The Centurion 18 telescope of the Wise Observatory

• Published in: Astrophysics and space science 2008-04, Vol.314 (1-3), p.163-176
• Main Authors: Brosch, Noah, Polishook, David, Shporer, Avi, Kaspi, Shai, Berwald, Assaf, Manulis, Ilan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Astrobiology; Astronomy; Astrophysics; Astrophysics and Astroparticles; Cosmology; Observations and Techniques; Observatories; Original Article; Physics; Physics and Astronomy; Space Exploration and Astronautics; Space Sciences (including Extraterrestrial Physics; Telescopes
• ISSN: 0004-640X; 1572-946X
• DOI: 10.1007/s10509-008-9752-4

We describe the second telescope of the Wise Observatory, a 0.46-m Centurion 18 (C18) installed in 2005, which enhances significantly the observing possibilities. The telescope operates from a small dome and is equipped with a large-format CCD camera. In the last two years this telescope was intensively used in a variety of monitoring projects. The operation of the C18 is now automatic, requiring only start-up at the beginning of a night and close-down at dawn. The observations are mostly performed remotely from the Tel Aviv campus or even from the observer’s home. The entire facility was erected for a component cost of about 70k$ and a labor investment of a total of one man-year. We describe three types of projects undertaken with this new facility: the measurement of asteroid light variability with the purpose of determining physical parameters and binarity, the following-up of transiting extrasolar planets, and the study of AGN variability. The successful implementation of the C18 demonstrates the viability of small telescopes in an age of huge light-collectors, provided the operation of such facilities is very efficient.