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
Night Reports (Read-only. To file, use TCS)
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.