The Equipment of the Observatory
60cm Telescope
The main astronomical instrument of the observatory is the mirror telescope of the Cassegrain system, produced by the Carl Zeiss Jena (Germany). The basic specifications of the telescope are as follows:
The same sort of telescope can be found in Poland in Bialkow near Poznań, in Ostrowik near Warsaw and in Piwnice near Toruń.
Celestron CGE 925
Photometer
In the years 1988-1991 the double-beam photometer attached to the telescope was used. A new photometric instrument was installed at the telescope in August 1991. This instrument was designed and constructed in the Astronomical Department of the Cracow Pedagogical University. The photometric instrument consists of a dual-channel photometer, a CCD camera and an autoguiding system linked together. During the WET session a triple channel photometer is use for observations.
In December 2002, the existing two-channel photometer was removed and replaced by a new 3-channel instrument built in Vilnius, Lithuania, and conforming to the WET specifications. It also includes an autoguiding system. It will be used for both WET and other projects at MSO.
The high quality of the Hammamatsu photomultipliers installed in the three-channel photometer, along with the autoguiding system of the telescope, allows one to observe stars brighter than 15.5 mag. By using the CCD camera, it is possible to observe stars up to 18 mag.
CCD Cameras
ccd: SBIG ST10XME Apogee ALTA U47UV
(chip KODAK KAF-3200E/ME) E2V CCD47 back iluminated
chip size 2184x1472 [14.9mmx10mm] 1024x1024 [13.3mmx13.3mm]
field of view 6.8x4.5['] 6.5x6,5[']
full-well capacity 77,000[e-] 100.000 [e-]
dark current 0.9[e-/pixel/s at 0C] 0.1[e-/pixel/s at -35C]
reading format 16[bits/pixel] (max. 65536) 16[bits/pixel] (max. 65536)
readout noise 9[e-]
gain 1.5[e-/ADU]
readout time 8.7[s/full frame]
pre-binning 1x1,2x2,3x3,9x9,1xN,2xN 1x1 - 10x10024
The Photometrics Star-1 and PixelView (chip SITe) cameras are no longer in operation.
The modular construction allows one observer to change the configuration of the system in a 20-30 minutes. Each part of the system works independently and is controlled by an IBM/PC computer located in the control room.
The guiding system
The guiding system can be used to control tracking of the telescope during photometric observations. The system consists of three parts: the low light level TV camera, an IBM/PC computer as a control unit, and a motor controller installed at the telescope. The Observatory is currently also testing an autoguider system which uses a secondary guidescope mounted parallel to the optical axis of the main instrument. If the tests are successful, this system will enable guiding on the target object itself, which will be useful in sparsely-populated fields.
References:
- J.M.Kreiner, J.Krzesinski, B.Pokrzywka, G.Pajdosz, S.Zola, M.Drozdz,"Dual-channel Photometer - CCD Camera Systems at the Mt. Suhora Observatory", I.Elliot, C.J.Buttler (eds.) Poster Papers on Stellar Photometry, Proc. of the IAU Coll. 136, Dublin, 4-7 Aug. 1992, 1993, 80-83
- B.Pokrzywka, W.Ogloza, W.Dywan "Electronic parameters of the photometer at the Mt. Suhora Observatory", Proceedings of the 27th Meeting of the Polish Astronomical Society, Poznan, September 12-15 1995, 1996, 106-108
- J.Krzesinski, K.Wojcik,"Multi-task guiding system of the Mt. Suhora Observatory", Astron. Astrophys., Vol. 280, 1993, 338-34
- J.Krzesinski, W.Ogloza, B.Pokrzywka "CCD Photometry at Mt. Suhora Observatory" Proc. I.A.P.P.P. Symposium 1995, 28-30 April 1995, Baja, Hungary, 1996, 121-124