UPGRADED 1 METER TELESCOPE AND SCIENCE PROJECTS

In: «Узбекский физический журнал», Volume 20, Issue 3, p. 137-146

Abstract

The article presents the latest status of the Maidanak 1 m telescope, instruments and the related facilities of the Observatory as well as the science projects. The renovation of the 1 m telescope of Carl Zeiss (Germany) at the Maidanak observatory of the Ulug Bek Astronomical Institute (UBAI) AS of Uzbekistan has been made. All systems of the telescope were completely modernized based on modern standards, the main results of modernization are also described. All modernization works, as well as scientific research on this project are carried out in close cooperation of UBAI with the National Astronomical Observatories of the Academy of Sciences of the PRC in framework of the Agreement on cooperation between these organizations. The FOV has been enlarged and new CCD camera is mounted. The related facilities, like the observing circumstance monitoring system and the photovoltaic station, are also built for the observing support. The telescope and new camera will be tested and used for the science projects of the 1 m telescope. According to the collaboration agreement, a large-scale scientific project on a full survey of the northern sky in special photometric system - Stellar Abundance and Galactic Evolution (SAGE) survey will be carried out with the upgraded 1 m telescope. The main goal of the project is to measure the stellar atmospheric parameters for more than 500 million FGK stars. As other projects, the time domain science, like GRB, SNe searching, variable stars, also will be performed.