THE AMOS/MOTIF OBSERVATORY The AMOS/MOTIF Observatory is the largest facility in Maui's "Science City" THE 1.6 METER TELESCOPE The AMOS 1.6 meter telescope is one of the finest optical telescopes of its size in the world. This Cassegrain system has diffraction-limited optics that are installed on a high performance, three-axis mount. The massive eighty-three ton mount is a standard astronomical equatorial arrangement on an azimuth turntable. The three axes ride on hydraulic bearings and are smoothly and rapidly accelerated by torque motors, to permit continuous tracking of rapidly moving orbital or sub-orbital vehicles. To permit diffraction-limited performance in all operating mount attitudes, the large 1.6 meter parabolic primary mirror is housed in a primary support system that incorporates a mercury belt for radial support and air bags for axial support. The telescope has two instrument mounting surfaces. The rear surface hosts the Compensated Imaging System (CIS), an instrument which represents the state-of-the-art in space object imagery. The CIS employs adaptive optics technology to compensate for atmospheric turbulence-induced distortion of images. The side surface hosts the AMOS Spectral Radiometer, an infrared device used to collect infrared spectral signatures and to provide a test-bed for highly advanced sensitive infrared CCD detector arrays. |