Performance investigation of the BAO 2.6 m telescope

Imaging performance of the BAO 2.6 m telescope is analyzed. In particular, the influence of the optical quality of the telescope's main mirror is considered. After a brief recall of the main parameters, which determine the performance of optical telescopes, detailed results of the mirror's optical quality investigation are presented. The contribution of the mirror's quality on the ultimate image quality, as well as its impact on the optical throughput in UVI passbands for a given seeing condition, is presented. Preliminary assessments of the other relevant factors responsible for image quality degradation have also been conducted.