Millikin Astronomy
We are committed to exploration, discovery, and examination, both of space and ourselves. The facilities and equipment used for astronomy allow just that. Students are given a vast number of possibilities through training in equipment and procedure, easy access to all equipment, classes designed to meet the needs of student's future plans, and independent studies.
Millikin's Astronomy program does not end there. We have one of the largest publicly accessible telescopes in the area. In the fall and spring of the year, we host public viewing sessions, where all members of the community are welcome to stop by to do some stargazing with the assistance of qualified personnel. We also extend our reach outside of Millikin. Millikin's six 8" telescopes are portable, allowing us to go to dark sites for high-detail.
Making the Stars Accessible
The Requarth Observatory was built in 2000. There are three 300-pound support sections that hold the 20-foot telescope and each support had to be carried up six flights of stairs by hand. It was only after the telescope was installed that the freight elevator became operational.
Faculty and students are continually updating the observatory to meet their scientific needs and there are currently many plans to enhance the stargazing experience for faculty, students, and visitors.
In addition to the main telescope, the Leighty Tabor Science Building also features an observation deck on the fifth floor that surrounds the base of the dome. This observation deck provides the perfect platform to set up the smaller 8-foot telescopes that are commonly used in introductory astronomy classes. Even with a “small” telescope, it is still easy to observe the rings of Saturn.
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Telescopes at Millikin
Parallax Instruments 20" Ritchey-Chrétien
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Model No. |
PI500R, 20" |
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Clear Aperture |
508mm |
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Focal Ratio |
F/8.1 |
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Focal Length |
4114mm |
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Primary & Secondary Mirror Substrate |
Zero Expansion Astrositall |
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Telescope Tube |
Low Expansion Carbon Fiber |
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Secondary Amplification |
2.70X |
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Spacing (Approx.) |
40" |
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Mirror Coatings |
AlSiO |
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Optical Tube Dia. |
24" |
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Optical Tube Length |
56" |
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Optical Tube Weight |
130lbs. |
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Focuser |
2.7" |
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Finder Scope |
7X50 |
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Tube Rings |
Standard |
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Primary Cooling Fan |
Standard (Quantity 3) |
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Slewing Handle |
Standard |
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Tube C'wt Bar Assy. |
Standard (Quantity 2) |
Meade LX 200 8" Schmidt-Cassegrain
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f |
6.3 |
10 |
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Focal Length |
1280mm |
2000mm |
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Aperture |
203mm |
203mm |
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Secondary |
88mm |
76mm |
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Obstruction |
43% |
37% |
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Type |
SCT |
SCT |
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Drive |
Fully computer controlled; 64359 object library; automatic GO TO capability |
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Altaz |
Yes |
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Polar |
Yes with optional wedge |
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Eyepiece |
26mm Plossl |
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Finder |
8x50 |
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RS232 |
Yes |
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Power |
18v DC (AC adapter included) |
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Weight |
41lbs |
41lbs |
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Tripod |
Standard |
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Cameras at Millikin
ST-7XME
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CCD |
Kodak KAF-0402ME + TI TC-237 |
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Pixel Array |
765 x 510 pixels, 6.9 x 4.6 mm |
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Total Pixels |
390,000 |
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Pixel Size |
9 x 9 microns |
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Full Well Capactiy (ABG) |
~50,000 e- |
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Full Well Capactiy (NABG) |
~100,000 e- |
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Dark Current |
1e-/pixel/sec at 0C |
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Antiblooming |
KAF-0402ME is NABG only ABG optional (KAF-0402LE) |
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Shutter |
Electromechanical |
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Exposure |
0.11 to 36000 seconds, 10ms resolution |
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Correlated Double Sampling |
Yes |
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A/D Converter |
16 bits |
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A/D Gain |
2.6e-/ADU |
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Read Noise |
15e-RMS |
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Binning Modes |
1 x 1, 2 x 2, 3 x 3 |
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Pixel Digitization Rate |
Up to 420,000 pixels per second |
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Full Frame Acquisition |
~35 seconds |
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Field of View |
12 x 8 arcminutes on f/10 Meade LX 200 |
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Pixel Size |
.9 x .9 arcseconds on f/10 Meade LX 200 |
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Limiting Magnitude |
Magnitude 14 in 1 second |
