Higashi-Hiroshima Observatory	KANATA optical and NIR telescope

Hiroshima Astrophysical Science Center (HASC) of Hiroshima University operates a 1.5-m diameter telescope named ``Kanata'' (Kanata means a far away in Japanese) which was built in 2006 May. This telescope stands in Higashi-Hiroshima Observatory at 503-m above sea-level, situated 7 km to the southeast of Higashi-Hiroshima campus of the university. The natural seeing size at the observatory is ~1.1-1.2'' in avarage (FWHM in R-band) . The telescope was originally constructed as the IR simulator in Mitaka campus (Tokyo, Japan) of National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) in 1994, and had been used for instrumentation and many experiments for 8.2-m Subaru telescope (see also IR Astronomy Group in Univ. of Tokyo). At the movement from Mitaka to Hiroshima, the telescope underwent a whole replacement of the control system. This telescope can currently move with a speed of 5 degs/sec in azimuth, which is five times faster than the previous control system. This speed is remarkably high for one-meter size telescopes. The enclosure of the telescope (a hemisphere-type dome) can also rotate with the same speed. The telescope has three foci, a Cassegrain and two Nasmyth ones (every focus has the focal ratio of 12.2/12.3), and it takes only 30 seconds to switch the focus. Thus, Kanata telescope has an advantage for quickly-responding observations of transient phenomena.

The instruments for KANATA telescope are listed here.

HASC promotes a research of high-energy astronomical objects, such as gamma-ray bursts, blazars and X-ray binaries, based on multiwavelength observations with a combination of KANATA telescope, Fermi gamma-ray satellite (named GLAST previously) and Suzaku X-ray satellite observations. We also promotes observational studies of other transient objects, e.g., supernovae, classical novae and dwarf novae, etc., with extensive optical/NIR monitoring.

Basic specifications

Optics	Ritchey-Chretien System
Primary Mirror	1600 mm diameter ULE glass, 983 kg
Effective Diameter	1500 mm
Composite focal length	18,501.7 mm (F/12.3)
Field of View	15 arcmin diameter
Scale at Focal Plane	11.15 arcsec/mm
Mount	Alt-Az system (friction drive)
Focus	Cassegrain, Nasmyth 1, Nasmyth 2

The values in the parentheses denotes those when the new ceramic secondary mirror (developed by JELT group of NAOJ) is used. After 2007 July it is continuously attached to the telescope.