McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope

McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope
The McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope in Tucson, Arizona.
Organization	National Solar Observatory
Location	Kitt Peak, Arizona
Coordinates	31°57′30.3″N 111°35′40.83″W / 31.958417°N 111.594675°W / 31.958417; -111.594675Coordinates: 31°57′30.3″N 111°35′40.83″W / 31.958417°N 111.594675°W / 31.958417; -111.594675[1]
Altitude	2096m
Weather	72% clear nights
Wavelength	Optical and infrared
Built	1960–1962
Telescope style	Prime focus reflecting telescope
Diameter	161 cm
Angular resolution	0.07 arcsec @ 500nm (theoretical)
Collecting area	2.04 m²
Focal length	82.62 m
Mounting	Equatorial mount with heliostat
Dome	Slanted tower
Website	http://nsokp.nso.edu/mp/

The McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope is a 1.6-m f/54 reflecting solar telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona, USA. The building was designed by Myron Goldsmith and built in 1962. It is the largest telescope of its kind in the world and is named for astronomers Robert McMath and Keith Pierce. At the dedication in 1962, Dr. Waterman read a letter^[2] from President Kennedy starting with:

“

The great new solar telescope at the Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona is a source of pride to the nation. The largest instrument for solar research in the world, it presents American astronomers with a unique tool for investigating the nearest of the stars, our sun. This project is of exceptional interest to all our citizens...

”

Construction

The inside of the slanted shaft.

The telescope contains a heliostat at the top of its main tower which focuses the sun's light down a long shaft. The distinctive diagonal shaft continues underground, where the telescope's primary mirror is located. The theoretical resolution of this main telescope 0.07 arcsec, although this is never reached because atmospheric distortions degrade the image quality severely. The image scale is 2.50 arcsec/mm at the image plane.

In addition to this 1.6-meter primary mirror, there are also an East- and West-auxiliary telescope which are completely independent of the main telescope. These two auxiliary telescopes both have a 0.91-meter heliostat which are located beside the main heliostat. These auxiliary telescopes have a slightly shorter focal length and f-numbers of 50 and 44. The resolution of the auxiliary telescopes is 5.11 arcsec/mm and 5.75 arcsec/mm.

Instruments

The top of the tower.

The third mirror of the main telescope which sends the light down into the observing room can be moved above three different positions. Two of these have a vacuum spectrograph beneath them, one of 18 meter deep and the other 4 meter deep with lower resolution but higher light throughput. These two spectrographs are able to rotate to compensate for the rotation of the image caused by the use of a heliostat. The third position can only be equipped with a static optical table with no image rotation correction and is therefore rarely used.

A notification of 1992 rededication of the telescope.

The auxiliary telescopes can only be used for imaging on static optical tables and do not provide image rotation correction.

References

1. ^ Technical information
2. ^ "NSO/KP History of the MP Facility". http://nsokp.nso.edu/mp/history.html. Retrieved 2008-05-16. 

External links

• Kitt Peak virtual tour: McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope
• "McMath Solar Telescope of the Kitt Peak National Observatory", A. K. Pierce, Applied Optics, 3, 1337-1346, 1964.
• A History of the McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope
• Schematic diagram of the McMath-Pierce telescope
• Adaptive optics at the McMath-Pierce telescope

See also

• List of solar telescopes

This article related to the Sun is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.v · Categories: Solar telescopes Astronomical observatory stubs Sun stubs Wikimedia Foundation. 2010. Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР Jacob de Heusch Alan Arnold Griffith Look at other dictionaries: Solar telescope — The Swedish 1 m Solar Telescope at Roque de los Muchachos Observatory, La Palma in the Canary Islands. A solar telescope is a special purpose telescope used to observe the Sun. Solar telescopes usually detect light with wavelengths in, or not far …   Wikipedia McMath — may refer to: Bob McMath, historian Francis Charles McMath (1867 1938), engineer and astronomer Robert Raynolds McMath (1891 1962), solar astronomer Sid McMath (1912 2003), governor of Arkansas Ginger Rogers (1911 1995), actress; real name… …   Wikipedia McMath-Hulbert Observatory — The McMath Hulbert Solar Observatory located in Lake Angelus, Michigan is a decommissioned solar observatory. It was established in 1929 as a private observatory by father and son Francis Charles McMath and Robert Raynolds McMath. In 1932 the… …   Wikipedia McMath–Hulbert Observatory — The McMath Hulbert Solar Observatory is a decommissioned solar observatory in Lake Angelus, Michigan, USA. It was established in 1929 as a private observatory by father and son Francis Charles McMath and Robert Raynolds McMath and their friend,… …   Wikipedia Telescope — A telescope is an instrument designed for the observation of remote objects and the collection of electromagnetic radiation. The first known practically functioning telescopes were invented in the Netherlands at the beginning of the 17th century …   Wikipedia Robert Raynolds McMath — (1891 1962) was a U.S. solar astronomer.Robert R. McMath (1891 1962) was, a bridge engineer, businessman, and astronomer. Robert s father, Francis C. McMath, had made a fortune as a bridge builder. They both had a keen interest in amateur… …   Wikipedia National Solar Observatory — The Dunn Solar Telescope on Sacramento Peak. The mission of the National Solar Observatory is to advance knowledge of the Sun, both as an astronomical object and as the dominant external influence on Earth, by providing forefront observational… …   Wikipedia 1955 McMath — is the name of an asteroid which was discovered at Goethe Link Observatory near Brooklyn, Indiana by the Indiana Asteroid Program. 1955 McMath was discovered on September 22, 1963 by F. K. Edmondson. Mr Edmonson named the asteroid in memory of… …   Wikipedia Telescopio solar — suizo en el observatorio Roque de los Muchachos, La Palma en las Islas Canarias. Un telescopio solar es un telescopio de propósito particular, usado para observar el sol. Los telescopios solares generalmente detectan luz cuya longitud de onda… …   Wikipedia Español Myron Goldsmith — McMath Pierce Solar Telescope building Myron Goldsmith (1918 1996) was an American architect and designer. [1] He was a student of Mies van der Rohe and Pier Luigi Nervi before designing 40 projects at Skidmore, Owings Merrill from 1955 to 1983 …   Wikipedia 18+ © Academic, 2000-2024 Contact us: Technical Support, Advertising Dictionaries export, created on PHP, Joomla, Drupal, WordPress, MODx. Mark and share Search through all dictionaries Translate… Search Internet Share the article and excerpts Direct link … Do a right-click on the link above and select “Copy Link”