The DCT First Light Challenge

Fund the Astronomers' Lodge and the Guider and Wavefront Sensor by December 31, 2008.

Our challenge donors will contribute one dollar, up to a maximum of $500,000, for every two dollars raised.
Our campaign goal is $1,000,000 raised plus $500,000 matched, for a total of $1,500,000.

What's an Astronomers' Lodge?

Our astronomers, telescope operators, and support staff will often need to stay at the DCT site for several days at a time. Any major telescope has a support building nearby to house its staff, and the DCT is no different.

The Astronomers' Lodge will serve this purpose, providing a functional and comfortable "advance base" for operating the Discovery Channel Telescope. Learn more.

What's a Guider and Wavefront Sensor?

To obtain research grade images, the DCT must be carefully controlled throughout the night. It must track stars with pinpoint accuracy, and its mirror must maintain its precisely figured shape wherever the telescope is pointing.

The guider points the telescope and makes sure it stays at exactly the same spot on the sky while we take an exposure.

The wavefront sensor is an engineering marvel, a sophisticated system that can detect tiny changes in the primary mirror's shape as the telescope moves, and then change the shape by "poking" the mirror with any of 120 actuators mounted on its back surface. Learn more.