Focal reducer/CCD detector system for the McDonald 2.1-m telescope

Chet B. Opal; John A. Booth

doi:10.1117/12.19091

Translator Disclaimer

1 July 1990 Focal reducer/CCD detector system for the McDonald 2.1-m telescope

Chet B. Opal, John A. Booth

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 1235, Instrumentation in Astronomy VII; (1990) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.19091
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation for the 21st Century, 1990, Tucson, AZ, United States

Abstract

A focal reducer which converts the f/13.5 primary Cassegrain beam of the McDonald 2.1 m telescope to f/3.0 is described. The resulting plate scale is 30 microns/arcsec, which is a good match to the resolution of typical CCDs for seeing conditions of about 1 arcsec. The present system uses a SID501 RCA CCD with 30-micron pixels; however, a TI 800 x 800 CCD with 15-micron pixels and other low-noise, small pixel devices will be used eventually. The focal reducer uses primarily reflective optics to provide good sensitivity down to the atmospheric cutoff at 3100A.

Citation Download Citation

Chet B. Opal and John A. Booth "Focal reducer/CCD detector system for the McDonald 2.1-m telescope", Proc. SPIE 1235, Instrumentation in Astronomy VII, (1 July 1990); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.19091

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE