Danish 1.54-metre telescope

The Danish 1.54-metre telescope, built by Grubb–Parsons, has been in use at La Silla since 1979. It was completely overhauled in 1993 and is now equipped with the Danish Faint Object Spectrograph and Camera instrument. The telescope has allowed astronomers to make several first discoveries. In 2005 astronomers showed that short, intense bursts of gamma-ray emission most likely originate from the violent collision of two merging neutron stars, ending a long debate (eso0533). In 2006, astronomers using a network of telescopes scattered across the globe, including the Danish 1.54-metre Telescope, discovered an exoplanet only about five times as massive as the Earth, and circling its parent star in about ten years (eso0603). This telescope has also been used to produce many impressive astronomical images.

Science goals

Gamma Ray Burst (GRB) follow-up, photometry, comets

Links


LIVE all-sky camera

LIVE all-sky camera

All Sky camera near the Danish 1.54-metre telescope at La Silla. More information on this link

Danish 1.54-metre telescope

Name: Danish 1.54-metre telescope
Site: La Silla
Altitude: 2375 m
Enclosure: Classical dome
Type: Spectrographic telescope
Optical design: Ritchey-Chrétien Reflector
Diameter. Primary M1: 1.54 m
Material. Primary M1: Cervit
Diameter. Secondary M2: 0.61 m
Material. Secondary M2: Cervit
Mount: Off-axis equatorial mount
First Light date: 20 November 1978
Images taken with the Danish 1.54-metre telescope: Link
Images of the Danish 1.54-metre telescope: Link
Videos of the Danish 1.54-metre telescope: Link
Press Releases with the Danish 1.54-metre telescope: Link