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Michael A. Stecker
Places Index
Astronomical Sites:
Keck Telescopes |
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Keck I Telescope
I was fortunate to get a private tour of the Keck I telescope when
I visited Hawaii a few years ago. This is the largest telescope on the mountain with a 10 meter segmented primary mirror.
Made possible through grants totaling more than $140 million from the
W.M. Keck Foundation, the observatory is operated by the California
Institute of Technology, the University of California, and the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which joined the
partnership in October, 1996. The Keck I telescope began science
observations in May, 1993; Keck II
began in October, 1996.
The Keck I Telescope specifications:
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Primary mirror diameter: 10 meters (33 feet)
Mirror curvature: f/1.75 hyperbolic mirror
Focal length: 17.5 meters (57.4 feet)
Primary mirror design: Segment
Number of segments: 36
Segment shape: Hexagonal
Segment diameter: 1.8 meters (6 feet)
Segment weight: 880 pounds
Segment material: Zerodur (low-expansion glass-ceramic)
Light-collecting area: 76 square meters (818 square feet)
Total weight of glass: 14.4 metric tons (15.9 tons)
Telescope mount: Altitude-Azimuth
Overall telescope height: 24.6 meters (80.7 feet)
Total moving weight with mirrors: 270 metric tons (298 tons)
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The Dome
Dome height: 30.8 meters (101 feet)
Dome width: 37 meters (121.4 feet)
Total moving weight:
635 metric tons (700 tons)
Keck II specifications:
The same as Keck I.
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