WHAT? A large reflective schmidt telescope for the Antarctic plateau

W. Saunders, A. J. McGrath

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

2 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

We present a design concept for WHAT - the Wide-field Antarctic Horizontal Telescope - to take advantage of the unique possibilities of Antarctica for both optical and near infrared astronomy. The design is an 8 metre, wide-field, fixed-axis, all-reflective, f/4 Schmidt telescope. Prime and Cassegrain (or Gregorian) foci are provided, giving plate scales 150-1500 μm/", over fields of view 3′ -3°. Diffraction limited, NGSAO-corrected K dark images are possible over arc-minute sized fields, over most of the sky. The sensitivity, resolution, field of view and cost all compare favourably with current or proposed space or ground-based telescopes.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationIst ARENA Conference on "Large Astronomical Infrastructures at CONCORDIA, prospects and constraints for Antarctic Optical/IR Astronomy"
EditorsM. Candili
Place of PublicationFrance
Pages261-264
Number of pages4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2007
Externally publishedYes

Publication series

NameEAS Publications Series
Volume25
ISSN (Print)1633-4760
ISSN (Electronic)1638-1963

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