Skip to main content

Megacam: A Wide-Field CCD Imager for the MMT and Magellan

Article

Publications

Complete Citation

  • McLeod, Brian A., Geary, John, Conroy, Maureen, Fabricant, Daniel, Ordway, Mark, Szentgyorgyi, Andrew H., Amato, Stephen, Ashby, Matthew L. N., Caldwell, Nelson, Curley, Dylan, Gauron, Thomas, Holman, Matthew, Norton, Timothy, Pieri, Mario, Roll, John, Weaver, David, Zajac, Joseph, Palunas, Povilas, and Osip, David. 2015. "Megacam: A Wide-Field CCD Imager for the MMT and Magellan." Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, 127 366–382. https://doi.org/10.1086/680687.

Overview

Abstract

  • Megacam is a large-format optical camera that can be operated at the f/5 Cassegrain foci of the MMT on Mount Hopkins, Arizona, and the Magellan Clay telescope at Las Campanas Observatory, Chile. Megacam's focal plane is composed of 36 closely packed e2v CCD42-90 CCDs, each with 2048 × 4608 pixels, assembled in an 18,432 × 18,432 array. Two additional CCD42-90s are provided for autoguiding and focus control. The CCDs have 13.5 ?m square pixels that subtend at the f/5 foci, yielding a 25' × 25' field-of-view. The camera system includes a focal plane shutter, two filter wheels, two liquid nitrogen reservoirs, a central chamber that holds the CCD mosaic array, and two electronics boxes. Megacam is equipped with a variety of broadband and narrowband filters. Software features include automatic calculation of twilight flat exposure times.

Publication Date

  • 2015

Authors