned | |
Focal length | 47.70 m (156.5') |
F-ratio | 22.9 |
Plate scale | 4.3 arcsec/mm |
Mechanical
Primary mirror | |
---|---|
Weight | 1900 kg (4200 lbs) |
Thickness | 29.8 cm (11.75") |
Material | Borosilicate glass (Pyrex™) |
Telescope | |
Diameter | 2.64 m (8'8") |
Length | 8.2 m (27') |
Weight | 41 t (45 tons) |
Bearings | |
Polar axis | SKF ball radial thrust bearings |
Dec axis | Tapered roller bearings |
Dome | |
Diameter | 19 m (62') |
Weight | 104 t (115 tons) |
Historical
Construction | |
---|---|
Started | 1933 |
Completed | 1939 |
Contractor | |
Design | Otto Struve |
Telescope | Warner and Swasey Co. |
Dome | Patterson Leitch Co. |
Optics | C. Lundin |
Instruments
Cassegrain focus: f/13.7
Fast read-out optical camera optimized for ~4,000 - 8,000 Å (verify)
Deep depletion CCD camera optimized for 7,000 - 11,000 Å
- Exoplanet Transmission Spectroscopy Imager (ETSI)
ETSI is a PI Class Instrument owned and operated by Texas A&M University. Relevant ETSI papers can be found here and here. ETSI Homepage
Fast, low-resolution, 8-band slit-less CMOS-based spectrograph
Telescope Control System
- Remote observing capability.
- Automation to target.
- Autoguiding.
- Sidereal tracking and ephemeris tracking using JPL Horizons data. HA track rate 1 to 18 arcsec/sec west, declination +-150 arcsec/sec.
- Dome automation during tracking.
- Computer control of dome slit, mirror cover, and baffle tube. Wide-field surveillance cameras on dome and tube.