H.E.S.S. wird weltweit eines der leistungsfähigsten Instrumente für die Gamma-Astrononomie bei hohen Energien sein.
|
The H.E.S.S. project High Energy Stereoscopic System |
The H.E.S.S. telescopes are located in the Khomas Highland of Namibia, on the Farm Goellschau, about 100 km south-west of Windhoek. The exact location is 23°16'18'' S, 16°30'00'' E, at 1800 m asl. |
The detection of high energy gamma rays with the H.E.S.S. telescopes is based on the imaging air Cherenkov technique. |
The mirrors of H.E.S.S. telescopes are focused for an object distance of about 10 km, corresponding to the typical distance of an air shower from the telescopes. |
In the design of the H.E.S.S. telescopes, emphasis was placed on the mechanical stability and rigidity of the mount and dish. |
The mirror focuses the Cherenkov light of an air shower onto the camera. Relevant for the performance of a telescope are the net mirror area and the quality of the image, i.e. the point spread function (size of the image of a point source). |
For cost reasons, the mirror is segmented into 382 round mirror facets of 60 cm diameter, made of aluminized glass with a quartz coating. The mirror has a focal length of 15 m and a d/f ratio of 0.8. |
H.E.S.S. is a stereoscopic telescope system, where multiple telescopes view the same air shower. |