The Peggy and Eric Johnson 1-meter telescope at Lowell Observatory: converting a historic observatory into a modern research facility

Ben Hardesty; Tom Bida; Michael Collins; Frank Cornelius; Ryan Hamilton; Kyler Kuehn; Stephen Levine

doi:10.1117/12.3019258

11 September 2024 The Peggy and Eric Johnson 1-meter telescope at Lowell Observatory: converting a historic observatory into a modern research facility

Ben Hardesty, Tom Bida, Michael Collins, Frank Cornelius, Ryan Hamilton, Kyler Kuehn, Stephen Levine

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 13094, Ground-based and Airborne Telescopes X; 130943X (2024) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3019258
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2024, Yokohama, Japan

Conference Poster

Abstract

In 2021 Lowell Observatory began preparations for a new remotely operated 1.0-m class telescope facility. Site studies were conducted and a historic observatory on Anderson Mesa near Flagstaff, Arizona was selected to house a PlaneWave Instruments PW1000 1-meter telescope. This facility previously housed the 13” Pluto Discovery Telescope and the 23” Lowell Observatory Near-Earth-Object Search (LONEOS) telescope. The equatorial piers were modified to accept a custom vibration optimized bridge structure to support the dome-centered Alt/Az telescope mount. Many other updates were installed including network, power, dome repairs, access platforms, and general remodeling. The commissioning instrument selection process resulted in the purchase of the Teledyne-PI SOPHIA 4096B CCD camera. Further custom components were needed to integrate the camera to the Nasmyth port of the telescope including a lightweight filter wheel, detector alignment mechanism, payload support assembly, and cable management/de-rotation limits. Commissioning of the facility started in late 2023 and it has already been used successfully for a number of occultation events. The full SOPHIA instrument assembly, including the custom filter wheel, is on track to be completed in 2025. Future facility plans such as power outage recovery, robotic observing software, and second instrument planning are currently in progress.

(2024) Published by SPIE. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

Citation Download Citation

Ben Hardesty, Tom Bida, Michael Collins, Frank Cornelius, Ryan Hamilton, Kyler Kuehn, and Stephen Levine "The Peggy and Eric Johnson 1-meter telescope at Lowell Observatory: converting a historic observatory into a modern research facility", Proc. SPIE 13094, Ground-based and Airborne Telescopes X, 130943X (11 September 2024); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3019258

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

;

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE