The telescope is a 68/76 cm f/1.9 classical Schmidt design . A field flattening lens is used for the CCD dewar window just in front of the CCD . The mount is a bent yoke providing access to the pole and excellent rigidity. A 20 cm refractor mounted on the main tube is used for acquisition and guiding. With a full-aperture corrector, we gain a factor of 4 in effective light-gathering power for the center of the field. Telescope motion is controlled through Dave Harvey's (Steward Observatory) PC-TCS software controlling stepper motors in RA and Declination.

The CCD Camera

Spectral Instruments Inc. (Tucson, AZ) built the camera head, controller and power supply. The CCD has 4-channel readout and is cooled with a Cryo-Tiger to -90^oC.