&lt;title&gt;Design of the Magellan Project 6.5-meter telescope: telescope structure and mechanical systems&lt;/title&gt;

Gunnels, Steven M.; Carr, D. M.

doi:10.1117/12.176208

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…Friction drivers are the mechanisms that use direct power transfer to the load instead of using a chain and sprockets (Rodriguez et al 2017). The friction drive mechanism has been used successfully in recently developed large telescopes such as Magellan Telescope (Gunnels and Carr 1994) and Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fibre Spectroscopic Telescope (LAMOST) (Wang et al 2004). Therefore, in this research, a friction drive system was adopted.…”

Section: Friction Drivementioning

confidence: 99%

Development of a 0.25 m f/10 reflecting telescope consisting of a thin primary mirror and a friction drive

et al. 2020

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Modern astronomical telescopes are comprised of high-quality optics and superior mounting designs to meet the standards and challenges of observational astronomy. Cost of commercial telescopes is a constraint for developing countries like Sri Lanka to be involved in astronomical related research. The objective of this research was to study the technological methods used in fabricating telescopes and to implement those methods to make economical telescopes locally. Therefore, a f/10 focal ratio Newtonian telescope consisting of a computerized friction drive alt-azimuth mount was fabricated with a locally ground thin telescope primary mirror made from Soda-lime glass plate having 0.25 m diameter and 0.012 m thickness. Deformation characteristics, profile formation and optical performance of the telescope primary mirror were investigated using finite element analysis, Polarization and Ronchi pattern analyses, respectively. Resolution, slew rate, torque and slippage of the fabricated friction drive were studied using a Computer Aided Design (CAD) model and an empirical approach. It was found that the profile of the mirror is a perfect parabola. The mirror was supported by a mirror cell with eighteen floating points and resultant root mean square wave-front error of the mirror due to the supporting points is 3.735x10-7 m. The friction drive with the computer controller can position the telescope to a given angle with accuracies of 0.421 degrees on altitude axis and 0.03 degrees on azimuth axis. The total cost of production of the prototype telescope is about US$ 750.00. It is shown that there is a significant cost reduction and increased optical and mechanical performances of the telescope due to using the thin mirror and the friction drive mount. In this paper, the system design and the performance evaluation of the mechanical positioning and optical quality of the telescope are presented.

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Section: Friction Drivementioning

confidence: 99%

Development of a 0.25 m f/10 reflecting telescope consisting of a thin primary mirror and a friction drive

et al. 2020

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“…18 The same basic tripod disc design is adopted as a starting point for the TSPM design. As in the Magellan design, all axes are driven by friction drives and hydrostatic bearings are used for the azimuth and elevation axes.…”

Section: Telescope Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Telescopio San Pedro Mártir project

et al. 2016

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The Telescopio San Pedro Mártir project intends to construct a 6.5m telescope to be installed at the Observatorio Astronómico Nacional in the Sierra San Pedro Mártir in northern Baja California, Mexico. The project is an association of Mexican institutions, lead by the Instituto Nacional de Astrofísica,Óptica y Electrónica and the Instituto de Astronomía at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, in partnership with the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and the University of Arizona's Department of Astronomy and Steward Observatory. The project is currently in the planning and design stage. Once completed, the partners plan to operate the MMT and TSPM as a binational astrophysical observatory.

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“…Rigid-body rotation of the tube ͑through angle x 4 ͒ is resisted by elevation-axis torque stiffness 4 …”

Section: B Dynamicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Location of the elevation axis in a large optical telescope

Padin

2004

Appl. Opt.

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Proposed designs for the next generation of large optical telescopes favor a tripod or quadrupod secondary support, and a primary supported from the back, but it is not yet clear whether the elevation axis should be in front of the primary or behind it. A study is described of the effect of elevation-axis location on key performance parameters ͑fundamental frequency, blockage, and wind-induced secondary decenter͒ for a 30-m Cassegrain telescope with a mount configuration that is typical of the new designs. For a fast ͑e.g., f͞1͒ primary, the best location for the elevation axis is behind the primary. The penalty for moving the elevation axis in front of the primary is roughly a 40% decrease in fundamental frequency and a corresponding reduction in the control bandwidth for pointing and optical alignment.

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<title>Design of the Magellan Project 6.5-meter telescope: telescope structure and mechanical systems</title>

Cited by 5 publications

References 0 publications

Development of a 0.25 m f/10 reflecting telescope consisting of a thin primary mirror and a friction drive

Development of a 0.25 m f/10 reflecting telescope consisting of a thin primary mirror and a friction drive

The Telescopio San Pedro Mártir project

Location of the elevation axis in a large optical telescope

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