You are here: Home / Infrastructures / Res. Infrastructure
Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT)
Identification
Hosting Legal Entity
Canada - France - Hawaii Telescope Corporation
Location
Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope, Hawaii (United States)
Structure
Type Of RI
Single-sited
Coordinating Country
France
Status
Status
Current Status:
Operational since 1979
Scientific Description
Canada-France-Hawaii telescope (CFHT) is a world-class 3.6 meter optical/infrared telescope. The observatory is located atop the summit of Mauna Kea, a 4200 meter dormant volcano located on the island of Hawaii. This publically funded observatory provides data to astronomers in many countries and specializes in panoramic imaging from ultraviolet to near-infrared wavelengths. Founding partners in CFHT include the National Research Council (Canada), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (France), and the University of Hawaii.

RI Keywords
Infrared, Optical, Astronomy, Observatories
Classifications
RI Category
Telescopes
Scientific Domain
Physics, Astronomy, Astrophysics and Mathematics
Services
Astronomical data and related data products

imaging data is provided from MegaCam and WIRCam and spectra are provided by Espadons. These data products are distributed to users via the Canadian Astronomy Data Center (CADC).

Training

is provided through an on-going intern program for undergraduate and graduate students interested in astronomical research, observations, instrumentation, etc.

User support

includes regular interaction with PI's around the world who rely upon CFHT staff to acquire data for their research programs. Support is also provided for CFHT's on-line proposal application system, generation of Phase 2 (executable) programs, data reduction, etc.

Equipment
Telescope and related infrastructure, optical and near-infrared imagers, optical spectrometers

MegaCam, which is a 1 deg optical imager operating over wavelengths of ~400 - 900 nm, WIRCam, a near-infrared (1-2.5 um) camera with a 20 arcmin field of view, and Espadons, which is a high resolution (R~70,000) optical spectro-polarimeter. In the near future SITELLE will be added, which is an imaging Fourier Transform Spectrometer capable of R~5000 spectral imaging across a ~10 arcmin field of view in select bands from ~400 - 900 nm.

Collaborations
Networks
Canadian Astronomical Data Center
Date of last update: 27/04/2015
Printable version