Technical Details of Mount Stony Brook Observatory
Telescope
Our telescope is a 14 inch (.35 meter) Celestron. The design is a
Schmit-Cassegrain. We have added a 3 inch refractor to the side as a finding
scope. The telescope came with a 30 mm finding scope which is still used. The
system is an f/11.
Cameras
We currently use three cameras for observing. Two are from the
Santa Barbara Instument
Group. These are the ST-4 and the ST-6. Most of our images are taken with
the ST-6 and the ST-4 is used with the 3 inch for guiding. These cameras are
CCD cameras (CCD stands for charged coupled device) and the images are sent
directly to the computer!
Another thing we are working on is astrophotography. Since the telescope has a
bad drive motor, we use the ST-4 to guide on an object and take a long exposure
with a 35mm camera. This is in the experimentation stage, but we're working on
it!
Computers
We are using a 486 50MHz PC Brand computer. The computer is on the top floor of
our building. We have a hole through the roof of the building so that the
computer is directly connected to the dome. Once the object to be observed is
found and focused, the observer can operate the cameras from a warmroom.
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