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Large Telescopes
Perhaps the most unique aspect of the University of Arizona
Astronomy Camp is the availability of large research telescopes under
dark Arizona skies. You can learn more about each of the telescopes we
use routinely by selecting one of the following links.
At the Mt. Lemmon site (9157 feet elevation):
At the Mt. Bigelow site (8230 feet elevation):
Plus, 4-inch to 10-inch telescopes owned by Camp and/or visiting local amateur astronomers.
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Direct Imaging
Astronomy Camp also has a large array of imaging instruments that can be
installed on the telescopes above. This gives campers unmatched
capabilities and flexibility!
- Santa Barbara Instrument Group
ST-6B (375x242 pixels), ST-7XE (765x510 pixels) and ST-9XE CCDs (512x512 pixels) for all telescopes. The ST-7E camera at the 12-inch LX-200 telescope
is equipped with a ten-position filter wheel and can be used with an f/3.3 focal reducer to provide a field-of-view of 20 arcminutes. It can also be used with an
AO-7 adaptive optics system. Details on the cameras can be found on the SBIG web site by selecting "Products."
- 35 mm camera mounts and digital SLR cameras for astrophotography on all
telescopes
- Photon-counting aperture OPTEC SSP-3 photometer, for all telescopes
- Several 1.25" and 2" eyepieces (including a 55mm Televue Ploessl
and a 35mm Televue Panoptic), filters (nebular, solar,
lunar) for all telescopes.
The following instruments are available for some of the Advanced Camps:
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Solar Imaging
Astronomy Camp features an afternoon of solar imaging with a wide variety of
gadgets for safely viewing the Sun's photosphere, chromosphere, sunspots, prominences, and flares.
- A Day Star hydrogen-alpha filter for observing prominences, flares, granulation, and general activity on the Sun. Its bandwidth is 0.6 Angstroms. It can be used on the 12-inch LX-200 telescope or separately on an 8-inch Celestron telescope.
- A Coronado Instruments Ca K filter for observing solar magnetic activity.
- A Sun Gun for directly imaging the Sun in broad-band visible light.
- A classic Questar 3.5-inch telescope for solar imaging.
- Two models of SunSpotter telescopes.
- BinoMite binoculars from Coronado.
- Two Astroscan telescopes for viewing the photosphere by eyepiece projection.
- Spectroscopes for examining the Fraunhofer absorption lines in the Sun's spectrum.
- Pinhole cameras using the dark interiors of our telescope domes.
- Eclipse glasses for direct viewing of sunspots.
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Spectroscopy
The "other" half of observational astronomy is spectroscopy.
Using Camp spectrometers, campers can dissect the light coming from
astronomical objects to determine their properties! Follow this
link for lots more information about spectroscopy at Astronomy
Camp!
- An Optomechanics Research grating spectrometer, for all telescopes.
It can be used for visual spectroscopy (by eye), for photographic spectroscopy (with a 35mm camera), or CCD spectroscopy (with the
ST-9XE or ST-6 CCDs).
- An SBIG Model SGS spectrograph and ST-7XE CCD for use on the 12-inch LX-220 telescope. Click on "Products" on the SBIG page for specific information.
- Diffraction gratings ("grisms") from Rainbow Optics that thread into 1.25" eyepieces, mostly
for visual use on our 4", 8", and 12" telescopes
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Computers
Modern astronomy has come to rely heavily on computers; both for
control of telescopes and instruments, and for image processing and
scientific analysis (and for scientific collaboration!). Follow this link to learn more about computing
capabilities at Astronomy Camp! |
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Tucson-Area Sights
Astronomy Camp also takes a behind-the-scenes look at some of the
major astronomical facilities in Tucson, such as:
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Back to the
Astronomy Camp Home Page.
