Gattini-IR

Gattini-IR is a 30-cm infrared (IR) survey (wide field of view) telescope at Palomar Observatory, to image a substantial portion of the sky nightly in the infrared J band (wavelength in the 1.25 micron range). It began operation in 2018. It serves as a pilot for a pair of such telescopes in the polar regions where IR atmospheric windows are better and allow such imaging in the K band (2.2 micron) as well. (Gattini, Italian for "kittens", had been a "group nickname" for some earlier modest research telescopes, and the name Gattini-IR declares this one to be yet another.)