Pointing Limits
Note that these limits are only guidelines.Positioning of the telescope is entirely at the discretion of the telescope operator based on safety and limits imposed by the mounted instrument or other hardware.
Find the declination of your target (green lines) and read the zenith
distance (Y-axis) for a given hour angle (X-axis). Note that several
obstructions (horizontal red lines) are encountered before reaching
the software limits (80 degrees zenith distance or 5h 40m hour angle).
Each of these obstructions - lower shutter, windscreen, and elevator -
requires about 5 minutes to be moved out of the way.
Last modified: Thu Jan 24 11:56:07 PST 2008