Bradford Robotic Telescope
Encyclopedia
The Bradford Robotic Telescope (BRT) is an autonomous astronomical telescope
located at Teide Observatory
, Tenerife
in the Canary Islands
. It is owned by the University of Bradford
and was built between 2002 and 2004 for remote use by schools and individuals worldwide. As of November 2009, the observatory has returned over 70,000 images and has more than 23,000 users.
Telescope
A telescope is an instrument that aids in the observation of remote objects by collecting electromagnetic radiation . The first known practical telescopes were invented in the Netherlands at the beginning of the 1600s , using glass lenses...
located at Teide Observatory
Teide Observatory
The Observatorio del Teide is an astronomical observatory on Tenerife operated by the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias. Opened in 1964, it became one of the first major international observatories, attracting telescopes from different countries around the world because of the good astronomical...
, Tenerife
Tenerife
Tenerife is the largest and most populous island of the seven Canary Islands, it is also the most populated island of Spain, with a land area of 2,034.38 km² and 906,854 inhabitants, 43% of the total population of the Canary Islands. About five million tourists visit Tenerife each year, the...
in the Canary Islands
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
. It is owned by the University of Bradford
University of Bradford
The University of Bradford is a British university located in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The University received its Royal Charter in 1966, making it the 40th University to be created in Britain, but its origins date back to the early 1800s...
and was built between 2002 and 2004 for remote use by schools and individuals worldwide. As of November 2009, the observatory has returned over 70,000 images and has more than 23,000 users.
Instrumentation
The Bradford Robotic Telescope consists of three optical systems providing varying fields of view. The hardware is mounted on a Paramount ME equatorial mount.Galaxy camera
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Camera | FLI MicroLine fitted with an E2V CCD47-10. 1024 x 1024 pixels, each 13µm square |
| Filter | FLI CFW-2 Eight position filter wheel |
| Focus | Optec TCF-s Temperature Controlled Focuser |
| Optical | Schmidt-Cassegrain Celestron Celestron Celestron is a company that manufactures and imports telescopes, binoculars, spotting scopes, microscopes, and accessories for their products.-Origins and History:... C14 optical tube. 3910mm focal length, 355mm aperture at f/11. A Celestron focal reducer gives an effective focal length of 1877mm at f/5.3. |
| Field of view | Approximately 24 arc minutes square |
Cluster camera
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Camera | FLI MaxCam CM2-1 fitted with an E2V CCD47-10. 1024 x 1024 pixels, each 13µm square |
| Filter | FLI CFW-2 Eight position filter wheel |
| Focus | Fixed focus point |
| Optical | Nikon Nikon , also known as just Nikon, is a multinational corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, specializing in optics and imaging. Its products include cameras, binoculars, microscopes, measurement instruments, and the steppers used in the photolithography steps of semiconductor fabrication, of which... 200mm lens |
| Field of view | Approximately 3 degrees square |
Constellation camera
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Camera | FLI MaxCam CM2-1 fitted with an E2V CCD47-10. 1024 x 1024 pixels, each 13µm square |
| Filter | FLI CFW-2 Eight position filter wheel |
| Focus | Fixed focus point |
| Optical | Nikon 16mm lens at f/2.8 |
| Field of view | Approximately 40 degrees square |