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The
picture on the right shows the 3 meter dome (from ScopeDome) of the Chameleon
Observatory. The shutter is moved by a motor, whereas the rotation in the
azimuth is done manually. Supplier of the dome was
Astrolumina (Mr. M. Breite). The parts for both the 3 and
the 4 meter dome were brought from Poland to Walvis Bay by container ship and
then transported by truck to Onjala.
In the 5 square meter vestibule of
the dome the computer is situated which is used to operate cameras and
equipment in the dome. Additionally we use this room to store our equipment.
You can find picture galleries from the building shell to the mounting of the
instruments
here.
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| The picture on the right shows the 3 meter dome
during construction and in the background the 4 meter Onjala dome. All preview
pictures can be enlarged by clicking on them. |
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The
load bearing element of the chameleon telescope is a 6ADN mount by Eckard Alt.
Fixed on the mount are:
- 5 inch EDF-S refractor by
Astros Physics (130/780 mm), a
- Celestron C11 (280/2800 mm)
and a
- Pentax 75 (75/500 mm) as
guiding telescope.
The mount was built by E. Alt
personally and was previously used at Tivoli Astro Lodge. It's one of the most
precise mountings Mr. Paech has ever used for his observations. |
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The
mount is at the moment operated by a FS2 control system. If necessary we also
have Littlefoot control system and the original ALT DOS system available. Part
of the telescope (mount and EDF-S) was previously stationed at Tivoli Astro
Lodge and was part of the former Astro-cooperation between Paech and Unbehaun.
The equipment is almost exclusively used for photographic purposes. The
C11 is equipped with HyperStar optics, which is able to achieve a focal length
of 560mm at f/2. With this, stunning
wide angle pictures of astronomical objects can be made
under the dark Namibian sky.
Besides ocular lenses and adapters the chameleon observatory has
several SBIG CCD cameras, an ALccd 12 for the HyperStar system and a few Canon
EOS camera bodies which have been modified for astronomical purposes.
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In
front of our 3 meter dome we have a small concrete area with a fixed steel
pier. As needed, a portable Celestron CGEM DX mounting can be fixed on the
pier. The fine adjustment of the pole can be achieved by an aligning
pin.
For the CGEM mounting we have several transportable telescopes
available.
- 8 inch f/4
Newton
- 8 inch f/4 Lichtenknecker
flatfieldcamera
- 105 mm Pentax refractor with
0.72x focal reducer
- Celestron 80 mm Onyx
refractor for guiding
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At the
end of 2013 we started a cooperation with the DLR (department for planetary
research) in Berlin Adlershof. A 340 mm Keller Hypergraph which was no longer
used in Berlin is now getting shipped to Namibia.
The Hypergraph was
tested and optimized in Germany by W. Paech and will be used occasionally in
the 3 meter dome together with the Alt mount. During these restricted phases
the Celestron C11 with the HyperStar optics and also the 105 mm Pentax
refractor will be mounted on the portable CGEM DX mount of the
platform.
2016: We acquired and mounted
another large telescope for 3m chameleon dome. It is a 12.5 inch PlaneWave
Astrograph with f/8 and 2.540 mm focal length.
Further informations can
be found here. |
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| All Images and all Content are ©
by Franz Hofmann + Wolfgang Paech |
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