Nov13

ASTRONOMY

TECHNOLOGY TODAY Your Complete Guide to Astronomical Equipment IOPTRON SKYTRACKER • TEXAS STAR PARTY RESOLUTION MEASUREMENTS THE HOFHEIM INSTRUMENTS 8-INCH F/4 TRAVEL DOBSONIAN GERD NEUMANN PHENOLIC TELESCOPE TUBES • THE MALLINCAM JUNIOR PRO

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Volume 7 • Issue 6 November-December 2013 $6.00 US

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Contents

New Products

Cover Story: Pages 35-39

The cover of this issue features Sky-Watcher’s new 120-mm ProED Doublet Apo refractor with Schott BK-7 and FPL-53 lens elements that combine to produce a native focal length of 900 mm ASTRONOMY (f/7.5). Dr. James Dire’s feature report on TECHNOLOGY TODAY the ProED 120 tested the scope in both visual and photographic modes and declares it excellent overall. Dr. Dire captured the Sky-Watcher USA 120-mm ProED background image of a 16-day-old Moon Doublet APO using a Canon T3i at prime focus. He Refractor absolutely nailed focus and there is simply no false color evident in the 1/1000-second exposure, ample testament to the quality of the ProED 120’s objective and of its twospeed Crayford focuser.

15 SOUTHERN SKIES Introduces SkyWire Lightning, Announces December 15 Launch of SkyCube

Your Complete Guide to Astronomical Equipment IOPTRON SKYTRACKER • TEXAS STAR PARTY RESOLUTION MEASUREMENTS THE HOFHEIM INSTRUMENTS 8-INCH F/4 TRAVEL DOBSONIAN GERD NEUMANN PHENOLIC TELESCOPE TUBES • THE MALLINCAM JUNIOR PRO

Volume 7 • Issue 6 November-December 2013 $6.00 US

In This Issue

In This Issue

12 Editor’s Note Why We Focus On The Good

By Gary Parkerson

72 Astro Tips, Tricks & Novel Solutions Replace Your Steel Tube with a Phenolic Telescope Tube

By George Pentsas

35 Sky-Watcher USA 120-mm ProED Doublet APO Refractor Exceptional Viewing is Indeed What These Telescopes Provide!

By James R. Dire, Ph.D. 41 iOptron SkyTracker This Thing Is a Blast!

By Austin Grant

16 ASTRO-TECH New 12-inch Carbon-Fiber Truss-Tube Ritchey-Chrétien 18 AVALON INSTRUMENTS AND UNITRON ITALIA M-Zero Equatorial/Alt-Aazimuth Single-Arm Mount

19 IOPTRON CEM60 and SkyGuider Mounts 20 LUNÁTICO ASTRONOMÍA Introduces Tarsier Autonomous Motorized Focusing System

47 The MallinCam Junior Pro The Video Revolution Cometh By “Uncle” Rod Mollise 55 Telescope Resolution Measurements at the 2013 Texas Star Party

By Keith Venables 65 The Hofheim Instruments 8-inch f/4 Travel Dobsonian Good Scopes DO Come in Small Packages!

By Dragan Nikin

22 TAKAHASHI New Iteration of the Epsilon-130 23 ORION TELESCOPES AND BINOCULARS StarShoot 5-MP Solar System Color Camera and StarShoot All-In-One Camera All-Sky

Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

9

Contributing Writers Dr. James Dire has an M.S. degree in physics from the University of Central Florida and M.A.and Ph.D. degrees from The Johns Hopkins University, both in planetary science. He has been a professor of physics and astronomy at several colleges and universities. Currently he is the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at Kauai Community College in Hawaii. He has played a key role in several observatory projects including the Powell Observatory in Louisburg, KS, which houses a 30-inch (0.75-m) Newtonian; the Naval Academy observatory with an 8-inch (0.20-m) Alvin Clark refractor; and he built the Coast Guard Academy Astronomical Observatory in Stonington, CT, which houses a 20 inch (0.51-m) Ritchey–Chrétien Cassegrain telescope.

Austin Grant, a high-school Chemistry and Biology teacher, is a self-described perpetual hobbyist, experienced in such areas as building computers and repairing arcade equipment.

Austin stumbled into astronomy several years ago and it soon became his primary interest.

Being a child of the digital age, it didn’t take long for him to find digital astro-imaging and he sold his last pinball machine to fund his current imaging rig. Austin shares his passion for stargazing with his students and is in the process of building a school astronomy club.

Dragan Nikin, a police officer by day, is an amateur astronomer living in Chicago. A true deep sky hound, he observes in far western Illinois with Toto, his 25-inch f/5 Obsession.

Dragan also produces the popular Hooded Observing Vest as well as co-creating www.deepskyforum.com, the Internet’s only deepsky devoted forum.

Contents Industry News

24 MEADE INSTRUMENTS A New Era

27 BIG BEAR STARLIGHT FESTIVAL First Annual Astronomy Weekend Announced 28 WAITE RESEARCH New Renegade Telescope Designs from 16-inch to 22-inch

“Uncle” Rod Mollise, despite a demanding day job as an engineer with an aerospace firm, still finds time to teach astronomy to undergraduates at the University of South Alabama, write books and magazine articles about astronomy, and observe.

George Pentsas was born in Thessaloniki, Greece and raised in the north eastern city of Xanthi. Although he didn't get to own a telescope(or the experience of looking through one), it always fascinated him. It was during his college years in Scotland where he stumbled upon astronomy magazines and found out that it is possible to build his own telescope. He had the luck of being advised by a professor that that helped him make his own mirror and never looked back.

30 THE 2013 SIA EXPO Submission from Mark Zaslove 31 SOUTHWEST ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY SEMINAR AND THE ARIZONA SCIENCE AND ASTRONOMY EXPO. Submission from Stephen W. Ramsden

Stephen Ramsden is the Executive Director and founder of the nation’s largest privately funded solar astronomy outreach program-The Charlie Bates Solar Astronomy Project in Atlanta, GA. The program has hosts a number of outreach events in the US every year and he routinely speaks and displays solar scopes at major events around the country. For further information or to contact Stephen please see www.charliebates.org.

Keith Venables, although graduating in astrophysics, has since worked in defense for 35 years. With his children grown up, he is enjoying getting back into the subject and applying his engineering skills making telescopes and accessories. He is a strong supporter of star parties and has attended the TSP for 15 consecutive years. Something about escaping the dreadful wet and cloudy English weather! More about Keith can be found at www.astrokeith.com.

33 ASIMOPLAN Mosaic Planning Tool for Astro-imagers Mark Zaslove is a two-time Emmy Award winner and recipient of the coveted Humanitas Prize. Mark is a born-again astro noobie, who once had an Optical Craftsman scope as a kid, and is now recapturing his youthful enthusiasm (with a digital twist) and having a lovely time doing it.

10

Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

The Supporting

CAST

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We wish to thank our advertisers without whom this magazine would not be possible.

