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The Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope (VATT), located on Mt. Graham in Arizona, was just made a little more advanced. On June 3, a project concluded that outfitted the Vatican’s flagship telescope with a system that made it fully automated and robotic. The system will eventually allow astronomers at the Vatican Observatory, in Castel Gandolfo outside of Rome, to control the VATT remotely from across the world.
According to a press release, the automated system is named “Don” in honor of Donald M. Alstadt (1921-2007), the former chairman and CEO of Lord Corporation. It was The Thomas Lord Charitable Trust that funded the installation through a grant gifted by Mrs. Judith Alstadt in honor of her late husband.
Carried out by a Czechian engineering firm called ProjectSoft HK, the work was reportedly completed on time and on budget.
It was ProjectSoft HK’s 30th telescope installation, and in a fun coincidence it came just after the VATT entered its 30th year last September.
The VATT is said to be transformed by the “Don” automated system, which will not only allow astronomers to track objects in space with greater accuracy, but will also facilitate collaborations with astronomers from observatories all over the world.
Accuracy and efficiency
The “Don” is capable of tracking celestial bodies for up to 20 minutes with no human guidance. The automated system can steer the telescope’s mount and is said to be accurate enough to be able to track a marble from across a large outdoor sports arena. Furthermore, the “Don” will be put in control of the telescope’s support systems, including: a weather station, the telescope dome and the dome slit shutters, the oil system for the mount’s hydraulic bearings, the cooling system for the VATT’s primary mirror, and more.
The new system will offer astronomers several modes of use, with the “Legacy Mode” the only one currently available. This mode allows on-site astronomers to operate the VATT without the need to walk around to manually start and stop its various subsystems. This mode also allows for faster alignment and focusing of the telescope’s optics, which will create a smoother experience.
The next mode to be introduced will be a “remote mode,” that will allow astronomers to use the VATT without being on-site. Observatory staff will be able to control the VATT in Arizona from the Vatican Observatory’s headquarters in Castel Gandolfo, south of Rome. Another mode to be introduced in the future, the “scripted mode,” will see the system perform a series of instructions prepared by astronomers without any direct human monitoring.
And today we celebrate...