This artifact comprises documentation and miscellaneous hardware for original camera used on the Hale 200-inch telescope at the Cassegrain focus to proof test the split field concept design for the Wide Field/Planetary camera of the Hubble Space Telescope. The complete, working camera including split field optics and two of the original four CCD camera units that were used programmatically on the 200-inch for many years, and featured in Richard Preston's "First Light" as a galaxy and quasar finder.
The California Institute of Technology donated these items to the Smithsonian in September 1999.
Display Status
This object is not on display at the National Air and Space Museum. It is either on loan or in storage.
Object Details
Country of Origin
United States of America
Type
INSTRUMENTS-Scientific
Manufacturer
California Institute of Technology, Palomar Observatory
Dimensions
Overall: 13 in. × 28 1/2 in. × 13 in. (33 × 72.4 × 33cm)
Other (Large Metal File Holder labeled "J. Gunn Robinson Lab"): 25.4 × 25.4 × 31.8cm (10 in. × 10 in. × 12 1/2 in.)
Other (Small Metal File Holder labeled "J. Gunn Cal Tech"): 25.4 × 14 × 31.8cm (10 in. × 5 1/2 in. × 12 1/2 in.)
Storage (Aluminum pallet and frame with fabric dust cover): 123.2 × 124.5 × 119.4cm, 241.3kg (48 1/2 × 49 × 47 in., 532lb.)
Materials
Cardboard box containing engineering drawings, observing procedures, logs, reductions. Paper.
Inventory Number
A19990211003
Credit Line
Gift of the Palomar Observatory, California Institute of Technology.
Data Source
National Air and Space Museum
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
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