Wide-field astronomy at the wise observatory

The Wise Observatory adopted a strategy of wide-field survey observations to satisfy research needs of its staff and students. This is based on shortening of the f/7 Ritchey-Chrétien focus of the 1 m telescope through the addition of a focal reducer and a large format CCD to cover one-half square degree fields, the acquisition of a second wide-field 0.46 m telescope with a high-performance CCD camera, the addition of a Hungarian automated telescope to the observatory instruments, and the operation of an all-sky CCD camera with a fisheye lens. This instrumentation allows the efficient detection and monitoring of sources as bright as 2nd mag to as faint as 22nd mag over wide fields of view.