The Carlsberg Meridian Telescope (formerly the Carlsberg Automatic Meridian Circle) is a decommissioned
meridian circle
The meridian circle is an instrument for timing of the passage of stars across the local meridian, an event known as a culmination, while at the same time measuring their angular distance from the nadir. These are special purpose telescopes mount ...
telescope located at the
Roque de los Muchachos Observatory
Roque de los Muchachos Observatory ( es, Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos, ORM) is an astronomical observatory located in the municipality of Garafía on the island of La Palma in the Canary Islands, Spain. The observatory site is operated ...
in the
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Mo ...
. It was dedicated to high-precision optical
astrometry
Astrometry is a branch of astronomy that involves precise measurements of the positions and movements of stars and other celestial bodies. It provides the kinematics and physical origin of the Solar System and this galaxy, the Milky Way.
Histor ...
and operated from May 1984 to September 2013.
The CMT's 20 years of
photometric data was studied to understand
atmosphere extinction.
Up to 2003, 11 catalogs were published and it had been given various upgrades since its installation in 1984.
The telescope is owned by the Danish
Copenhagen University Observatory
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
and was jointly operated under an international agreement with the
Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge
The Institute of Astronomy (IoA) is the largest of the three astronomy departments in the University of Cambridge, and one of the largest astronomy sites in the United Kingdom. Around 180 academics, postdocs, visitors and assistant staff work a ...
and the
Real Instituto y Observatorio de la Armada
The Real Instituto y Observatorio de la Armada (Royal Institute and Observatory of the Spanish Navy) is the scientific institute and astronomical observatory of the Spanish Navy (''Armada''), located in San Fernando in the Province of Cádiz
...
.
[Bélizon, F. & Muiños, J. & Vallejo, M. & Evans, Dafydd & Irwin, M. & Helmer, L.. (2003). First Carlsberg Meridian Telescope (CMT) CCD Catalogue.. -1. 61-68.]
Link
References
See also
*
Tokyo Photoelectric Meridian Circle
The Tokyo Photoelectric Meridian Circle (PMC) is a meridian circle that observes and records the positions of stars and planets, which are then reported in the PMC catalogs.
Meridian circle
The Tokyo Photoelectric Meridian Circle is a fully au ...
(Another 20th century electronic meridian telescope)
Optical telescopes
Astronomical observatories in La Palma
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