The first Cherenkov telescopes in the Czech Republic to observe the Crab Nebula

[ Czech Academy of Sciences, 2022-05-13] Two new high-energy gamma-ray Cherenkov telescopes are now observing the skies from the observatory of the Astronomical Institute of the CAS in Ondřejov, Czech Republic. The largest optical telescopes in the country, they are currently focusing their attention on the Crab Nebula. After completing a trial run, plans are to move the telescopes from Ondřejov further away from civilisation to higher altitudes in South America. At the observatory in Ondřejov, two identical telescopes are observing some of the highest-energy photons emitted in space, i.e., particles of light produced during very turbulent processes following supernova explosions or...

The SST-1M captured first light at the Ondřejov Observatory

[ Joint Laboratory of Optics, 28. February 2022 ] On Wednesday, February 23, 2022, the SST-1M gamma-ray telescope started first observations from the Observatory of the Astronomical Institute CAS in Ondřejov. The telescope will detect gamma rays of very high energy originating from sources in our Galaxy or more distant locations of the Universe. The project is realized in teh international collaboration of reserachers from CAS, Palacký University in Olomouc, and teams from Switzerland, Poland, and Ukraine. During the fine-tuning of mechanical systems of the telescope and the camera the telescope obtained the first data from several sources in the...

Not only the James Webb Space Telescope has hexagonal mirrors

[ Astronomický ústav AV ČR, 2022-02-18] Mirrors for the second SST-1M (Small-Sized Telescope) telescope with a primary mirror diameter of 4.3 meters designed for the detection of Cherenkov radiation are currently being installed at the Ondřej observatory. Energetic electromagnetic radiation, such as X-rays or gamma rays, does not pass through the atmosphere. When a gamma photon passes through the atmosphere (as well as when a charged particle with high energy passes), a shower of secondary particles and Cherenkov radiation is produced. These sensitive telescopes with high temporal resolution can detect this Cherenkov radiation from the atmospheric shower. The sources of...

Optical system for the SST-1M, Cerenkov Gamma-ray Detection Telescope

Two unique Cerenkov telescopes (SST-1M) are installed at the Astronomical Institute of the CAS in Ondrejov. The telescopes are designed to study gamma rays with extremely high energy coming from sources in our Galaxy or in more distant places in the Universe. This is an international project involving scientists from the CAS, Palacký University in Olomouc and teams from Switzerland and Poland. The optical design of SST-1M is based on the Dawies-Cotton optical design. The 4 m diameter mirror of the telescope is divided into 18 segments and a fully digital camera composed of 1296 pixels, each with a sampling...