An inexpensive turnkey 6.5m observatory with customizing options

J. S. Kingsley; R. Angel; W. Davison; D. Neff; J. Teran; B. Assenmacher; K. Peyton; H. M. Martin; C. Oh; D. Kim; E. Pearce; M. Rascon; T. Connors; D. Alfred; B. T. Jannuzi; D. Zaritsky; E. Christensen; J. Males; P. Hinz; R. Seaman; K. Gonzales; D. Adriaanse

doi:10.1117/12.2313889

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6 July 2018 An inexpensive turnkey 6.5m observatory with customizing options

J. S. Kingsley, R. Angel, W. Davison, D. Neff, J. Teran, B. Assenmacher, K. Peyton, H. M. Martin, C. Oh, D. Kim, E. Pearce, M. Rascon, T. Connors, D. Alfred, B. T. Jannuzi, D. Zaritsky, E. Christensen, J. Males, P. Hinz, R. Seaman, K. Gonzales, D. Adriaanse

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Proceedings Volume 10700, Ground-based and Airborne Telescopes VII; 107004H (2018) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2313889
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2018, Austin, Texas, United States

Abstract

A turnkey observatory with 6.5-m telescope has been developed for a broad range of science applications. The observatory includes the telescope, mount and enclosure, installed on site and ready for operation. The telescope’s primary mirror is an f/1.25 honeycomb sandwich of borosilicate glass, similar to that of the MMT and Magellan telescopes. The baseline optical design is for a Gregorian Nasmyth focus at f/11. A Gregorian adaptive optics secondary that provides a wide-field focus corrected for ground layer turbulence (0.25 arcsecond images over a 4 arcminute field) as well as a narrow-field diffraction-limited focus is optional. Another option is a corrected f/5 focus with a 1° field. The observatory, built by partners from academia and industry with extensive experience, can be delivered within five years at a fixed price.

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J. S. Kingsley, R. Angel, W. Davison, D. Neff, J. Teran, B. Assenmacher, K. Peyton, H. M. Martin, C. Oh, D. Kim, E. Pearce, M. Rascon, T. Connors, D. Alfred, B. T. Jannuzi, D. Zaritsky, E. Christensen, J. Males, P. Hinz, R. Seaman, K. Gonzales, and D. Adriaanse "An inexpensive turnkey 6.5m observatory with customizing options", Proc. SPIE 10700, Ground-based and Airborne Telescopes VII, 107004H (6 July 2018); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2313889

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