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The University of Alabama Observatory -

The University of Alabama Observatory -. New Visions. April 2005. Out with the old…. In with the new. The new: 16-inch Ritchey-Chretien telescope Pointing, tracking, focus all under computer control Supports: visual use digital cameras 35mm photography

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The University of Alabama Observatory -

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  1. The University of Alabama Observatory - New Visions April 2005

  2. Out with the old…

  3. In with the new

  4. The new: 16-inch Ritchey-Chretien telescope Pointing, tracking, focus all under computer control Supports: visual use digital cameras 35mm photography webcam imaging CCD imaging video

  5. We have a control room:

  6. We have a control room: Telescope control system and displays

  7. We have a control room: Auxiliary computer (electronic imaging and data transfer) Telescope control system and displays

  8. We have a control room: Auxiliary computer (electronic imaging and data transfer) Telescope control system and displays Live video from guide scope

  9. We have a control room: Auxiliary computer (electronic imaging and data transfer) Telescope control system and displays Stimulant fluid Live video from guide scope My laptop with favorite sky-mapping software

  10. Eyeball use: 64-550X eyepieces

  11. 35mm photography – lunar sunrise

  12. Lunar crescent with consumer digital camera

  13. Webcam imagery (lunar shots from AY 203 students)

  14. SBIG CCD features • Sensitivity: near-UV to near-IR • Field of view 20x30 arcminutes • Thermoelectric cooling to below –30 C • 2000x3000 pixel format, samples even our best image quality • Fast 18-sec frame readout CCD field of view

  15. Some sample images from the CCD camera’s first clear night… Guidescope video system Santa Barbara Instruments Group CCD imager

  16. Trail of Hubble Space Telescope (range 780 km = 490 miles, above Gulf of Mexico)

  17. Comet Machholz, 2 April 2005 (165 million km from Earth, 240 million from Sun. (4 minutes)

  18. Open star cluster Messier 37 (4 minutes)

  19. Crab Nebula (remnant of supernova explosion observed in AD 1054) (16-minute exposure)

  20. Crab Nebula (remnant of supernova explosion observed in AD 1054) (16-minute exposure) Pulsar – neutron star rotating 30 times/second

  21. Globular star cluster Messier 3 Distance 34,000 light-years (12-minute exposure)

  22. Spiral galaxies NGC 3623 and 3627 in Leo Distance 40 million light-years (12-minute exposure)

  23. 3C 273, the brightest quasar (1.8 billion light-years)

  24. Spiral galaxy NGC 3079 (50 million light-years)

  25. Quasar at 8 billion light-years, with image split by space curvature from intervening galaxy Spiral galaxy NGC 3079 (50 million light-years)

  26. Logistics improvements: • New electrical wiring • Caulked/sealed dome • Stair/catwalk lighting • Removed old rolling stairs • Portable telescopes on wheels • Landing into control room

  27. The work is still in progress… • Mitigation of building vibrations • Continue safety/accessibility improvements • Possible floor raising • Implement automatic telescope guiding • Automate dome rotation

  28. Special thanks to: • Dean Robert Olin, chair Stan Jones for bankrolling the project • Department shop personnel (Danny Whitcomb, Tom Hunter, Jason Taylor, David Key) • Carol Smith (Purchasing) • Jane Boyd for cleaning up the paperwork

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