A new Web page has been set up to help proposers select the best telescope for their CCD imaging needs. The page provides a table summarizing the characteristics of the five imaging sites, and will be updated as capabilities change at KPNO (for example, when the CCD Mosaic Imager becomes generally available). The summary table is reproduced below and is available at http://www.noao.edu/kpno/imaging/imaging.html.
We also have included a link to a prototype form-based assistant to help you select a telescope for your particular observing situation. Enter the parameters of your observing proposal (e.g., limiting magnitude, field of view) and a telescope recommendation will be posted for you. Note that the telescope best suited for your application isn't always the best choice to propose for. For less challenging problems, a smaller telescope with a lower subscription rate may be the wiser choice and the form considers this aspect of proposing in its recommendation.
Field Scale Limiting Magnitude
Telescope + CCD (arcmin) "/pix U B V R I Seeing
4-m +T2KB f/2.7 16.0 x 16.0 0.470 24.9 26.1 25.8 25.4 24.6 1.1
WIYN +S2KB f/6.5 6.7 x 6.7 0.197 24.9 26.2 25.9 25.5 24.7 0.8
2.1-m +T1KA f/7.5 5.2 x 5.2 0.305 23.8 25.1 25.0 24.7 23.8 1.1
0.9-m +T2KA f/7.5 23.2 x 23.2 0.680 22.7 24.1 23.8 23.4 22.6 1.4
0.9-m +T2KA f/13.5 13.1 x 13.1 0.384 22.7 24.1 23.8 23.4 22.6 1.4
Schmidt +S2KA f/3.5 69.0 x 69.0 2.028 21.6 22.3 22.3 22.0 21.5 2.2
Note: Limiting magnitude is defined as the magnitude for which S/N = 10 is achieved in 1 hour under dark sky (new moon) conditions, and for typical seeing (FWHM) as given in the last column. Under different conditions, estimates can be calculated using the IRAF routine CCDTIME.
George Jacoby, Phil Massey