Optical design of the Zwicky Transient Facility: a major upgrade to the 48” Schmidt Camera at Palomar Observatory

The Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) will be a major upgrade to the 48” Schmidt Camera at Palomar Observatory, which was initially commissioned in 1948. Although the optical design for ZTF is a relatively small part of the project, system requirements placed special constraints on the optical design. This paper presents the optical design for ZTF as well as the system requirements that drove the optical design.

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