The 24-inch Telescope
This telescope of Ritchey-Chrétien optical design with a 24-inch (0.6-meter) diameter main mirror was built for OSU by Optical Guidance Systems, Inc. It was funded by a grant from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research in response to a proposal written by professor Peter Shull, the observatory director. Its main purposes are to track large asteroids which threaten to collide with Earth, to photometrically discover planets orbiting other stars, and to measure the variable brightness of other objects such as quasars and supernovae.
Preparations for the new telescope, and its installation, are illustrated below.
This diagram illustrates how the 24-inch telescope fits inside the observatory's dome.
DC motors with solar backup and electronics for controlling the dome.
The concrete telescope pier was reduced to a height of 36 inches to accommodate the mounting for the new telescope.
The pole for weather sensors was set up, as well as the microwave antenna for internet access.
The telescope arrives from the East Coast.
The 11-megapixel CCD camera, instrument rotator, focal reducer lens, and slide-mirror eyepiece.
