UK Schmidt Telescope and Related Topics

Australian Astronomical Observatory

Optical and near-infrared astronomy observatory with its headquarters in North Ryde in suburban Sydney, Australia.

The AAO operated the 3.9-metre Anglo-Australian Telescope (AAT) and 1.2-metre UK Schmidt Telescope (UKST) at Siding Spring Observatory, located near the town of Coonabarabran, Australia.

Field of view

Extent of the observable world that is seen at any given moment.

Angle of view can be measured horizontally, vertically, or diagonally.

A 360-degree panorama of the Milky Way at the Very Large Telescope. In the image, the Milky Way appears like an arc of stars spanning horizon to horizon with two streams of stars seemingly cascading down like waterfalls.

In computed tomography (abdominal CT pictured), the field of view (FOV) multiplied by scan range creates a volume of voxels.

The photographic plates used by the UK Schmidt Telescope had a field of view of 30 sq. degrees.

Digital clock. The time shown by the digits on the face at any instant is digital data. The actual precise time is analog data.

Digitized Sky Survey

Digitized version of several photographic astronomical surveys of the night sky, produced by the Space Telescope Science Institute between 1983 and 2006.

For the southern sky, the J-band (blue, Eastman Kodak IIIa-J) of the ESO/SERC Southern Sky Atlas (known as the SERC-J, code "S") and the "quick" V-band (blue or V in the Johnson–Kron–Cousins system, Eastman Kodak IIa-D) SERC-J Equatorial Extension (SERC-QV, code "XV"), from the UK Schmidt Telescope at the Australian Siding Spring Observatory, were used.

Schmidt camera

Catadioptric astrophotographic telescope designed to provide wide fields of view with limited aberrations.

The 77 cm Schmidt-telescope from 1966 at Brorfelde Observatory was originally equipped with photographic film, and an engineer is here showing the film-box, which was then placed behind the locker at the center of the telescope (at the telescope's prime focus)

The 2 meter diameter Alfred Jensch Telescope at the Karl Schwarzschild Observatory in Tautenburg, Thuringia, Germany is the largest Schmidt camera in the world.

One of the Baker–Nunn cameras used by the Smithsonian satellite-tracking program

A Baker-Nunn satellite tracking camera in use.

Some notable examples are the Samuel Oschin telescope (formerly Palomar Schmidt), the UK Schmidt Telescope and the ESO Schmidt; these provided the major source of all-sky photographic imaging from 1950 until 2000, when electronic detectors took over.

Siding Spring Mountain with Anglo-Australian Telescope dome visible near centre of image.

Siding Spring Observatory

Siding Spring Observatory near Coonabarabran, New South Wales, Australia, part of the Research School of Astronomy & Astrophysics (RSAA) at the Australian National University (ANU), incorporates the Anglo-Australian Telescope along with a collection of other telescopes owned by the Australian National University, the University of New South Wales, and other institutions.

During the construction of the AAT in the early 1970s, the British Science Research Council also built the UK Schmidt Telescope, 1 km to the northeast of the AAT dome.

An example of spectroscopy: a prism analyses white light by dispersing it into its component colors.

RAVE (survey)

RAVE (RAdial Velocity Experiment) is a multi-fiber spectroscopic astronomical survey of stars in the Milky Way using the 1.2-metre UK Schmidt Telescope of the Australian Astronomical Observatory (AAO).

6dF Galaxy Survey

The 6dF Galaxy Survey (Six-degree Field Galaxy Survey), 6dF or 6dFGS is a redshift survey conducted by the Anglo-Australian Observatory (AAO) with the 1.2m UK Schmidt Telescope between 2001 and 2009.

Royal Observatory, Edinburgh

Astronomical institution located on Blackford Hill in Edinburgh.

A "flexure rig" for simulating the operational movement of instruments on telescopes as they change altitude

The Crawford labs of the UK Astronomy Technology Centre

The ROE operated the UK Schmidt Telescope (UKST) since it was opened in 1973.

Mills Observatory

First purpose-built public astronomical observatory in the UK.

The building of the present Mills Observatory

The 19-inch (48cm) pilot model telescope

$The 10 in Cooke refractor telescope$

The Red Oak, planted on 25 February 2004 by HRH The Princess Royal to commemorate her visit to view the improvements to the Mills Observatory

Aerial view of Mills Observatory and Surroundings

This was of a much more advanced design than the standard Schmidt telescopes then in use.

Australia and Britain share a sovereign, Elizabeth II

Australia–United Kingdom relations

Relations exist between the Commonwealth realms of Australia and the United Kingdom, marked by historical, cultural, institutional, extensive people-to-people links, aligned security interests, sporting tournaments (notably The Ashes), and significant trade and investment co-operation.

Australian AP-3C Orion joins UK survey ship HMS Echo in the search for MH370

London celebrates England's victory in the 2005 Ashes cricket series

Monthly value of Australian merchandise exports to the United Kingdom (A$ millions) since 1988

Monthly value of UK merchandise exports to Australia (A$ millions) since 1988

Australia House, home of the High Commission of Australia, London.

The British High Commission in Canberra.

The Australia - UK Ministerial (AUKMIN) press conference in Sydney, February 2015.

The two countries jointly operated the Anglo-Australian Observatory until 2010 including the Anglo-Australian Telescope and UK Schmidt Telescope at Siding Spring Observatory in New South Wales.