Cameras

The telescope regularly uses Santa Barbara Instrument Group (SBIG) CCD cameras.  Telescope operators employ cameras for the purpose for which they are best suited:

1.  STV camera for long-term guiding of the system with the off-axis guider.
2.  ST-6 camera for astronomical spectroscopy with the C10 spectroscope, and
3.  STV camera for imaging celestial objects for astrometry and photometry.

SBIG's CCDOPS software controls the ST-6 camera, provides serial download of images, and image processing.  Software Bisque's CCDSOFT software controls the ST-9 camera, image processing, and parallel download of images. The STV camera and off-axis guider provide more guide star options than the smaller fixed-positioin guiding chip on the ST-9 camera.  Programs for all cameras run on a dedicated PC-compatible computer, except for the STV, which has its own microprocessor system.

Typical time exposures last 40 seconds (unguided) or four minutes (guided) and reveal objects down to about magnitude 18 with good seeing. The STV autoguider images a guide star once every several seconds, and provides stable guiding for well over an hour.