Michael A. Stecker
masmd@sbcglobal.net

 

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Keck Telescopes
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Keck I Telescope
I was fortunate to get a private tour of the Keck I telescope when
I visited Hawaii a few years ago.  This is the largest telescope on
the mountain with a 10 meter segmented primary mirror.
 
Made possible through grants totaling more than $140 million from the W.M. Keck Foundation, the observatory is operated by the California Institute of Technology, the University of California, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which joined the partnership in October, 1996. The Keck I telescope began science observations in May, 1993; Keck II
began in October, 1996.
 
The Keck I Telescope specifications:
x
Primary mirror diameter: 10 meters (33 feet)
Mirror curvature:  f/1.75 hyperbolic mirror
   Focal length: 17.5 meters (57.4 feet)    
Primary mirror design:  Segment
   Number of segments:  36
   Segment shape:  Hexagonal
   Segment diameter: 1.8 meters (6 feet)
   Segment weight:  880 pounds
   Segment material:  Zerodur (low-expansion glass-ceramic)
    Light-collecting area:  76 square meters (818 square feet)
       Total weight of glass:  14.4 metric tons (15.9 tons)
   Telescope mount:  Altitude-Azimuth
   Overall telescope height:  24.6 meters (80.7 feet)
   Total moving weight with mirrors:  270 metric tons (298 tons)
 


Control Room for Keck I Telecope

 

The Dome
Dome height:  30.8 meters (101 feet)
   Dome width:  37 meters (121.4 feet)
   Total moving weight:  635 metric tons (700 tons)
 
 
Keck II specifications:
The same as Keck I.