by
Prof.David Buckley(South African Astronomical Observatory, Cape Town, South Africa)
→
Asia/Kolkata
A-269 (Colaba Campus)
A-269
Colaba Campus
Description
The 11-meter Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) is currently the
largest single aperture optical-IR telescope in the southern hemisphere
and is currently undergoing recommissioning following a protracted
period of optical engineering work. This talk will describe its unusual
telescope design, the construction of the telescope, and the capabilities
of the first generation instruments. It will focus on the ability to
undertake time resolved studies, particularly high time resolution
observations, and discuss some of the other rarely exploited (to date)
observational modes. Examples of some early science will also be
presented.