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Preliminary Results from the Automated Patrol Telescope CCD Camera

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 April 2016

P. W. Brooks*
Affiliation:
School of Physics, University of New South Wales, P.O. Box 1, Kensington, NSW 2033

Abstract

The University of NSW Automated Patrol Telescope (APT), a modified 0.5 m Baker-Nunn Schmidt telescope situated at Siding Spring Observatory, Coonabarabran, Australia, was opened in June 1989. It features the unique combination of an extremely fast (f/1) optical system with a CCD (Charge-Coupled Device) camera at the prime focus, capable of both fast (50 Hz TV-rate) imaging and slow-scan integrated readout via a low noise Correlated Double Sampling amplifier. This combination of optics and detector gives a wide field (0.9° × 1.4°) suited to observing extended objects including the LMC, SMC and galaxies in the Sculptor group. First images from the APT are presented along with the results of noise, linearity and dark current measurements made to date with a 12-bit analog-to-digital converter. Results were (ADU = Analog-Digital Unit):

Type
Instruments and Basic Astronomy
Copyright
Copyright © Astronomical Society of Australia 1990

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