A Large Reflective Schmidt Telescope for the Antarctic Plateau

• Main Authors: Will Saunders, Andrew J. Mcgrath
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: telescopes; Antarctica; wide-field; infra-red; adaptive optics; Antarctic; The Antarctic; Antarc*
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.155.5150; http://www.aao.gov.au/instsci/spie2004/5489-31-what.pdf

We present a design concept for a 16 metre, wide-field, fixed-axis, all-reflective, segmented f/4 Schmidt telescope to take advantage of the unique possibilities of Antarctica for both optical and near infrared astronomy. The design allows observation of all RA/dec’s accessible from Antarctica, with tracking times of several hours. Prime and Cassegrain foci are provided, giving plate scales 300-3000µm/", over fields of view 1.5'-0.5º. Diffraction limited, natural guide-star AOcorrected Kdark images are possible over arc-minute sized fields, over 70 % of the sky. The sensitivity, resolution, field of view and cost all compare favourably with current or proposed space or ground-based telescopes.