Speaker
Description
A new optical setup, based on the substitution of the secondary and tertiary mirror (M2-M3), will be installed during the Dome C Summer Campaign 2023-2024. These new optics (f/12) have been designed together with the MiR Optomechanical Engineering. The need for a faster focal ratio has been pointed out from the beginning of the activities and moreover after the end of AMICA instrument operations. The sensor evolution reduced the average pixel pitch, hence a shorter focal length is now needed. Together with the mirror set a focal robotized rotator and a focal reducer (0.75X) will be mounted on the ITM Nasmyth focus side B, allowing a wider range of coupling with focal instruments both for Optical and SWIR-IR observations.
A new observational era can finally start from the 800 mm aperture telescope in Dome C, thanks to the new optomechanical system, the major electronics and the SW upgrades: a new INDI-based server, a light but comprehensive telemetry system and a scriptable system for observation robotization are now up and running at the telescope site.
