24-Inch Telescope
This telescope of Ritchey-Chrétien optical design with a 24-inch (0.6-meter) diameter main mirror was built for OSU by Optical Guidance Systems, Inc. It was funded by a grant from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research in response to a proposal written by professor Peter Shull, the observatory director. Its main purposes are to track large asteroids which threaten to collide with Earth, to photometrically discover planets orbiting other stars, and to measure the variable brightness of other objects such as quasars and supernovae.
DC motors with solar backup and electronics for controlling the dome.
The 11-megapixel CCD camera, instrument rotator, focal reducer lens, and slide-mirror eyepiece.
First Test Images Gallery
Click each for larger image and to read information.
