Large petal telescope for the next-generation Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope

Denis Burgarella; Kjetil Dohlen; Marc Ferrari; Frederic Zamkotsian; Francois Hammer; Frederic Sayede; Francois Rigaud

doi:10.1117/12.458071

Translator Disclaimer

30 January 2003 The Large Petal Telescope for the Next Generation Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope

Denis Burgarella, Kjetil Dohlen, Marc Ferrari, Frederic Zamkotsian, Francois Hammer, Frederic Sayede, Francois Rigaud

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 4840, Future Giant Telescopes; (2003) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.458071
Event: Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation, 2002, Waikoloa, Hawai'i, United States

Abstract

Considered until recently one of the best telescopes in the world, the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) is now bypassed by larger telescopes. Aware of this problem, the CFHT Science Advisory Council (SAC) solicited proposals from the CFH community groups to replace the present telescope by a world-class research facility before the end of the decade. A report describing our proposal is available on our web site (www.astrsp-mrs.fr/denis/ngcfht/ngcfht.html). The motivation to design and build a new telescope is often driven by the astronomers need to observe fainter and fainter sources. The basis of the next generation CFHT (NG-CFHT) is therefore to increase the size of the primary mirror to reach fainter and more remote objects in the luminosity functions. But beyond this photon quest , the way we use the photons is also very important. The development of new technologies will permit an optimization of performances and a better image quality thanks to state-of-the-art instruments on state-of-the-art telescopes.

Citation Download Citation

Denis Burgarella, Kjetil Dohlen, Marc Ferrari, Frederic Zamkotsian, Francois Hammer, Frederic Sayede, and Francois Rigaud "The Large Petal Telescope for the Next Generation Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope", Proc. SPIE 4840, Future Giant Telescopes, (30 January 2003); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.458071

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE