MPC Observatory code: 435
Latitude: N45° 24' 14.9"
Longitude: E11° 53' 37.2"
Elevation: 25m a.s.l.
How were they calculated?

The Observatory is made up of two rooms which are situated on the top floor of the abattoir 9th century in Via Cornaro 1b

The room under the dome is used as the Control Room, here one finds the computers which control the telescope and instruments.

Above this room one finds the observatory which can be accessed by metal stairs.

The hemispheric dome is divided into two parts which slide open on metallic rails in order to open a observation window 85cm wide and 180° in order to allow the observation of the sky at any height from the horizon to the zenith.

The horizontal movement is executed by an electric motor from the telescope’s control system.

The principal instrument is the Newton/Cassegrain telescope, made by the workshop “Marcon”, which houses the main mirror of 410mm in diameter f4,84 made by “Costruzioni Ottiche Zen”.

The passage between the two optical configurations can be made in a few minutes by changing the top part of the telescope that holds the secondary mirror.

The observatory is also equipped with a second telescope, a refractor made of an achromatic doublet of 150mm in diameter with a focal length of 2250mm; this telescope is parallel to the main one by two adjustable rings so that it can be easily aligned.  The complex format of these two telescopes and other accessories, is installed on a equatorial fork mount which is made in order that it is almost completely unaffected by movement or vibrations.

The telescope is provided with an automatic pointing system which allows it to point at any object with a maximum error of 5’. Also this system, with a guiding camera, controls the tracking movement with a precision of 0,3” rms.

The optical equipment comprises also a complete series of eyepieces that it is possible to use with both telescopes in order to visually observe the sky especially during public open evenings.

All the equipment is controlled by 4 computers connected through a LAN to the internet by ADSL.

The observatory is equipped with various electronic devises:

• CCD Camera Apogee AP47p¹
• CCD Camera Audine KAF-0401E
• CCD Camera SpectraSource LYNNX (disused)
• Photometer with photomultiplier tube 1P21 (disused)
• High sensitivity B/W TV camera
• Filter Wheel Optec IFW¹
• modified JMI focuser with encoder which reads the position

Other accessories normally used for observations are:

• Coma corrector Baader Planetarium MPCC
• Photometric filters U B V R I standard Bessell¹
• Interferential filter Halpha

¹Acquired thanks to a donation from the "Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Padova e Rovigo"

Observatory Telephone No: 049 8073312
The Director of the Observatory is available on this number: 049 8800659 (from 1500 to 1700)

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