Robotized
telescope designed to accommodated the Maksutov-system was
installed on Maidanak Observatory in frames of EAST project.
The telescope ( Questar)
has 3.5 inch aperture and equipped with 16 bit CCD camera
( Apogee)
with 1024x1024 pixels detector. Effective focus length is
225 sm, f=1/25 with view angle equal to 0.62 degrees. Project
manager is Prof. Dean-Yi
Chou from National
Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan.
The instrument is robotized up to maximum. Since
it has built-in telescope and peripherals control system
the telescope management and monitoring can either be fully
automated and/or interactively manipulated.
The telescope is equipped with comprehensive whether monitoring
station and telescope observation system through eight (8)
outside and inside video surveillance cameras as well. Video
feed is momentarily transmitted through Internet to ensure
intermittent surveillance over equipment conditions, weather
and observation process itself.
The telescope mounted on Maidanak within EAST
project is number two among already mounted telescope (Tenerif,
Spain). It has been planned for at least one more the same
type of telescope for intermittent observations for long
periods of time. Within EAST network It has been scheduled
for Moon's ash light observations to determine fluctuations
of Earth' albedo that will allow for some research on global
warming. Moreover, within EAST project it will be suitable
for ground based observation in asteroseismology of variable
stars. |