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Current Status: Curtis-Schmidt Telescope

Current Status: Curtis-Schmidt Telescope. Patrick Seitzer Department of Astronomy University of Michigan pseitzer@umich.edu. Funded by: NASA Orbital Debris Program Office Johnson Space Center Houston, Texas.

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Current Status: Curtis-Schmidt Telescope

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  1. Current Status:Curtis-Schmidt Telescope Patrick Seitzer Department of Astronomy University of Michigan pseitzer@umich.edu Funded by: NASA Orbital Debris Program Office Johnson Space Center Houston, Texas

  2. University of Michigan Curtis-Schmidt TelescopeCerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, Chile 0.0.61/0.91-m Schmidt telescope

  3. Optical Studies of Space Debris • MODEST - Michigan Orbital DEbris Survey Telescope • 100% dedicated to NASA program of optical studies of artificial space debris. • NASA funds all (100%) of everything - mountain share costs, operating costs, capital improvements, travel, etc. • Principal areas of interest are GEO regime and navigation satellite regime (near mean motion 2 rev/day) • 3 times/year - Schmidt and CTIO 0.9-m run simultaneously for survey and chase. 7 nights. • Handoff to 0.9-m within 20 minutes of discovery on Schmidt.

  4. Examples of Detections

  5. Optical Layout

  6. Technical Details • 100 mm diameter Prontor shutter • Computer controlled filter bolt with five 4x4-inch square filters • Computer controlled focus • March 2005 telescope drives modernized using NASA funds • DFM Engineering • Everything now computer controlled via TCP/IP connection • Dome open/close • Dome rotation • Telescope positioning and tracking • Maximum slew rate tested at 1.8 deg/sec • 3 objective prisms - 1.5, 4, and 6 degrees • 5 second exposure - S/N = 10 in broad V+R filter at R = 18 • saturation at R = 10 with SITe CCD (2.318 arc-seconds/pixel, 1.3 deg FOV)

  7. New CCD Camera • Calendar year 2007: NASA provided funds for new CCD camera to replace ARCON • Delivery expected later this year • Spectral Instruments, Tucson, Arizona. • E2V 231 series deep depletion CCD, flat carrier. • Astro-Broadband coating • Cryotiger cooled. • 4096x4096 15-micron device: • 1.4 arc-seconds/pixel • 1.6 x 1.6 degree FOV

  8. DES Use? • NASA funded till end of January 2010; hopefully beyond that. • DES use possible if no interference with NASA project. • Discussion to date - two months in December 2010 and January 2011? • These months are when antisolar point at low galactic latitude: difficult for debris work. • DES pays all costs and contributes to capital improvements. • Other details…..

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