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Oceanside Photo and Telescope www.optcorp.com page 33 Officina Stellare www.officinastellare.com page 59 Optec www.optecinc.com page 52 Opticsmart www.opticsmart.com page 15 PreciseParts www.preciseparts.com page 48 ProtoStar www.fpi-protostar.com page 27 Rigel Systems www.rigelsys.com page 4 ScopeGuard www.scopeguard.com page 38 ScopeStuff www.scopestuff.com page 25 Sirius Astro Products www.siriusastroproducts.com page 22 Skies Unlimited www.skiesunlimited.net page 64

Starizona www.starizona.com page 3, 46 Stellarvue www.stellarvue.com page 16 Tele Vue Optics www.televue.com page 8 Unihedron www.unihedron.com page 18 Unitronitalia Instruments www.unitronitalia.com page 2 Vernon Scope www.vernonscope.com page 22 Vixen Optics www.vixenoptics.com page 76 Waite Research www.waiteresearch.com page 20 Wa-chur-ed Observatory www.wa-chur-ed.com page 37 William Optics www.williamoptics.com page 74

Dark Skies Apparel www.darkskiesapparel.com page 27

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Mathis Instruments www.mathis-instruments.com page 60

SkyShed Observatories www.skyshed.com page 21

Woodland Hills Telescopes www.telescopes.net page 26

TO ADVERTISE CONTACT advertise@astronomytechnologytoday.com

ASTRONOMY

TECHNOLOGY TODAY

Volume 7 • Issue 6 November-December 2013 Publisher Stuart Parkerson

Managing Editor

Editor’s Note Gary Parkerson, Managing Editor

Gary Parkerson

Associate Editors Austin Grant Chad E. Patterson

Art Director Lance Palmer

Staff Photographer Craig Falbaum

Web Master Richard Harris

3825 Gilbert Drive Shreveport, Louisiana 71104 info@astronomytechnologytoday.com www.astronomytechnologytoday.com Astronomy Technology Today is published bi-monthly

by Parkerson Publishing, LLC. Bulk rate postage paid at Dallas, Texas, and additional mailing offices. ©2012 Parkerson Publishing, LLC, all rights reserved. No part of this publication or its Web site may be reproduced without written permission of Parkerson Publishing, LLC. Astronomy Technology Today assumes no responsibility for the content of the articles, advertisements, or messages reproduced therein, and makes no representation or warranty whatsoever as to the completeness, accuracy, currency, or adequacy of any facts, views, opinions, statements, and recommendations it reproduces. Reference to any product, process, publication, or service of any third party by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not constitute or imply the endorsement or recommendation of Astronomy Technology Today.

The publication welcomes and encourages contributions; however is not responsible for the return of manuscripts and photographs. The publication, at the sole discretion of the publisher, reserves the right to accept or reject any advertising or contributions. For more information contact the publisher at Astronomy Technology Today, 3825 Gilbert Drive, Shreveport, Louisiana 71104, or e-mail at info@astronomytechnologytoday.com.

12

Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

WHY WE FOCUS ON THE GOOD I was watching one of my favorite YouTube channels, Linus Tech Tips, recently when Linus went out of his way to say, “Now, I get criticized a fair bit for not really criticizing products enough … and for not looking at lower-end products. So, to address both of those things, I’m going to be taking a look at…” Linus then proceeded to trash the product in question, declaring it, in summation, “a product that sucks and is cheap.”

Linus is an immensely likeable young man, which is much of the reason I enjoy his videos. More importantly, though, his reports are routinely both entertaining and informative, the two primary elements that we strive to deliver in ATT’s feature articles. Another reason I enjoy Linus’ videos is that he hasn’t, heretofore, wasted his time or mine on products that he cannot recommend. It’s not surprising, then, that Linus’ single product-trashing video was my least favorite of the hundreds of his YouTube posts that I’ve watched so far.

Of the thousands of people I meet personally at annual astronomy events, such as NEAF and ASAE, there are invariably one or two who complain that ATT never features negative reviews, and my answer to them is always the same: Why would we waste the limited space in these pages on products that are unworthy of your consideration? Sure, ATT’s contributors present both the pros and cons of the products they cover, but the pros definitely outweigh the cons,

and the reason is simply that we don’t focus on products that earn more cons than pros. Life is short, and I, for one, get all the negativity I need from its non-astronomy aspects. Why spoil our astro-fun?

Speaking of ASAE, those of you who attended its recent 2013 edition may have noticed that none of the ATT team were there to represent this publication.

For those who don’t know, Stuart Parkerson, this magazine’s publisher, and I are brothers. Our father, Johnny Carl Parkerson, known to all in our hometown simply as Johnny Carl, passed away on Veteran’s Day, November 11, 2013, and although his passing was preceded by a prolonged illness, we still did not expect him to be gone so soon.

Our dad lived a long and enviably-full life and left it at peace with its end, but we are nevertheless reminded that human days, particularly when counted against the cosmic scales of the heavens we study, are preciously few. Why waste a minute of them on avoidable negativity, when there is so much more positive than we’ve room to share in these pages.

ATT has taken on a life of its own, far exceeding our early expectations, but is still very much a family effort. Most astro-enterprises are. Fortunately, this was the first major family loss that Stuart and I have experienced since starting this magazine, and dealing with that loss took precedence. Events like ASAE are the

highlights of my year. I had a blast at ASAE 2012 and counted the days to ASAE 2013. I deeply regret missing ASAE, but our family’s loss explains why I and ATT were not there.

Fortunately, Stephen Ramsden, driving force of the Charlie Bates Solar Astronomy Project, was there and answered our plea for a report, which occasions a second explanation. As we attempt to cram evermore coverage into these pages, we will be extending some articles, particularly those that are especially image intensive, into the online, digital version of this magazine. Stephen cautioned, “I’m obviously no author, so edit at will,” but he was wrong. His report is far more perceptive and descriptive than I would have produced, and includes more than 175 photos, where I would have been lucky to have taken a dozen. So, Stephens’s ASAE and SWAP 2013 coverage begins in this issue’s print and digital pages but ends only in its digital pages, while some of his extensive collection of photos are also available there, and all are available in the gallery of www.solarastronomy.org.

Similarly, we were unable to attend the inaugural 2013 SIA Expo in person but were represented there by Mark Zaslove whose report of that event also begins in this issue’s print and digital pages and ends only in its online digital version.

Experiencing the world through Mark’s writing is always a joy, and his SIA report is no exception.

We thank both Stephen and Mark for volunteering to provide this coverage and for Alan Traino and Warren Keller for accommodating so painlessly our lastminute ASAE and SWAP cancellations.

Our original goals for ATT included that it be fun – fun for those of us who produce it, fun for those of us who write it, fun for those of us who read it, and fun for those of us who advertise our products in it. And so, we’ll continue to accentuate the positive and to focus on entertaining and informative coverage of our favorite astrostuff. You know, the good stuff.

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NEWPRODUCTS

SOUTHERN SKIES Introduces SkyWire Lightning, Announces December 15 Launch of SkyCube Southern Skies has announced a complete redesign of its original SkyWire accessory, which adds an RS-232 port to an iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch and lets it connect directly to the serial port on a telescope.

The new Lightning version supports the iPhone 5/5S/5C, iPad (4th generation, Mini, Air), or iPod touch (5th generation) with Lightning connector.

No adapters are needed; SkyWire Lightning fits directly into an iOS device.

Just like the original SkyWire, the new SkyWire Lightning is a simple way to turn an iPhone into a telescope controller.

SkyWire Lightning requires zero configuration; just plug it into a iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch. It doesn't need batteries because it’s

powered by the phone.

The SkyWire Lightning is a true “Made for iPod” accessory that meets all Apple specs. Unlike many other “iPhone serial cables” available on the Internet, users don’t have to jailbreak their iPhone to use it.

For owners of older iOS devices, the original SkyWire with 30-pin dock connector is still available and is now at reduced cost. The original SkyWire supports the iPhone 3G/3GS/4/4S, iPads through 3rd generation, and the iPod touch through 4th generation. The remaining stock of the original SkyWire will be sold until they run out, at which time Southern Skies will completely phase the older unit out.

You can order SkyWire on the Southern Stars Website.

Southern Skies is also reporting that its SkyCube, the first satellite funded and built by amateur astronomers, will lift off on December 15th, 2013 from the MidAtlantic Regional Spaceport at Wallops Island, Virginia on the first Orbital Sciences commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station. This differs from the original SpaceX launch plan, but has turned out to be the fastest way to get SkyCube into orbit.

To track SkyCube, the International Space Station, and thousands of other satellites already in orbit, users can download Satellite Safari which has now updated for iOS 7.

For more information please visit www.southernstars.com.

Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

15

NEWPRODUCTS

ASTRO-TECH Introduces New 12-inch Carbon-Fiber Truss-Tube Ritchey-Chrétien Astro-Tech debuted its new 12-inch carbon-fiber truss-tube Ritchey-Chrétien reflector at the recent 2013 Arizona Science and Astronomy Expo (ASAE) and is currently taking orders for the new product.

