CONTENTS

 1     Introduction
 2     Bands of interest
 3     Types of observations
        3.1     Photometry
        3.2     Spectroscopy
        3.3     Imaging
        3.4     Interferometry
 4     Technical characteristics of some astronomical detectors
        4.1     Field of view and angular resolution
        4.2     Sensitivity
        4.3     Telescope location
        4.4     Atmospheric compensation
                  4.4.1     Active optics
                  4.4.2     Adaptive optics
 5     Technical characteristics of observational facilities
        5.1     Typical hours of operation
        5.2     Telescope slew rates