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CCD Imaging on Curtis Schmidt Telescope (1Sep92)
(from CTIO, NOAO Newsletter No. 31, 1 September 1992)

The CTIO array controller, Arcon, has developed to the point where we
are now able to make it available directly to observers on the Curtis
Schmidt telescope (see accompanying article for more Arcon details).
However, the Schmidt itself was not originally designed for
observations of this sort, and the mechanical and electronic upgrades
needed to turn it into a modernized telescope will not be done in the
immediate future. Specifically, pointing is done by means of setting
circles of limited precision, and the CCD manual focus mechanism is
quite cumbersome.

We are therefore making the telescope available with the Thomson 1024-2
CCD for a limited number of nights, approximately 30 per semester in
addition to engineering time. In allocating time, both the complexity
of the program and the experience of the observer will be taken into
account.  Complex programs are ones which involve many different focus
settings or precise positioning or re-positioning.

One should note that precise offsets are easier to do than precise
absolute positions, especially in right ascension, where one can offset
to an accuracy of several arcsec by turning the telescope drive off and
on.

It is also important to realize that the standard BVRI filters are NOT
all parfocal, and therefore that any program involving imaging in
several colors at the same position will be quite inefficient.

Service Observing
We will no longer do service observing for programs which are reasonably
carried out by regular observers. We will continue to offer this option--
subject to feasibility--for programs requiring only a few observations
of a straightforward nature. People requesting service observing should,
as always, clearly indicate this fact on the observing time request.

Plates
The Curtis Schmidt continues to be available for programs using
photographic plates.

Jay Elias, Mark Phillips,
Bob Schommer, Bob Williams

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