The 12-inch AT12RCT is the first in a series of affordable AstroTech truss-tube R-Cs that will soon include 10-inch, 16-inch, and 20-inch models. The carbon-fiber Serrurier truss design makes the Astro-Tech R-Cs extremely rigid (to maintain precise component alignment) and essentially immune to temperature-induced focus changes. Multiple Zygo interferometer tests during every stage of optics manufacturing help assure optical performance.

Specifications include: Focal Length – 2432 mm; Focal Ratio f/8 Resolution - 0.38 arc seconds; Back Focus - 11.33 inch (288 mm) from rear cell; and Weight - 52 pounds.

The scope comes with a two year warranty and is priced at $4495US. For more information please visit www.astronomytechnologies.com.

16

Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

NEWPRODUCTS

AVALON INSTRUMENTS AND UNITRON ITALIA Introduce M-Zero Equatorial/Alt-Aazimuth Single-Arm Mount The new M-Zero single-arm mount by Avalon Instruments has been designed to revolutionize the world of portable astronomy while delivering both the style and function that Avalon Instruments is known for. Made entirely from anodized aluminum with stainlesssteel hardware, the low weight and high quality of this mount make it the ideal companion for travelling observers and astro-photographers.

The Avalon M-Zero converts quickly from: (1) a standard equatorial, but with no meridian flip, to (2) alt-azimuth mode for astronomical use, to (3) a time-lapse platform, to (4) to a precision system for capturing multi-frame panoramic images, all with only 10 kilograms (22 pounds) of total weight (including the brand new Avalon T-Pod 90 tripod) and 8 kilograms (17.6 pounds) loading capacity, in a package that fits neatly into in a medium-sized case for safe transportation while traveling.

The M-Zero features Avalon’s new StarGo go-to system, its inno-

vative Fast-Reverse technology (belt-drive system) to deliver unique functionality, including auto-guided long-exposure astrophotography without time limits – even with telescopes with focal length up to 2 meters, such as popular 8-inch SCTs and R-Cs. The Avalon StarGo go-to system has been totally designed and manufactured by Avalon to meet all needs, from the beginner to the professional photographer. In equatorial mode, the M-Zero eliminates meridian flip, even with relatively long optical tube assemblies. It can be quickly converted to alt-azimuth mode for observation with large telescopes and binoculars, or to acquire automatic time-lapse sequences.

Additional functions are planned for delivery with StarGo firmware updates. The M-Zero continues Avalon’s tradition of cutting-edge design and top-quality performance in portable observing and astro-imaging systems.

The mount is distributed exclusively by Unitron Italia, www.unitronitalia.com.

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18

Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

NEWPRODUCTS

iOPTRON Introduces the CEM60 and SkyGuider Mounts The astrogear designers at iOptron must not get much sleep, because the company has been nonstop in its introduction of new, innovative products. Two new mounts are among its latest offerings.

CEM60 CENTER-BALANCED EQUATORIAL MOUNT Last year, iOptron introduced its new design concept, the center-balanced equatorial mount (or CEM) called the ZEQ25. Now, they’ve upped the payload ante with the new CEM60 with an increased capacity of 60 pounds.

The CEM60 puts the weight of the payload at the center of gravity allowing for greater inherent stability. This design allows for a mount that is surprisingly lightweight compared to its payload, a nice benefit when setting up at a remote site. Other features include an adjustable counterweight bar to prevent interference with the obstruction of a tripod or pier. An added benefit is that polar aligning is quick and always accessible since the polar scope is never blocked by the declination shaft, regardless of orientation.

The CEM60 is equipped with iOptron’s Go2Nova go-to technology. Its database includes over 300,000 objects, and the hand controller is intuitive to use, offering a large 8-line LCD screen, which simplifies the process of setting up the telescope and subsequently locating objects.

The mount weighs 27 pounds (12.3 kilograms). It offers gear switches on both the rightascension and declination axes for easy balancing when disengaged. It also includes an

adjustable counterweight shaft for 0-degree latitude operation and screw/worm-type latitude adjuster for precision alignment.

Other features include a milling-machine tooling-vise style latitude bearing and locking system for solid altitude positioning and userside fine adjusters for easy azimuth adjustment.

The precision stepper motor provides 0.06arcsec accuracy for precise go-to and accurate tracking. The included iOptron AccuAligning calibrated polar scope offers dark-field illumination and easy polar alignment procedure, allowing for fast and accurate polar alignment.

There is a polar-alignment routine for setting up when and where the Pole Star can’t be seen, and the mount offers permanent periodicerror correction (PPEC) or real-time periodicerror correction (RPEC). The new mount also features an integrated ST-4 autoguiding port, a built-in 32-channel Global Positioning System (GPS), a built-in or customized cable management system, a spring loaded Vixen/Losmandy dual saddle, and a 150-mm base size to match the optional 2-inch heavy-duty stainless-steel tripod or optional 42/48-inch pier. Other optional accessories include iOptron’s PowerWeight rechargeable battery pack.

Technical specifications include: all metal construction (except GPS cover); latitude adjustment range of 0º ~ 70º; azimuth adjustment range of ± 8º; aluminum worm gears; stainless-steel counterweight shaft; stepper motors; resolution of 0.06 arc seconds; slew speeds of 1×, 2×, 8×, 16×, 64×, 128×, 256×, 512×, MAX(~3.75º/sec); power – 12-volt DC, 2-amp with AC 100-volt ~ 240-volt power adapter; autoguide ST-4 port: PC computer control; serial port; cable management - 4X USB, 2X DC12V (MAX 5A), 6P6C; operation temperature from -20ºC ~ to 45ºC; and more.

The mount comes with a 2-year warranty and will be available in January. Pricing had not been set as of press time.

SKYGUIDER EQUATORIAL MOUNT FOR ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY iOptron’s new SkyGuider is a portable mount that makes it easy to take long exposures of the night sky without streaking or

star trailing.

The SkyGuider mount is simple to set up: Just attach the unit to a standard camera tripod and mount a digital camera or lightweight scope onto the mount. Align the mount to the Pole Star using the included iOptron AccuAligning dark-field illuminated polar scope and a smart phone app. Then turn on the motor, and it will keep the camera tracking at the same speed the earth rotates.

With the same gears and motors as iOptron’s ZEQ25 mount, the SkyGuider keeps the camera in motion to avoid star trails and allows for long exposures for beautiful images of the night sky. A built-in autoguiding port makes the tracking even better.

Features of the mount include: capable for dual-mount application up to 11 pounds (5 kilograms) plus 7.7 pounds (3.5 kilograms) balanced; auto-tracking for smooth camera motion perfect for long-term exposures; four pre-set tracking speeds with northern/southern hemisphere selection; attaches to any standard camera tripod with 3/8-16 threads; optional ball heads are available separately.

Technical specifications include: weight of 2.6 kilograms (5.7 pounds) without counterweight shaft; 144-teeth aluminum-alloy worm gear; and DC servo motor with optical encoder.

The new SkyGuider mount will be available in December. Pricing had not been set as of press time.

For more information please visit www.ioptron.com.

Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

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NEWPRODUCTS

LUNÁTICO ASTRONOMÍA Introduces Tarsier Autonomous Motorized Focusing System Lunático Astronomía has introduced the Tarsier autonomous motorized focusing system, a perfect match for astronomers with a portable setup and DSLR imaging. The new unit helps make the task of focusing much easier as it drives almost any kind of motor, from inexpensive DC motors to high-accuracy stepper motors.

The Tarsier allows for total control over the motor motion with no PC needed. It is user configurable from continuous (slow or fast speed) and incremental (fine or coarse). Focus positions can be permanently stored for a repeatable positioning of the imaging train. Users can save up to 16 focus points and perform go-to to any of them. As users don’t have to touch the focus knob, the scope will not vibrate thus making the focusing process faster and more accurate. The unit features a back illuminated screen and backlash setting for

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Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

the most accurate motion.

