Interior Photos of UKIRT
Below are some interior photos taken of UKIRT including wide views of the full telescope. Some images show UKIRT with the WFCAM instrument (the long black cylindrical instrument in the center of the primary mirror), while others were taken while WFCAM was removed for maintenance. Click on a single image to get a larger view of the photo. (Copyright: Laurie Chu and Jessica Stasik)
In the next set of pictures, some more close-up photos show the instruments, individual components, and the back end of UKIRT. (Copyright: Laurie Chu and Jessica Stasik)
Back of UKIRT with several mounted instruments WFCAM service rack Central component open to feed wires to WFCAM Back of UKIRT with CGS4 instrument service rack on left Posted on the UKIRT mount The gold pin shown here is the sheer pin that can break with earthquakes and affect the pointing accuracy This is one of the support structures for the telescope. At the top are the sheer pins shown in the previous image Inside one of the mounts are the control drives for the RA motion On the side of the telescope are the control drives for the Dec motion The track that the dome moves on Controls for operating the telescope drives or stopping the telescope’s movement in an emergency UKIRT in the parked position showing the instrument suite on the back of the telescope
Operations of UKIRT are now done remotely from Hilo but the photos below were taken in 2010 when operations took place at the summit. These are photos inside the control room. (Copyright: Jason Chu).
In the lower level is a kitchen space and outside the control room are the computer servers to operate and control the telescope. Below are some images of these areas. (Copyright: Laurie Chu)
Kitchen/lounge Kitchen/lounge Computer servers Computer servers
Additional interior fisheye shots capture the full view of UKIRT with the dome shutter open. The first photo is taken at night with the light of the moon shining through the dome shutter (Copyright Paul Hirst) and the second photo was taken during the day (Copyright: Tom Kerr).