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(for 3 arcsec FWHM stars) |
Magnitude 18 in 1 minute |
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Cooling - standard |
Single Stage Thermoelectric, Active Fan, Water Assist Ready -45 C from Ambient Typical |
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Temperature Regulation |
+-0.1 C |
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Power |
5 VDC at 1.5 amps, +-12 VDC at 0.5 amp desktop power supply included |
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Computer Interface |
Parallel |
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Computer Compatibility |
Windows 98/2000/Me/NT/XP |
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Guiding |
Dual CCD Self-Guiding |
STL-1001E
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Imaging CCD |
Kodak Enhanced KAF-1001E |
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Pixel Array |
1024 x 1024 pixels, 24.6 x 24.6 mm |
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Total Pixels |
1.0 million |
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Pixel Size |
24 x 24 microns |
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Full Well Capacity (NAGB) |
200,000 e- |
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Dark Curent |
9 e-/pixel/second at 0 degrees C |
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Antiblooming |
NAGB only |
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Shutter |
Electromechanical |
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Exposure |
0.12 to 3600 seconds, 10 ms resolution |
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Correlated Double Sampling |
Yes |
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A/D Converter |
16 bits |
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A/D Gain |
2.0e-/ADU |
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Read Noise |
14.8e-RMS |
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Binning Modes |
1 x 1, 2 x 2, 3 x 3 |
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Full Frame Download |
40.8 seconds |
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Cooling - standard |
Two-Stage Thermoelectric, Water Assist, -40 C from Ambient Typical |
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Temperature Regulation |
+-0.1 degrees C |
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Power |
10-18VDC, 12VDC nominal, Universal AC to 12VDC desktop supply |
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Computer Interface |
Parallel |
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Computer Compatibility |
WIndows 98/NT/2000/Me/XP/Mac OS-X |
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Guiding |
Dual CCD Self-Guiding Standard, |
SGS-Self Guided Spectrograph
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Dispersion: |
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|---|---|
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Two gratings available, on a carousel for rapid selction 150 lines per mm (4.3 Angstroms per pixel) 600 lines per mm (1.0 Angstroms per pixel) |
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Slit Width |
100 microns wide Entrance Slit |
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Accptance cone angle: |
F/6.3 by F/10 |
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Resolution: |
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Narrow slit & 600 lines/mm |
2.4 Angstroms |
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Narrow slit & 150 lines/mm |
10 Angstroms |
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Wide slit & 600 lines/mm |
10 Angstroms |
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Wide slit & 150 lines/mm |
38 Angstroms |
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Relative Sensitivity to Diffuse Sources: |
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Narrow slit & 600 lines/mm |
1.0 |
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Narrow slit & 150 lines/mm |
4.0 |
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Wide slit & 600 lines/mm |
4.0 |
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Wide slit & 150/mm |
16.0 |
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Dispersion: |
1.07 or 4.3 Angstroms per pixel |
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Resolution |
Emission line is recorded with 2.4, 10 or 38 Angstroms Full Width at Half Maximum |
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Spectral coverage per frame |
About 750 Angstroms with the high resolution grating, or 32000 with the low resolution grating |
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Center Wavelength Selection |
Calibrated Micrometer Adjustment |
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Wavelenght Range |
3800 to 7500 Angstroms |
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Sensitivity |
Signal to noise ration of 10:1 for a 9th mag star, 20 minute exposure using a non-AGB ST-7 and a 10 inch (25 cm) apertaur in high resolution mode. An ABG ST-7 will reach magnitude 8. The low resolution mode will be 1.5 magnitudes more sensitive. |
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Entrance Slit |
18 micron (2.3 arcseconds wide with 63 inch focal length telescope or 72 microns |
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Uses: |
Stellar Classification Analysis of Nebular Lines Indentification of spectroscopic binaries Measurement of Stellar proper motion to +/- 6km/sec accuracy Measurement of Emission Nebula Proper Motions Spectra of Laboratory and field sources |
External Links
| Professional Organizations | |
| The offical site for AAPT | |
| American Astronomical Society |
The offical site for AAS |
| American Physical Society | The offical site for APS |
| Society of Physics Students | The offical site for SPS |
| Physics and General Science | |
| Physics Today | The latest news in physics |
| EurekAlert! | Science news that is only a click away |
| Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) | A new photo each day with an explanation by a professional astronomer |
| Locations and Facilities | |
| National Radio Astronomy Observatory | A system of Radio Telescopes world-wide |
| Software, Hardware, and Maps | |
| The Mag-7 Star Atlas Project | A free online site which provides detailed star charts up to 7th magnitude objects |
| Stellarium | A free open source planetarium for your computer |
| SBIG | Astro-camera, computer software, and instructions on how to use both |
| Starry Night | Software which is helpful both all levels of astronomers |