| Abstract: | In stellar astronomy, the future of automation techniques lies in their application to the largest telescopes. In such a case, the cost of automation is small compared to that of the telescope project as a whole, and is well repaid in the savings in observing time. A "stand-alone" capability for manual operation in event of computer breakdown is usually provided for systems like this; an example is the 107-inch (272-cm) telescope under construction at the McDonald Observatory of the University of Texas, which will be associated with an IBM 1800 computer. |
