astronomy

McMath–Pierce solar telescope

McMath–Pierce solar telescope is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand McMath–Pierce solar telescope rather than just read about it. In short: McMath–Pierce solar telescope is a 1.6 m f/54 reflecting solar telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona, United States. Built in 1962, the building was designed by American architect Myron Goldsmith and Bangladeshi-American structural engineer Fazlur Rahman Khan.

Key takeaways

McMath–Pierce solar telescope belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
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Connect McMath–Pierce solar telescope to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of McMath–Pierce solar telescope from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

McMath–Pierce solar telescope is a 1.6 m f/54 reflecting solar telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona, United States. Built in 1962, the building was designed by American architect Myron Goldsmith and Bangladeshi-American structural engineer Fazlur Rahman Khan. It was the largest solar telescope and the largest unobstructed aperture optical telescope in the world. It is named after the astronomers Robert Raynolds McMath and Keith Pierce. It was originally called the McMath Solar Telescope, and then later renamed the McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope in 1992. Although it is designed for observation of the Sun, it can also be used to view bright objects at night. In 2018, the telescope received a 4.5 million USD grant for an enhanced visitor center and other programs, and to overall revitalize the national icon.

Construction

The telescope is a triple instrument. In addition to the primary 1.61 m mirror fed by the 2.03 m heliostat, there are a pair of telescopes fed by 0.81 m heliostats mounted beside the main heliostat. These two instruments, referred to as the East and West auxiliaries, have 1.07 m and 0.91 m primary mirrors.

The telescope uses the heliostat at the top of its main tower to direct the Sun's light down a long shaft to the primary mirrors. The distinctive diagonal shaft continues underground, where the telescope's primary mirror is located. The theoretical resolution of the main telescope is 0.07 arcsec, although this is never reached because atmospheric distortions degrade the image quality severely. The image scale is 2.50 arcsec/mm at the image plane. Since 2002 the National Solar Observatory staff have developed an adaptive optics system designed for the unique needs of solar observatories that dramatically improve the resolution of science images. The secondary telescopes are called East and West. They are completely independent of the main telescope. These two auxiliary telescopes each have a 0.91-meter heliostat located beside the main heliostat. These auxiliary telescopes have a slightly shorter focal length and f-numbers of 50 and 44. The resolution of the auxiliary telescopes is 5.11 arcsec/mm and 5.75 arcsec/mm. The enclosure of the telescope was designed and engineered by the Chicago office of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill. At the dedication in 1962, Dr. Waterman read a letter from President John F Kennedy starting with:

The great new solar telescope at the Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona is a source of pride to the nation. The largest instrument for solar research in the world, it presents American astronomers with a unique tool for investigating the nearest of the stars, our sun. This project is of exceptional interest to all our citizens...

Instruments

The third mirror of the main telescope which sends the light down into the observing room can be moved above three different positions. Two of these have a vacuum spectrograph beneath them, one of 18 meter deep and the other 4 meter deep with lower resolution but higher light throughput. These two spectrographs are able to rotate to compensate for the rotation of the image caused by the use of a heliostat. The third position can only be equipped with a static optical table with no image rotation correction and is therefore rarely used.

The auxiliary telescopes can only be used for imaging on static optical tables and do not provide image rotation correction.

NSF divestment and reinvestment In 2016, the National Science Foundation (NSF) announced that it would be divesting from the McMath-Pierce solar observatory. The operator, known as National Solar Observatory, began accepting proposals from new potential operators. A concept for retrofitting by the Kitt Peak visitor center manager was first provided to the NSF for consideration in July 2017. That concept was ultimately developed into a funding proposal to the NSF, submitted again in May 2018. This proposal was awarded in September 2018 by the NSF to the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, the organization that operates Kitt Peak National Observatory on behalf of the NSF.

See also List of solar telescopes Lists of telescopes List of largest optical reflecting telescopes Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope (Major new solar telescope project of the early 21st century)

References

External links Media related to McMath–Pierce solar telescope at Wikimedia Commons Kitt Peak virtual tour: McMath–Pierce Solar Telescope "McMath Solar Telescope of the Kitt Peak National Observatory", A. K. Pierce, Applied Optics, 3, 1337–1346, 1964. A History of the McMath–Pierce Schematic diagram of the McMath–Pierce telescope Adaptive optics at the McMath–Pierce telescope

Illustrations

McMath–Pierce solar telescope: Results of adaptive optics — Results of adaptive optics

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with McMath–Pierce solar telescope

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what McMath–Pierce solar telescope claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to McMath–Pierce solar telescope before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about McMath–Pierce solar telescope ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of McMath–Pierce solar telescope

In research: McMath–Pierce solar telescope appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses McMath–Pierce solar telescope in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: McMath–Pierce solar telescope is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1962 establishments in Arizona, American inventions, Astronomical observatories in Arizona, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for McMath–Pierce solar telescope outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study McMath–Pierce solar telescope in 20 minutes

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Frequently asked questions

What is McMath–Pierce solar telescope in simple terms?

Why does McMath–Pierce solar telescope matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study McMath–Pierce solar telescope?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on McMath–Pierce solar telescope.