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CFHT Observatory Manual - Intro (Sec.1) http://www.cfht.hawaii.edu/Instruments/ObservatoryManual/CFH...
CFHT Observatory Manual
Section 1 - INTRODUCTION
TABLE OF CONTENTS
The Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) is operated by the
Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Corporation, located in Waimea (also known
as Kamuela), on the island of Hawaii (The Big Island).
The Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Corporation was founded by the National
Research Council of Canada, the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
of France and the University of Hawaii, and is funded by these three
governmental agencies.
The telescope itself is of 3.58 meters aperture. It is located on Mauna Kea at an
altitude (declination axis) of 4204 m (13,793 feet), at latitude +19 o 49’ 41.86" and
longitude 155 o 28’ 18.00". Inauguration ceremonies were held on 28 September
1979, and the first Guest Observers used the telescope in March 1980.
Observing time on the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope is allocated to
applicants upon the recommendation of the national agencies and the Time
Allocation Committee. Members of this committee are appointed by the Board of
Directors of the Corporation with two members from Canada, two from France,
and one from Hawaii. The proportion of available observing time allocated to
each member organization is currently 42.5% for Canada, 42.5% for France, and
15% for Hawaii. Observing time is made available without charge, except for
accommodation and incidentals. The current Semester Observing Schedule is
available through the CFHT Home Page.
Apart from regular scientific observing, some nights are used by CFHT personnel
for engineering of the telescope and/or its associated instruments. Besides, a
number of discretionary nights are directly allocated by the Director. They are
often used by CFH staff astronomers - e.g. for familiarization with the
telescope/instruments - but can also accommodate outside observers, for
instance in case of unexpected astronomical events (targets of opportunity) or in
the course of testing new techniques of interest to the Corporation. To request
the use of these nights, write directly to the Director. Please note however that
the discretionary nights are not intended to give a second chance to programs
that could have been submitted in the regular competition or ones that were
submitted and were unsuccessful.
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