The One Metre Initiative: A New Major Observatory in Canada
Frank Roy
Elektra Observatories

A detailed description of a one-metre class observatory to be located in the Madawaska Highlands of Ontario under 21.82 mag/arcsec² skies. It is designed exclusively for wide-field imaging, featuring the world's largest prime focus field-of-view and utilizing the world's largest monolithic digital camera. Much effort has been expended to optimize the seeing which is expected to better than 1.25" FWHM. With a field of view of some 5 degrees² and reaching magnitude 25.5 in under 30 minutes (s/n = 3, L) and download times under 2 seconds, the OMI is capable of outperforming much larger telescopes. The instrument employs active optics in the prime focus platform for active all sky collimation and precision focus, the use of carbon fiber in the optical tube assembly, dome and parts of the mount together with other innovative designs and materials will produce probably the highest performance one-metre class in the world.

Date:	Jeudi, 12 février 2009
Time:	12:30
Where:	Université de Montréal
	Pavillon Roger-Gaudry, Local D-460
Contact:	Anthony F. J. Moffat