Status and performance of Lowell Observatory's Lowell Discovery Telescope's active optical support system

Frank Cornelius; Michael Sweaton; Ben A. Hardesty; Michael Collins; Stephen E. Levine

doi:10.1117/12.2561621

13 December 2020 Status and performance of Lowell Observatory's Lowell Discovery Telescope's active optical support system

Frank Cornelius, Michael Sweaton, Ben A. Hardesty, Michael Collins, Stephen E. Levine

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 11445, Ground-based and Airborne Telescopes VIII; 114457I (2020) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2561621
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2020, Online Only

Abstract

Lowell Observatory's Lowell Discovery Telescope (LDT) is a 4.3-m telescope designed and constructed for optical and near infrared astronomical observation. We examine the performance of the primary and secondary mirror support systems during scientific operations, over the first six years of science operations. During that time we have redesigned the sacrificial pins in the primary mirror lateral support system, and developed a method to re-calibrate the load cell sensors used in both the primary and secondary mirror supports.

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Frank Cornelius, Michael Sweaton, Ben A. Hardesty, Michael Collins, and Stephen E. Levine "Status and performance of Lowell Observatory's Lowell Discovery Telescope's active optical support system", Proc. SPIE 11445, Ground-based and Airborne Telescopes VIII, 114457I (13 December 2020); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2561621

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