Technical specifications include: 12volt operation; 8x2 character LCD with back light in red color; a DB9 plug for stepper motors (including Lunático products, or others including Robofocus, Moonlite, Lakeside, and FeatherTouch); a mono audio jack for DC motors such as those from Orion and Rigel Systems; and also includes a car lighter plug adapter.

The Tarsier is available individually or a can be purchased as a complete set which includes: controller, stepper motor, brackets and stepper motor connection cable with external temperature sensor. Properly calibrated, it will track the temperature as the session progresses and will automatically move the focuser to the correct position, avoiding the need to manually refocus every time.

For more information and pricing please visit www.lunatico.es.

NEWPRODUCTS

TAKAHASHI New Iteration of the Epsilon-130 Takahashi first introduced their Epsilon Series flat-field hyperbolic astrographs in the mid-1980s with the Epsilon-130 offering the smallest aperture and most portable of the series.

Now, Takahashi is reintroducing the Epsilon-130 in a new format, the e130D digital version of that venerable astrograph.

The Epsilon optical system features a hyperbolic primary and a new corrector optimized to deliver a flat-field image to modern digital sensors. The new e-130D is the same size as the original Epsilon130, but produces an improvement in sharpness, as well as a 1/3 improvement in the size of the spot, now equaling the Epsilon-180 with <10Âľm spots at the edge of the Ă&#x2DC;44mm circle.

The improvement in the design of the digital corrector produces a 1/3rd reduction in the size of the smallest stellar image. Distortion has also been reduced by half with the new design of the digitally-optimized corrector.

The Epsilon-130D delivers a 5.9degree field to the sensor, perfect for imaging extended objects such as comet ISON. The f/3.3 focal ratio 430mm focal length combine to produce both high-contrast images and short exposure times with increased color saturation.

The focuser has also been improved,

allowing evengreater precision. It features a metal insert with a special non-cold-flow material to achieve increased focus precision.

The Epsilon130D also features a new collimation system for the primary mirror. The previous design used push and pull screws set inside of each other. The new modified system uses separate push and pull adjusting screws.

The result is a more flush design; the alignment bolts no longer protrude past the end of the tube.

The Epsilon130D is a highly-portable, airline-transportable, compact hyperbolic flat-field astrograph that weighs only 10.8 pounds (4.9 kilograms) that can be carried easily to remote sites anywhere in the world, and its light weight allows it to

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Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

be supported by smaller and lighter mounts.

Check with your favorite Takahashi dealer for pricing and availability.

For more information please visit www.takahashiamerica.com.

NEWPRODUCTS

ORION BINOCULARS & TELESCOPES StarShoot 5-MP Solar System Color Camera and StarShoot All-In-One Camera All-Sky Orion has introduced two new imaging products just in time for the holidays.

StarShoot Solar System Color Camera

Planetary cameras have traditionally been low-resolution instruments, but Orion is bucking that trend with its new 5megapixel StarShoot Solar System Color Camera, its highest-resolution planetary camera to date. With pixels measuring a super-small 2.2 by 2.2 microns, the sensor is perfect for capturing high-magnification exposures of the Moon and planets.

Frame rates to 51 frames per second let users capture images through even the most fleeting instances of advantageous seeing to producing stunningly-crisp final images.

This fast frame rate also aids in capturing rapidly changing events, such as occultations, transits and eclipses. Exposure settings range from 0.001 to 5.0 seconds.

Progressive-Scan functionality and 8-bit A/D conversion also facilitate excellent imaging results.

DobStand

The new camera includes Orion’s exclusive EZPlanCap software, which includes an auto dark-frame removal tool for eliminating hot pixels and even live-view noise, resulting in much more pleasing live views on the computer monitor while in the field. 2x2, 4x4, 8x8 and 16x16 binning modes are available, as well as five resolution settings ranging from 2592x1944 to 160x120.

The camera’s 1.25-inch nose piece is threaded for filters and allows the camera to be used with any focuser. The camera also features a built-in infrared cutoff filter for optimum imaging results. Orion’s new 5MP StarShoot Solar System Color Camera is priced at $199.99US. StarShoot All-In-One Camera All-Sky

All-sky cameras have captured enormous interest in recent years, but the prices of leading single-purpose options have kept many from enjoying this unique, ultrawide imaging format. Enter Orion’s

StarShoot All-In-One Camera All-Sky (SSAIO) solution, an affordable accessory that converts Orion’s StarShoot Astrophotography Camera into an all-sky camera.

The StarShoot All-Sky Solution includes a 180-degree fisheye lens, plus Orion’s AVILite software. AVILite makes it easy to capture time-lapse videos compiled from individual frames captured by the SSAIO system. Unlike standard video, these time-lapse videos are composed of frames captured at slower rates, so sky activity is greatly speeded up, significantly enhanced when compared to real-time video. Longer exposures per frame also add to the detail and brightness captured by this format. Cloud movements, meteor showers, star trails, and a full-sky Milky Way are far more dynamic when replayed in timelapse.

AVILite employs a sophisticated motion-detection algorithm that automates capture of entire meteor trails. As a result, a full night of AVI files will be much smaller and contain far more action frames. The software eliminates false detections caused by camera noise, cosmic ray events, star scintillation, and the like, while facilitating capture of lightning bolts and other desirable phenomena.

Orion’s SSAIO system is priced at $199.99US. For more information please visit www.telescopes.com.

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INDUSTRYNEWS

MEADE INSTRUMENTS A New Era for the Optics Company Last year Meade celebrated 40 years of providing a wide variety of optics, including its venerable line of products for the astronomical community. This fall, the company is embarking on a new chapter as it announces completion of a merger agreement with Sunny Optics, an affiliate of Ningbo Sunny Electronic Co. The reality today is that we truly are a global community and companies that want to continue to thrive must embrace a global business model. Here at ATT, we are very excited about this new chapter for Meade, as the company moves full steam ahead under the veteran leadership of Joe Lupica, and we look forward to working with him and the great group of people that make up the new Meade.

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Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

Following is a portion of the news release announcing the changes for the company.

Meade Instruments will be led by Joseph A. Lupica as Chief Executive Officer. Joe brings over 25 years of experience in the Optical Industry and is eager to lead the current management team. Meade will continue to meet all financial obligations, honor all product warranties and support products from its North American headquarters. Dealers and distributor net-

works worldwide shall remain unchanged.

“This is an exciting day for Meade Instruments” said Lupica, “as it marks the beginning of renewed period of growth and development. Meade has a long tradition of innovation and I am proud and energized to lead the team into the next exciting chapter. The management team will focus on efficiently delivering high-quality precision products manufactured in our North American Advanced Products Division (APD) facility and improving in-stock

INDUSTRYNEWS positions. Meade will continue to be the leader in designing, manufacturing and supporting innovative products for the advanced amateur.”

“With the completion of the merger management and manufacturing team can now focus on delivering and supporting the kinds of products that Meade has long been known such as our MAXII, LX850, LX600, LX200, LX90, LightSwitch, Coronado and ETX series of telescopes,” said Lupica. “Quality Advanced ComaFree (ACF) optics along with product innovations such as LightSwitch and our newest addition StarLock, the first fully integrated, self-contained auto-guiding system, are just some of the features that set Meade apart from all other telescope makers. I want the astronomy community to know that Meade is here to stay and that they can count on our renewed presence and support.”

Ningbo Sunny Electronic Co., Ltd. develops, makes and sells sport and outdoor optical products, such as binoculars, telescopes, research grade microscopes, spotting

scopes, riflescopes and diverse optical components and accessories. Sunny's manufacturing facility is located in Zhejiang, China and is equipped with first-grade, ISO9001 certified, production facilities, and advanced environmental and optical testing devices.

Peter Ni, CEO Sunny Optics, Inc. states, “I am extremely pleased to be involved in the future of Meade Instruments. This is a tremendous opportunity for both companies. It is my desire that Meade will be managed by Joe Lupica and that Meade continue to maintain its North American sales, marketing and manufacturing facilities. Where possible, Sunny Optics will offer its support to optimize the vertical integration of both companies.”

So there you have it. Same great company, same great people, same great products … with a new partner, access to more resources, and a more global presence. It sounds right to us!

For more information visit www.meade.com.

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INDUSTRYNEWS

BIG BEAR STARLIGHT FESTIVAL First Annual Astronomy Weekend Announced

the Big Bear Chamber of Commerce, the Astronomical League, Astronomers without Borders, and the Sidewalk Astronomers organization, are working together to create a fun, educational family event that pretty much anyone would be interested in attending. The streets, which will be closed to traffic, will be filled with astronomy and science booths and displays, live music, food and drink, multiple speakers, sidewalk astronomers and more.

Vendors can choose whether they would prefer to display their products or sell them to interested buyers, it is up to you. At night, a giant star party will take place nearby to give people a chance to see what it’s really like to look through a telescope under relatively dark skies. There will also be special insider tours of the Big Bear Solar Observatory!

The Festival, which will be free to the public, will take place Saturday & Sunday, the 23rd & 24th of May, 2014.

Hmm, the gorgeous village of Big Bear, California dedicating an entire weekend to astronomy, with a growing list of our favorite astrovendors exhibiting their wares, to boot? Yep, Penny didn’t exaggerate when she claimed that it’ll be “an astronomy event like no other.” We hope to see you there!

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We’ve long enjoyed working with Penny Distasio during her time at Oceanside Photo & Telescope and even as a frequent contributor to ATT’s feature articles, but were pleased to learn that she’s now wearing yet another hat, StarLight Festival Vendor Coordinator, news that we learned upon receiving the following announcement: I am really excited to announce the first annual Big Bear StarLight Festival! This Memorial Day weekend event will take place in the village of Big Bear, in the beautiful San Bernardino Mountains of Southern California. It will be an astronomy event like no other, and I hope that you will consider becoming a part of it. Here’s the deal: The AstronomyOutreach Network and the Village of Big Bear, as well as

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INDUSTRYNEWS

WAITE RESEARCH New Renegade Telescope Designs from 16-inch to 22-inch Waite Research is currently expanding their innovative line of Renegade telescopes, building 16inch, 18-inch, 20-inch and 22-inch models, all featuring Waite Research premium-quality optics. All Renegade telescope models are designed to provide feet-on-the-ground observing with eyepiece heights less than five feet.

The creative design of the Renegade telescope features a unique bearing arrangement that keeps the Renegade superbly balanced, never moving out of position when changing heavy eyepieces. The Renegade is lighter to transport than many

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Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

Dobsonian-style telescopes, quicker to assemble, and has a smaller footprint.

The shorter, more rigid truss structure reduces vibration and flexing, and helps maintain precise collimation.

The company builds the Renegade models in-house. “With the CNC router, we design a telescope chassis with CAD software and cut parts in our own shop with digital precision for perfect assembly. This lets us create a unique telescope shape that is both efficient and far more attractive,” says Gordon Waite, optician and designer of the Renegade telescope. “Our computerized mirror grinding and polishing machines let

us create premium mirrors with unparalleled accuracy and the ultrasmooth surfaces necessary for highestcontrast observing.”

The Waite Research Renegade 16inch f/3.8 telescope is priced at $6,495. The 18-inch f/3.3 Renegade is $7,995; the 20-inch f/3 is $9,995; and the 22-inch f/3 is $12,995. All Renegade models include Starlight Instruments Feather Touch focusers, Waite Research 18-point mirror cells, finders and shrouds, all as standard equipment.

For more information, contact Gordon Waite at 732-977-2744 or visit www.waiteresearch.com.

INDUSTRYNEWS

THE 2013 SIA EXPO Niiiiice

By Mark Zaslove Editor Note: With two astronomy expos to cover in a single issue, there was not room for Mark’s complete report of the SIA Expo, along with the many photos he took while attending the show. To enjoy his article in full, just log into www.astronomytechnologytoday.com and click the “Online Magazine” link. You’ll find more than one product announcement there that’s sure to make you glad you did.

Amateur astronomers are nice.

Professional astronomers are nice.

Astronomy professionals who make stuff for amateur astronomers are REALLY nice. Going to an astronomy expo?

Priceless. The first year Science, Imaging & Astronomy (SIA) Expo, sponsored by Woodland Hills Camera & Telescopes, was held at Pierce College (who co-sponsored as well) in nice, sunny Woodland Hills, California. Dare I say it was…nice?

It had a particularly nice turnout, both people and booths, for a fledgling astro get-together. Lots of stargazing enthusiasts, adults and kids (they were the ones going: “Look at that! And that!

And that!” The adults, I mean), and their significant others (they were the ones going: “You want to buy WHAT?! For HOW much?!”).

A bunch of booths with nice people

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Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

to talk to and nice equipment to gawk at.

Seriously, smiles everywhere and everyone taking the time to not only chat about their products, but about astronomy in general.

Out front were the solar telescopes pointing Sol-ward. Some Lunt, some Coronado. Shelyak Instruments had one of their Lhires III spectrographs out. Lots of “oou’s” and “ahh’s.”

Inside were the usual suspects from

Explore Scientific up at the front, to Vixen way at the back.

Losmandy showed up, probably one of the easiest expos for them to get to, as they’re just over in Hollywood. Scott has a really keen new modular/Lego mount he’s going to be coming out with next year. More on that in the near future.

[Visit www.astronomytechnologytoday.com for the rest of Mark’s coverage of the 2013 SIA Expo.]

INDUSTRYNEWS

SOUTHWEST ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY SEMINAR AND THE ARIZONA SCIENCE AND ASTRONOMY EXPO

By Stephen W. Ramsden Editor Note: Having two major astronomy events to cover in a single issue left too little room for Stephen’s full reports on ASAE and SWAP 2013. Please log into www.astronomytechnologytoday.com and click the “Online Magazine” link to enjoy his complete article.

You’ll find more than one pleasant surprise there.

Stephen W. Ramsden is the Founder and Director of the Charlie Bates Solar Astronomy Project, the world’s highest-volume astronomy outreach nonprofit. For information on how you can contribute to the CBSAP phenomena, visit www.solarastronomy.org. You’ll also find even more great images there from ASAE and SWAP 2013.

The SWAP Report Upon my arrival in Tucson in the early afternoon of Thursday, Nov 14, I was a little flustered and feeling rushed that I had been scheduled for a 90-minute lecture within 2 hours of my arrival at the Southwest Image 1

Astrophotography Seminar (SWAP). I like to have a few hours to settle in to my room and go over my topic before the show so I can give the best lecture possible. Still, it turned out to be the most enjoyable presentation I had ever done, and I was very surprised at how friendly and receptive this particular audience was to my topic of sharing the Sun through advanced imaging. Within 3 minutes of my arrival at this conference, I knew something new and awesome was happening here, and I was glad to be fortunate enough to be involved.

SWAP was organized and run by Warren Keller, one of the nicest and sharpest guys in this hobby. The A-Train (ASAE director, Alan Traino) had certainly made a good decision by leaving this show completely in Warren’s competent hands. He was there right away to guide me to my room and go over whatever concerns I had. Warren had been given carte blanche to put on a show that he thought was the best

possible, and it really showed in the choices he made for speakers and the overall feel of the seminar.

The two-day event featured some of the most friendly and talented names in astrophotography. These guys were extremely outgoing and more than ready to share their experience, tips and tricks with this great audience of just under 100 attendees. The featured speakers over these two amazing days of learning were University of Arizona’s Adam Block, Bryan Cogdell from Celestron, Robert Denny of DC-3 Dreams, Alan Erikson from Adobe, Astrodon’s Dr. Don Goldman, Chris Herndon from OPT, Warren Keller from IP4AP, Kevin Nelson of QSI, Solar Imager Stephen W. Ramsden, Lunar Imager Robert Reeves, and the famous Dr. Craig Stark of Stark-Labs.

[Visit www.astronomytechnologytoday.com for the rest of Stephen’s coverage of ASAE and SWAP 2013.]

Image 2

Image 1: Solar observing at ASAE. Image 2: This little solar observer has earned an eye patch!

Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

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INDUSTRYNEWS

ASIMOPLAN Mosaic Planning Tool for Astro-imagers It never surprises us to learn of a new product or service, but learning of some long after they are fully formed and delivered to the market we cover can be especially frustrating. Case in point: We were only recently alerted to Asimoplan, a mosaic planning tool for astro-imagers, something that would have made our own recent mosaic projects much easier.

Asimoplan works in conjunction with a number of commercial and free sky-atlas programs and allows users to plan and execute the imaging of mosaics of objects that cannot be captured in a single frame.

Asimoplan will work with most sky-atlas programs; chances are that it will work just fine with the program(s) that you already use.

Asimoplan works by floating a mosaic outline over your sky-atlas display screen.

Once it has been designed, you can then use the mosaic to very precisely aim your imaging camera for each frame in the mosaic.

Before you can create a mosaic, you will need to provide Asimoplan with the details of the shape and imaging size of your camera’s imaging frame. You can do this for each camera that you use. Once provided, these details are saved for repeated use. The camera’s shape obviously remains constant and is held in a camera record. But a camera’s imaging scale, or “height,” depends on the optical train to

which the camera is attached, so a separate optical-train record is created for each camera/optical train permutation that you use.

You start by selecting the object to be imaged using your sky-atlas program, then you design a mosaic over the top of that object. You use Asimoplan’s calibration frame to identify the scale of the sky-atlas display. Then you specify the required number of frames across and down, as well as the extent to which the frames shall overlap each other.

Each time that you make a change, you can immediately see its affect on the amount of sky that your finally assembled mosaic will cover.

Once you have designed your mosaic, Asimoplan will calculate and report the right ascension and declination coordinates at the center of each frame. This lets you use your imaging camera’s mount to aim the camera for each frame in turn.

And because you can see the field stars, etc., displayed by your sky atlas underneath each frame, you can very precisely fine tune your camera’s aim. Once you have imaged a frame, you can record the imaging date and time for future reference.

The calculated right ascension and

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Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

declination coordinates can be exported to a text file in any of a number of different formats. This will let you pass the coordinates on to some other imager, such as a remote imaging system.

Typically, frame overlaps have had to be sufficiently large to allow for some inaccuracy in aiming the imaging camera.

But since Asimoplan largely eliminates that aiming inaccuracy, you can afford to use smaller overlaps with the result that you will maximize the overall size of your mosaic for any given number of frames.

Because the improved accuracy of aiming the imaging camera results in precisely aligned frame images, the amount of image wasted by cropping away any ragged border around the assembled frames is kept to the barest minimum.

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Sky-Watcher USA 120-mm ProED Doublet APO Refractor

G

By James R. Dire, Ph.D.

I recently had the opportunity to review the Sky-Watcher USA new line of ED doublet Apo refractors. There are three aperture sizes in this series, 80-mm, 100-mm and 120-mm. In this article, I will concentrate on the 120-mm telescope and will cover the two smaller refractors in my next article.

As their name implies, the SkyWatcher ProED refractors come with doublet (two pieces of glass) objectives.

They utilize the finest extra-low dispersion (ED) glass available, Schott BK-7 (front element) and FPL-53. This results in the best color correction for a doublet refractor, virtually eliminating chromatic aberration. As their website advertises, the Sky-Watcher ProED refractors are “for the discriminating amateur astronomer looking for an investment in advanced instrumentation for exceptional viewing.”

Exceptional viewing is indeed what these telescopes provide!

The telescopes all arrived simultaneously; each packed in a thick cardboard box. Inside each box was an aluminum carrying case containing a telescope and an enormous quantity of accessories.

Image 1 shows the three cases with the

Image 1 - The William Optics GTF102 is shown mounted next to the GTF81 on which Dr. Dire previously reported.

great Sky-Watcher logo on the covers. The ProED 120mm has the largest case measuring 40 inches by 12 inches by 9 inches.

Don’t plan on transporting too many kids

in the backseat with this baby. The case has four sturdy locking latches and reinforced corners.

What’s in the case is equally impresAstronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

35

SKY-WATCHER USA 120-MM PROED DOUBLET APO REFRACTOR

Image 2 - The ProED120 ships complete with an 8x50 image-erect finderscope and bracket, a dielectric 90-degree diagonal with a 2-inch compression ring clamp, and 2-inch to 1.25inch adapter.

sive. Unlike most high-end amateur refractors on the market today, the SkyWatcher ProED telescopes come with all

of the accessories for observing, other than a mount (Image 2). Besides the telescope of course, the case contains an 8x50

image-erect finderscope with mounting bracket and a dielectric 90-degree diagonal with a 2-inch compression-ring clamp. The diagonal comes with a 2-inch to 1.25-inch adapter, also with a compression-ring clamp. The diagonal and the adapter are threaded on the inside to accept 2-inch filters. Sky-Watcher also supplied two optional accessories for this review, a Canon EOS T-ring and a 0.85 reducer/corrector for this review, but these two accessories are not included with the standard ProED 120 kit. With the visual back removed, the reducer/corrector screws on the end of the focuser. There is a second 2-inch to 1.25-inch adapter with different sized threads tapped on the inside and outside. I am not quite sure their function, as I have never used anything with this thread size.

If this were not enough, the telescope has a pair of quick-release metal tube rings and a Vixen-style dovetail plate already attached to the optical tube assembly (OTA), ready to lift out of the case and

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Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

SKY-WATCHER USA 120-MM PROED DOUBLET APO REFRACTOR clamp onto a German equatorial mount.

The dovetail plate and rings are prepositioned on the OTA in the case at just the right spot for perfect balance once the diagonal and finderscope are attached to the OTA. There are also two eyepieces in the case with focal lengths 20-mm (45x) and 5-mm (180x). The 20-mm has no markings on it except for a small paper sticker saying “20-mm multi coated.” It has a nice rubber coated grip, good eye relief and is probably a generic Plossl eyepiece.

It performs like a generic Plossl eyepiece.

However, the 5-mm eyepiece really impressed me. It was etched “Sky-Watcher 1.25” -5mm UWA 58°.” This eyepiece was larger than the 20-mm, had the same diameter exit pupil, and performed about as well as one of my other, much higher end, 5-mm eyepieces.

The ProED optical tubes are beautifully crafted. The tubes are black with gold speckles. The dew shield, focuser, finder brackets, and tube rings are eggshell white (Image 3). The objective lens assembly is baffled and the interior of the tube painted flat black to keep stray light from reaching the eyepiece. A mounting base for the finderscope bracket is cast right onto the focuser assembly (Image 4). The bracket just slides in from the rear and held in place with a single locking screw. The dew shield does not retract, which accounts for the length of the case.

The OTA comes with a two-speed Crayford focuser (Image 5). The focuser operates smoothly, but the feel is not

Image 3 - The ProED120 OTA features a black tube with gold speckles. The dew shield, focuser, finder brackets, and tube rings are eggshell white.

high-end like the Feather Touch and MoonLite focusers I have on my own telescopes. A set screw on the bottom of the focuser locks the position of the focus tube. The left side has a course-focusing knob, while the right side contains a course knob and the fine focus knob. The telescope comes with a cover for the right knob set. The focuser will absolutely not turn with the cover in place. With the diagonal attached, eyepieces come to focus with the focuser barely cranked out. The focuser has enough travel to focus eyepieces or a camera without the diagonal in place, unlike some refractors I have used that required extensions.

I used the ProED120 mounted on a Celestron CGE Pro German equatorial mount (Image 6). I first aligned the finderscope with the telescope and then did a two-star alignment with the mount and

added three additional calibration stars.

This allowed the mount’s GOTO software to drive to and center in the eyepiece

Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

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SKY-WATCHER USA 120-MM PROED DOUBLET APO REFRACTOR

Image 4 - A mounting base for the finderscope bracket is cast into the focuser assembly

Image 5 - The OTA comes with a two-speed Crayford focuser.

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Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

any object I desired. While this mount is way overkill for this 11.3 pound OTA, it certainly made first light fun! Instead of a $4999 CGE Pro, for visual use Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d recommend a Celestron Advanced VX mount which lists for under $800. It operates the same as the CGE Pro, which was designed for a much larger payload.

The views through the ProED 120 were outstanding. There was no hint of any false color around Venus or any bright stars. I did notice a green ring around the 16-day old moon with the 20-mm eyepiece. I suspected it was the eyepiece, not the telescope. I swapped out the eyepiece with my 26-mm Tele Vue Nagler and the green color was no longer present. The views of the Moon were outstanding. The detail was about the best I have seen in any telescope smaller than 6 inches.

The 120-mm aperture collects 44percent more light than a 100-mm refractor. This was quite noticeable when I pointed it at globular star clusters M22 and M13, and open star clusters M11, NGC884 and 889. All of these star clusters were stunning in the ProED120. The view of M11 was almost three-dimensional! The Lagoon and Trifid nebulae were excellent in this telescope, too.

With my 82-degree Tele Vue Nagler, the Andromeda galaxy and its two satellite galaxies, M32 and M110, were all visible in the same field. With the dark skies and excellent seeing we have on Kauai, the spiral structure in M31 was very apparent and impressive.

The only distraction from the superb views was the location of the finderscope (Image 4). In many orientations of the German equatorial mount, I found the finderscope was too close to the eyepiece and my head ran into it whenever I looked through the telescope. Angling the finder eyepiece away from the focuser helped a little, but it did not eliminate the problem. I would prefer to have the finderscope farther away, mounted on one of the tube rings!

Image 7 shows the excelled detail visible in this telescope. This picture of the

SKY-WATCHER USA 120-MM PROED DOUBLET APO REFRACTOR

Image 6 - The ProED120 is shown mounted on a Celestron CGE Pro German equatorial mount.

16-day-old Moon was taken prime focus with a Canon T3i camera. The exposure was 1/1000s. Note the sharp crater detail on the limb from the 10 oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;clock to 3 oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;clock positions.

While the ProED Apo was designed for visual use, it is possible to capture CCD images using this telescope. With other doublet refractors, I have had success imaging through color filters. Image 8 shows the Dumbbell Nebula (M27) taken with a SBIG ST-10 CCD camera with the 16-day old Moon looming overhead. The exposure was 5 minutes each through red, green and blue filters.

Overall the ProED 120mm Doublet Apo is an excellent telescope. Its strengths are the excellent optics and the plethora of accessories included with the OTA, especially the aluminum carrying case! The cons are the focuser and location of the finderscope, although the focuser is quite sufficient for visual use. Overall, the views though this 4.7 inch refractor make the Skywatcher-USA ProED Doublet Apo a winner!

Image 7 - This image of a 16-day-old Moon was taken at prime focus with a Canon T3i camera. The exposure was 1/1000s.

Image 8 - Shows the Dumbbell Nebula (M27) taken with a SBIG ST-10 CCD camera with the 16-day old Moon looming overhead. The exposure was 5 minutes each through red, green and blue filters.

Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

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iOptron SkyTracker “This Thing Is a Blast!”

By Austin Grant

As I’ve grown to love astrophotography, I’ve spent countless hours searching for the “perfect” components for my imaging setup.

Telescopes and mounts seem to get larger and heavier each time I upgrade, and I’m striving for that mythical “last one I’ll ever need.” Just when I hit what I can only hope was rock bottom, I got a small package in the mail that changed everything. My iOptron SkyTracker arrived without much fanfare. In my world of PC-controlled, auto-guided, ultra-collimated, photon-counting, pixelstacking nirvana, where would this device fit in? Heck, it didn’t even have periodic error correction. I set it aside, hoping to get to it at some point.

It took me several more weeks to realize that I was bored. I’d spent all my time amassing a fantastic collection of imaging gear, and gathering countless sub-exposures. At the end of the day, staring at a computer screen attached to a telescope pointing at the same pinpoint of the sky all night just got to be monotonous. It wasn’t that I didn’t enjoy it anymore, just that I needed a break from the old routine. The SkyTracker proved to be the

Image 1 - The iOptron SkyTracker with key accessories attached.

most fun I’ve ever had with astronomy.

It arrived in a box that contained two smaller boxes. One had the SkyTracker and polar scope; the other had a nice light-duty ballhead. The entire setup weighed in at 2.8pounds! Not bad for a piece of equipment with an almost 8-pound payload. I got the white version, and it had a nice clean finish to it. After seeing it with the ballhead attached, I think the black version would look

even cooler. The design was simple yet functional. The only electronic controls were an On-Off switch, a North-South tracking mode switch, and a 1X-.5X tracking speed switch. For alignment, it included a rotatable base for azimuth adjustment, a geared pivot point (with lock) for latitude adjustment, a compass for rough alignment, a polar sighthole for finding Polaris, and a spot to install the polar scope. Finally, it had a detachable

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iOPTRON SKYTRACKER

Image 2 - The Milky Way frames Northwest Louisiana’s historic Worley Observatory. Shot with a Canon 60Da using an 18-55 kit lens set to 18 mm.

camera-mounting block, which was a nice touch (Image 1).

Setting Up The instruction manual was very thorough, something not to be taken for granted

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these days. That said, the mount is so simple in design that I doubt you’d need instructions. Just to be safe, though, here’s all that’s involved in setting this thing up. First, install the four AA batteries. Then, thread the SkyTracker onto a sturdy tripod using the 3/8-

inch threaded socket. If you have a smaller tripod, you’ll need to get a 1/4-inch to 3/8inch adapter. I REALLY recommend using a nice, sturdy tripod. If you don’t, your polar alignment will be disrupted each time you reposition the camera.

Once the mount is installed on the tripod, you level the tripod and use the rotating azimuth base to point the SkyTracker north.

The installed compass makes this a quick task. From there, use the azimuth and latitude adjustments to center Polaris in the polar sight-hole. If you got the SkyTracker without the polar scope, your alignment is finished. It’s THAT easy! If you did get the polar scope, alignment has another couple steps.

The polar scope only installs in one position, so it’s easy to get right each time. Finding the accurate position of Polaris is also easy, because there’s a nice smart-phone app for it. I downloaded the iOptron Polar Scope app, and found it to be a breeze to use. It just opens, finds your location, and displays a polar scope reticle that’s identical to the one you just installed. Find the position of Polaris in the app, make your physical setup match the one on your phone, and you’re done. After all the computer prowess I’ve needed before to get my imaging sessions going, it was a real treat to set it up by looking at an image from my phone.

Okay, so now the mount is installed on the tripod and properly polar aligned. The next step is to install the ballhead and camera, and get shooting some photos. The ballhead threads onto the camera-mounting block. The mounting block includes both 3/8-inch and 1/4-inch threads, so if you chose to use your own ballhead, it should be no problem attaching it. At this point, you attach the camera-mounting block and ballhead to the SkyTracker.

This was my only gripe with the entire setup. The thumbscrews included are metal with plastic pressed-on grips. One of mine failed immediately, with the plastic grip just spinning. It was a simple fix, though, and I had new screws on it in no time.

The last thing you need to do is put the ballhead plate on the camera (or lens, or

iOPTRON SKYTRACKER scope!) and mount it to the ballhead. Now you are finished, and it’s time for some photography.

Imaging at 18 mm The thing that made the SkyTracker so fun, other than the ultimate portability and instantaneous setup and teardown time, was the fact that I was successful the first time out. In fact, I had good imaging sessions every single time I used the SkyTracker. I can’t say that for any other setup I’ve ever used!

For imaging, I used a Canon 60Da and various lenses. I used Magic Lantern for incamera intervalometer functions, and I highly recommend it if your camera supports it. No wires, no remotes, no mess!

My first images were with the 18-55 mm zoom kit lens from Canon (Image 2).

