FRISCO is a private Observatory involved in
the field of research in supernovae and cometary objects.
Instrumentation
The FRISCO Observatory is equipped with a MEADE LX200 12" (D=305 mm, F=3048mm -f/10) Telescope, a Schmidt-Cassegrain catadioptric system mounted on a fork
equatorial mount.
Catadioptrics use a combination of mirrors and lenses to fold
the optics and form the image. In the Schmidt-Cassegrain
the light enters through a thin aspheric Schmidt correcting lens,
then strikes the spherical primary mirror which reflects the
light out an opening in the rear of the instrument where the
image is formed at the eyepiece.
The Telescope includes the optical tube assembly with EMC Super
Multi-Coatings; heavy-duty fork mount, with
4"-dia. sealed polar ball bearing, quartz-microprocessor-controlled
5.75" worm gears on both axes, and multi-function power panel display
on the drive base; manual and electric slow-motion controls on both axes;
setting circles in RA and Dec; handheld keypad Electronic Command Center
with digital readout display, PPEC Smart Drive, 7-speed drive control on
both axes, GO TO controller, High-Precision Pointing, and 64,359-object
onboard celestial software library.
The Telescope is mounted on an equatorial wedge positioned on a heavy pier.
The telescope is
controlled by a control system, located in the telescope room (the old observatory).
