Hatches Opening
The hatches of the 3.6m allow four different openings:
Open hatches |
Available sky area (altitude) |
Available sky area (Zenithal distance) |
4 |
90 - 58 degrees |
0 - 32 degrees |
4+3 |
90 - 42 degrees |
0 - 48 degrees |
4+3+2 |
86 - 24 degrees |
4 - 66 degrees |
4+3+2+1 |
68 - 7 degrees |
22 - 83 degrees |
Typically hatches # 4,3,2 are opened. Care has to be taken for observation at Zenith, as Hatch # 2 covers 4 degrees at Zenith when it is opened. In case of need the Hatch # 2 can be closed from the control room, but reopening it requires the telescope operators to drive up to the telescope, leading to an overhead of about 10 minutes.