Physics, Astronomy and Geophysics

F. W. Olin Science Center Observatory

The Connecticut College Observatory resides atop the F. W. Olin Science Center in New London, CT and houses a 20-inch telescope. The telescope was installed on February 24, 1995 after many years of anticipation. It uses the Ritchey-Chretien Cassegrain optical design and was manufactured by Optomechanics Research, Inc. in Vail, Arizona.

The telescope sits on a mount variously referred to as an offset asymmetric, bent asymmetric, or a half-fork equatorial mount. This is a variation of the single-pier asymmetric mount that has been used by contemporary telescope makers such as Boller and Chivens, and Astromechanics. ...

At right: the installation crew and completed 'scope Clockwise: Nick Kalayjian, Ron Hilliard, Catrina Hamilton. Missing: Pito Chickering, Tim Hilliard, Leslie Brown and Mike Monce.

The primary mirror is a solid, full-thickness Pyrex blank with an f/ratio of 3.0. The secondary mirror combines with the primary mirror to give the telescope an f/ratio of 10. Both axes are driven by microstepping motors through sturdy worm gear assemblies, with step resolutions of 5-10 steps/arcsecond. These provide tracking rates as needed for celestial and solar-system objects, as well as guide, set, and slew rates, all adjustable at high resolution in software. The drive is controlled by professional level telescope control software, using a 486DX-66MHz compatible computer system specifically adapted for this purpose.

... The mirror being installed.

The Observatory uses a digital CCD camera system manufactured by Photometrics in Tucson, Arizona. This system includes a 1024 x 1024 pixel, scientific grade CCD which is thermoelectrically cooled.