iTelescope - T17 - Deep Field Research - Australia
Please note that T17 is primarily a research instrument
For high resolution astrophotography, T30, T31, T32 and T59 are better choices
< Previous Telescope | Next Telescope >
Location Information
Observatory: iTelescope.Net at Siding Spring Observatory Australia - MPC Q62
Telescope: 0.43-m f/6.8 reflector + CCD)
Timezone: UTC +10:00 New South Wales, Australia Daylight savings time is observed.
Minimum Target Elevation: Approx 20° West - 35° North & South - 55° East
South 31° 16' 24" East 149° 03' 52"
Elevation: 1122m MPC Code Q62
Operational Notes
T17 is a Science Platform. Normally used for Science Missions, Deep Photometry, Narrowband and 'Extended Red' light IR imaging. It is equipped with a FLI ProLine E2V CCD47-10-1-109 CCD. that has 'extended red sensitivity' when compared to standard CCD’s. Giving it an almost 'Near Infrared' mission profile.
FITS and TIF file formats. Dark Frame calibration data is available for 60, 120, 180, 300 second exposures. Binx1 - Binx2. NABG. Recommended Maximum Exposure 300 seconds. Raw data can be found at data.itelescope.net
T17 is a unique telescope. T17 holds multiple world record achievements for the most distant objects imaged by amateur astronomers.
T17 can detect extremely distant galaxies in 300 sec exposures. Some of its targets have been the most distant and oldest ever imaged on a publicly accessible telescope.
If you wanted to bring out stars hidden in nebula with its Helium filter or chase targets that are very faint, then this CCD will do the job. Its extremely sensitive, so much so that OVER exposure becomes an issue and users should take care since its CCD is of the NABG variety.
T17 is a valuable science asset to iTelescope Siding Spring Observatory.
- If you are new to astro-imaging then T17 is not recommended as a 'Pure Imaging' system due to the sensitivity of its E2V CCD. T17 is mainly a SCIENCE system.
- T17 is externally guided. Best results from exposures of 300 seconds or less. Be Aware.
- T17 has a Star Analyser 200 in its Custom filter slot. To use this feature its highly recommended that advanced users include the command '#FORCESTARTUPFOCUS' in their manually edited T17 session TXT/ACP plans.
Instrument Package
CCD: FLI ProLine PL4710
QE: 94% Peak (Near IR)
Full Well: 100,000 e- Non Anti-Blooming Gate (NABG)
Gain: 1.23 e- ADU-¹
Dark Current: <0.2 e-/pixel/sec. @ -45º C
Readout Noise at 20 kHz: 2.0 e- rms
Pixel Size: 13um Square
Resolution: 0.92 arcsec/pixel
Sensor: E2V CCD47-10-1-109 Deep Depletion Fused Silica
Cooling: -35C default
Array: 1024 x 1024 pixels
FOV: 15.5 x 15.5 arcmin
Filters:
Astrodon: Clear. Luminance
Astrodon: R. V. B. U. I.
Astrodon: Red-E. Green-E. Blue-E.
Astrodon: Ha 6nm. OIII. 6nm,
Custom Scientific: SIII 953.1/10nm and Helium HeII 1012.2/10nm - see filter curve "spectra.pdf" attached
Astrodon: Sloan g2
Astrodon: Sloan r2
Astrodon: Sloan i2
Astrodon: Sloan z2
*Star-Analyser - Spectroscopic Grating SA 200;
18 Angström/pixel
*(Use 'Custom' Filter Slot & Name)
Position Angle: 187.7º
Telescope Optics
OTA: Planewave 17" CDK
Optical Design: Corrected Dall-Kirkham Astrograph
Aperture: 431mm
Focal Length: 2912mm
F/Ratio: f/6.8
Guiding: External
Mount: Paramount PME
--------------------------------------------
Transformation Coefficients for T17
These were derived using the Landolt field MCT 2019-4339
(U-B)/(u-b)
(B-V)/(b-v)
(V-R)/(v-r)
(R-I)/(r-i)
(V-I)/(v-i)
(U-u)/(U-B)
(B-b)/(B-V)
(V-v)/(B-V)
(V-v)/(V-R)
(V-v)/(V-I)
(R-r)/(R-I)
(R-r)/(R-I)
--------------------------------------------
Transformation Coefficients for T17
These were derived using the TG - Version 5.6
Thanks to Lew Cook for these Coefficients!