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Small telescopes

Apart from the 6-meter telescope BTA two small telescopes are operative at SAO: the 1-m and 0.6-m telescopes, both manufactured by Carl Zeiss, Jena, are located near the BTA. Both telescopes are a property of SAO; they are operated by the staff and supported from the observatory's budget. The idea to install small telescopes at SAO turned out to be very helpful. These telescopes are used for adjusting the equipment and techniques of observations used at the BTA. On the other hand a part of the equipment and techniques is transferred from the 6-m to the small telescopes, what made the work more effective and increased the scientific effectiveness of SAO. These telescopes, especially Zeiss-1000, reduce load on BTA, harmonize the research work since far from all observational astrophysical problems require a large telescope to be used. By the decision of the SAO administration, beginning from 1994 a part of observing programs, including external ones, are transferred to the small telescopes as advised by the BTA Time Allocation Committee. Up to 10% of observational time at the telescope Zeiss-1000 is allocated now for this purpose.

The telescope Zeiss-1000 was put into operation in 1990, the observational time was distributed by the SAO administration. Beginning from 1993, when the stationary equipment appeared at this telescope and the creation of observing techniques was mainly completed, it was decided to adopt per-quarter and the per-half-year scheduling of observations. The Time Allocation Committee of the 1-m telescope considers applications for observational time at small telescopes once half a year and schedules the time-table of observations.

The 0.6-m telescope was put into service in 1994 after it was moved from the site of the Kazan University observational station, where is had been temporarily used at a rent. At present the observations at this telescope are not scheduled tightly, therefore it can be used for long continuous series of observations. A CCD photometer with an off-axis TV guide is mainly employed at the 0.6-m telescope.

The observational time allocation and also a brief description of the equipment of the 1-m telescope, which is used either permanently or mainly on this telescope, are presented below. More detailed specifications of the devices and all the information necessary for observations and data processing can be found at the SAO library or in the user's manuals at the telescopes.

Main specifications