To prevent heat input to the building, all motors in the telescope are water cooled and all the electronics boxes are insulated and cooled. The telescope chamber is ventilated by a system of flaps which optimize the air flow across the NTT optimizing the dome and mirror seeing. The telescope and its enclosure had a revolutionary design for optimal image quality. The ESO New Technology Telescope (NTT) is an Alt-Az, 3.58-metre Richey-Chretien telescope which pioneered the use of active optics. A 1-metre telescope owned by Marseille Observatory opened in 1998, followed by a 1.2-metre telescope from Geneva Observatory in 2000. Around the end of the century some of the original telescopes were closed: the 1m Schmidt closed in 1998 and the 1.5m in 2002, while new equipment owned by various foreign observatories was introduced. The program reached its apex with the installation of the SEST in 1987 (Swedish ESO Submillimetre Telescope), the only large submillimetre telescope in the southern hemisphere, which was a combined project between ESO and the Swedish Natural Science Research Council. In 1984, the 2.2m telescope began operations, while in March 1989, the 3.5 m New Technology Telescope (NTT) saw first light. It was subsequently to have a 1.4m CAT (Coudé Auxiliary Telescope) attached. These three telescopes can be seen in this order from right to left in the background of the image on the left from June 1968.īy 1976, the largest telescope planned, the § ESO 3.6 m Telescope, started operations. The ESO 1.5-metre and ESO 1-metre telescopes had been erected in the late 1960s, and were joined in 1968 by the Gran Prismo Objectif telescope, which had previously been used in South Africa. With a permanent base of dormitories, workshops, hotels and several functioning telescopes, the observatory was fully operational. On 25 March 1969, the ESO site at La Silla was finally formally inaugurated by President Eduardo Frei Montalva. The dedication ceremony of the road to the summit took place in March 1966, two months after completion of the road. During 1965, temporary facilities were erected with living quarters, a workshop and storage area. On October 30, 1964, the contracts were signed and an area of 627 square kilometres (242.1 sq mi) was purchased the following year. Originally named the Cinchado, it was renamed La Silla ("the saddle" in Spanish) after its saddle-like shape. Besides being government property, it had the added benefits of being in a dry, flat and easily accessible area, yet isolated and remote from any artificial light and dust sources. The site that was decided upon was La Silla in the southern part of the Atacama desert, 600 km north of Santiago de Chile and at an altitude of 2400 metres. Eduardo Frei Montalva inaugurates La Silla in 1969.įollowing the decision in 1963 to approve Chile as the site for the ESO observatory, scouting parties were sent to various locations to assess their suitability.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |