Created 03/09/04 by EF
Updated 08/05/05 by EFThe 4shooter will be replaced with a panoramic 4kx4k CCD with 15-micron pixels, off the shelf from Fairchild. It will provide nearly the same field as the 4shooter without gaps, with the same scale of 0.33 arcsec/pix. It will permit recycling the mechanical and optical designs of the 4shooter, including the filter wheel and the Fabricant/Epps field flattener. We will build a new CCD controller, based on the design for the Hectos and Mini/Megacam. The controller will be 2-3 times faster than 4shooter's. The new CCD will also have the great operational advantage of dispensing with UV flooding.
Dave Latham proposed and obtained NASA funding (as of 03 June 04) to build the replacement. It will be known as Keplercam because it will be used by Dave's Kepler collaboration to conduct groundwork for NASA's Kepler space mission, expected to launch in October 2007 under the Discovery Program. Its goal is the detection of terrestrial exoplanets.
We expected first light for Keplercam on the 1.2m by April 2005, but we suffered a delay of 3 months. Keplercam saw first light on 27 July 2005. It is a very high-quality chip!