Instruments and Telescopes Used in the 2007 P445.3 Pluto Occultation Observing Campaign ======================================================================================== Date: 2025-04-21 The information was extracted from the sources cited below. Infrared observations with the PISCES instrument ================================================= PISCES is a wide-field (1024x1024 Rockwell HAWAII array) near-IR camera designed to be used at the Kitt Peak 90-in, Mt. Bigelow 61-in, and MMT 6.5-m. The camera has a circular 8.5 arcmin diameter field of view and a pixel scale of 0.5"/pix on the two smaller telescopes. It has a 3.1 arcmin field of view and pixel scale of 0.18"/pix at the MMT. The camera has a warm CaF2 dewar window and five BaF2 and fused silica lenses at cryogenic temperatures. It also has a pupil viewing mode. The dewar was made by Infrared Labs, Inc. Fiber optics connect a PC to the array electronics. For the infrared data in this bundle PISCES was used at the MMT Observatory 6.5-m Single Mirror Telescope on Mount Hopkins, AZ ------------------------------------------------------------------ Aperture (m): 6.5 Latitude: 31.688611 /* +31 41 19.0 */ Longitude: -110.884530 /* -110 53 04.31 E */ Elevation (m): 2610 The original six 1.83-m reflectors were replaced with a single 6.5m mirror. The new MMT was rededicated on 20 May 2000. Visible observations with the Portable Occultation, Eclipse, and Transit System (POETS) ======================================================================================= POETS is optimized for occultation and related observations. The core of this system is the Andor Technology DV-887 (now DU-897) frame-transfer camera, featuring a high frame rate, minimal dead time, high quantum efficiency, and low read noise. The POETS works with a compact GPS timing system with microsecond accuracy, and a high-performance computer system capable of sustained fast frame rates. The camera has 16 micron square pixels in a 512 x 512 format. Its read noise and full-frame readout rate range from 6 electrons/pixel and 3 Hz in conventional mode to less than 1 electrons/pixel and greater than 30 Hz in electron-multiplying (EM) mode. For the visible observations POETS instruments were used at the MMT Observatory 6.5-m Single Mirror Telescope (see above), the Magdelena Ridge Observatory MRO 2.4m Telescope on South Baldy Mountain (NM) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Aperture (m): 2.4 Latitude: 33.976666 /* +33 58 36.0 */ Longitude: -107.184722 /* -107 11 05.00 E */ Elevation (m): 3180 and the US Naval Observatory USNO 1.55m Telescope near Flagstaff (AZ) -------------------------------------------------------------- Aperture (m): 1.55 Latitude: 35.183888 /* +35 11 02.0 */ Longitude: -111.739720 /* -111 44 22.99 E */ Visible observations with the LBC Guide Camera at the LBT on Mount Graham (AZ) ============================================================================== This information has been taken and adapted from the LBT Instrumentation websiste (http://abell.as.arizona.edu/~lbtsci/Instruments/LBC/lbc_description.html) on March 25, 2025. A technical chip (tech chip 1) with 2048 x 512 (13.5 micron) pixels in the focal plane is used for guiding. The readout noise is 5.5 ADU in the blue channel and 6.0 ADU in the red channel. Large Binocular Telescope Observatory 8.4/8.4-m Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Aperture (m): two 8.4 telescopes Latitude: 32.700001 /* +32 42 00.0 */ Longitude: -109.849998 /* -109 50 59.99 E */ Elevation (m): 3170 Visible observations with the SBIG ST-10XME camera at Fremont Peak Observatory in the Fremont Peak State Park (CA) ================================================================================================================== The SBIG ST-10XME imaging camera is an enhanced KAF-3200ME imaging detector from Kodak with 3.2 million pixels. The peak QE for this CCD is over 85% and the Full Frame Resolution is 2184 x 1472 pixels at 6.8 microns. The guiding CCD is the TC-237H with 657 x 495 pixels. The imaging camera includes an electro-mechanical shutter, 16 bit analog to digital (A/D) converter, regulated temperature control with all of the electronics integrated into the CCD head. Communication to the PC is through the USB port with image data transfer at up to 425,000 pixels per second. Fremont Peak Observatory FPO 0.32m ---------------------------------- Aperture (m): 0.32 Latitude: 36.760277 /* +36 45 37.0 */ Longitude: -121.498611 /* -121 29 55.00 E */ Elevation (m): 840 Sources: ======== Telescope information was extracted from the respective telescope websites. PISCES: McCarthy, D., J. Ge, J. Hinz, R. Finn, & R. de Jong, R. 2001, PISCES: A Wide-Field, 1-2.5 um Camera for Large-Aperture Telescopes. PASP, 115, 353. doi:10.1086/319328 POETS: Souza, S. P., B. A. Babcock, J. M. Pasachoff, A. A. S. Gulbis, J. L. Elliot, M. J. Person, & J. W. Gangestad, 2006, POETS: Portable Occultation, Eclipse, and Transit System. PASP, 118, 1550. doi:10.1086/509665 LBC guide camera: Information was extracted from the LBTO website. SBIG ST-10XME camera: Information was migrated from the PDS3 catalog file.