spectroscopic mode. Images were taken using a photometric system of five filters (named u, g, r, i and z). These images are processed to produce lists of objects observed and various parameters, such as whether they seem pointlike or extended (as a galaxy might) and how the brightness on the CCDs relates to various kinds of astronomical magnitude. For imaging observations, the SDSS telescope used the drift scanning technique, but with choreographed variation of right ascension, declination, tracking rate, and image rotation which allows the telescope to track along great circles and continuously record small strips of the sky. The image of the stars in the focal plane drifts along the CCD chip, and the charge is electronically shifted along the detectors at exactly the same rate, instead of staying fixed as in tracked telescopes. (Simply parking the telescope as the sky moves is only workable on the celestial equator, since stars at different declination move at different apparent speed). This method allows consistent astrometry over the widest possible field, and minimises overheads from reading out the detectors. The disadvantage is minor distortion effects. The telescope's imaging camera is made up of 30 CCD chips, each with a resolution of pixels, totaling approximately 120 megapixels. The chips are arranged in 5 rows of 6 chips. Each row has a different optical filter with average wavelengths of 355.1, 468.6, 616.5, 748.1 and 893.1nm, with 95% completeness in typical seeing to magnitudes of 22.0, 22.2, 22.2, 21.3, and 20.5, for u, g, r, i, z respectively. The filters are placed on the camera in the order r, i, u, z, g. To reduce noise, the camera is cooled to 190 kelvins (about −80°C) by liquid nitrogen. Using these photometric data, stars, galaxies, and quasars are also selected for spectroscopy. The spectrograph operates by feeding an individual optical fibre for each target through a hole drilled in an aluminum plate. Each hole is positioned specifically for a selected target, so every field in which spectra are to be acquired requires a unique plate. The original spectrograph attached to the telescope was capable of recording 640 spectra simultaneously, while the updated spectrograph for SDSSIII can record 1000 spectra at once. Over the course of each night, between six and nine plates are typically used for recording spectra. In spectroscopic mode, the telescope tracks the sky in the standard way, keeping the objects focused on