At 18 mm, with proper polar alignment, I found that I could image using at least 10-minute exposures with no star trails. I didn’t try to go longer, though I think the mount would’ve supported it. Sure, 18 mm

Image 3 - Milky Way detail shot with an Ed Mika-modified 55-mm FD lens at f/2.5, again with a Canon 60Da.

isn’t too taxing on displaying periodic error, but I was still impressed. It was so fun to be able to get a huge swath of the Milky Way into a single shot. I’d been focused for too long on single items within the

Milky Way, so this was a real treat.

Imaging at 55 mm My next images were with a special lens.

I used a classic Canon FD 55-mm f/1.2

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iOPTRON SKYTRACKER

Image 4 - The Pleiades, 30-second exposure at 200-mm focal length.

“chrome nose” lens. And no, I didn’t use one of those cruddy FD-EOS adapters with the lens in between. This lens was special! In my daytime-photography forum-browsing, I found a guy named Ed Mika. Ed, at www.edmika.com, machines custom brass

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Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

adapters that allow you to mount older FL/FD/nFD lenses on new digital Canon bodies. The adapters are designed so that they have no extra elements between the lens and the sensor. The concept is brilliant, and it’s allowed the world to breathe new life into

some really fantastic old lenses. And if that weren’t enough, the adapters themselves are pieces of art. Each one comes with simple installation instructions, the tools for the job, a beautiful new rear lens cap, and a letter from Ed. The lens adapters also include a Dandelion chip that’s pre-programmed to the focal length of your lens. So you get accurate lens and f/stop data on your files, even with 30+ year old lenses! We will have a separate article on the adapters in an upcoming issue, but back to the iOptron SkyTracker.

If 55 mm was any more taxing on the tracking accuracy of the SkyTracker, it sure didn’t show. I was again able to get up to 10minute exposures with nice round stars. I chose to image with 5-minute exposures, because this lens was tack-sharp at f/2.5. The initial result was Image 3, again using the Canon 60Da. Imaging at Longer Focal Lengths Next up would be an old 28-105 mm lens. I wanted to see how the SkyTracker

iOPTRON SKYTRACKER

Image 5 - The iOptron SkyTracker carrying a Coronado SolarMax 60.

would handle 105 mm. Turns out it did quite well. At 105 mm, exposures of 5-minutes produced stars that were round, but very slightly trailed. They were by no means bad enough to toss, but it should be mentioned that this was the point where I started to see trailing. I scaled those exposures back to 3minutes, bumped the ISO and continued on with my round stars.

Finally, I wanted to REALLY push this thing photographically. I mounted my Canon 70-200 mm f/2.8L IS on it. Not only was this the heaviest payload yet, but I also decided to image with it at 200 mm. What I got was pretty astonishing. No chance at 5minute or even 2-minute exposures. That said, when I dropped down to 30-second exposures and cranked the ISO up, I was amazed with this little tracker would do. I shot the Pleiades at 200 mm using a terrifically portable mount, and the results (Image 4) blew me away!

Image 6 - Students plus SkyTracker-mounted solar scope equals magic!

SkyTracker as a Visual Platform I went from not knowing what to do with this thing, to trying to find as many uses for it as possible. It was fantastic for wide-field astrophotos, but I wondered how it would work carrying a small refractor. I had a unit in one of my classes where we used an RSpec Explorer camera to do real-time spectroscopy. From there, we wanted to get a Hydrogen alpha solar scope outside to observe the sun. Normally, I drag out a large mount and spend some time setting it all up. This time, I decided to see how the SkyTracker would function. Although it doesn’t have a solar or lunar tracking speed, the mount tracked the sun well during our observing session (Images 5 and 6). Not only that, it carried the Coronado SolarMax 60 scope nicely. This little mount really can do everything!

Conclusion After testing it with cameras and telescopes, I’m convinced that the iOptron SkyTracker is currently one of the coolest astronomy products on the market. It got me out of a creativity rut that I didn’t even know I was in. No longer do my astrophotos have to look exactly like every other one taken from earth. I can incorporate as much foreground scenery as I want, and it can always be changing. I find myself constantly getting out doing some quick astrophotography. No more cancelling a session because it may get cloudy. With 5-minute setup and teardown, it’s always worth the risk. The idea of a ridiculously portable visual mount for small scopes is just a bonus.

If you haven’t looked into the iOptron SkyTracker as your next mount, you should reconsider. This thing is a blast!

Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

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The MallinCam Junior Pro The Video Revolution Cometh

By “Uncle” Rod Mollise

You hear a lot about the “video revolution” in amateur astronomy lately. And in some places, like the Chiefland Astronomy Village, you see it happening. The last time I set up on the CAV’s Billy Dodd Memorial Observing field, every single one of the 10 observers present was using a MallinCam. Amateur astronomers are going deeper into the Universe than ever with sensitive long-exposure video cameras. It’s been said a camera like the MallinCam can triple the aperture of your scope, but that is actually an understatement. A 24-inch telescope might show the Horsehead Nebula under good conditions, for example, but the Horse will never look as sharply defined as it does in my MallinCam-equipped C8. Nor will the big scope show the color visible on my monitor.

So why isn’t everybody using a deep-sky video camera? Well, some people would still rather do things the old-fashioned way, with eye and eyepiece. Including me, till I decided I wanted to see details, not just smudges, in the years of observing left to me. I wanted to go beyond the NGC to the fiercely dim little PGC galaxies and other sprites that make up the sky’s background.

But mostly what has kept deep-sky video from taking our avocation by storm has been cost. The top-of-the-line

Image 1 - Shown is the MallinCam Junior Pro with the included wireless exposure control and optional four-button remote.

MallinCam Xtreme requires an investment of $1500 for a basic setup. That has been too much for some amateurs, especially those who haven’t been able to see video in action.

Yes, watching the live broadcasts on Night Sikes Network on the web can give you an idea of what a MallinCam can do, but many folks are understandably hesitant to part with

close to two thousand dollars without knowing exactly what a camera will deliver with their scope and their skies.

There are some less expensive cameras, like the original MallinCam Junior, but they are limited in their capabilities due to their 5-second exposure maximums. My experience is that even a very sensitive camera Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

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THE MALLINCAM JUNIOR PRO

Image 2 - Rear control panel of the MallinCam Junior Pro.

needs to be able to expose for at least 10-15 seconds if you are to go beyond the brightest objects.

The only other alternative for the costconscious astrovideographer has been offthe-shelf (non-astronomy) cameras like the Samsung SCB-2000. While it can expose for up to 10 seconds, its very small 1/3-inch chip and higher noise make it no more effective than the original Junior, which has a 1/2inch CCD and has been optimized for astronomy. The Samsung and similar cameras can give you a taste of video astronomy for $100, but just a taste.

And there things remained till early this past summer when I heard from MallinCam distributor Jack Huerkamp that Rock Mallin was preparing to release a new camera. As soon as I heard the specs of the Mallincam Junior Pro, I began to think it could be a game-changer. The MallinCam Junior Pro is at heart a MallinCam Xtreme, just stripped

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down a little so it can sell for $599. I knew that if the Junior Pro could at least come within spitting distance of the Xtreme, it would make a lot of y’all who’ve been waffling make up your minds to try video.

When I pulled Junior out of his box when he arrived on the front porch of Chaos Manor South, I was frankly amazed. The new camera not only looked a lot like an Xtreme, it felt like one too. The solidity, the build quality, was there. The beauty wasn’t just skin deep, either. The Junior Pro’s CCD chip, a 1/2-inch Sony ICX418AKL, is the same one used in the more expensive camera.

That said, I was well aware of the TANSTAAFL factor: “There Ain’t No Such Thing As A Free Lunch.” Some compromises had to be made to keep the Junior Pro’s price down. The main difference between the Junior and the Xtreme is cooling. Unlike the Xtreme, the Junior Pro’s CCD is not cooled. That means more thermal noise. I wasn’t overly worried about that, however.

My old Stellacam 2 deep-sky camera wasn’t cooled, either, and despite me running it with the gain almost wide open to make up for its 10-second exposure limit, I got some good shots with it.

The Junior Pro’s exposure system has also been simplified. Junior’s exposure length is, like the Xtreme’s, virtually unlimited (99hours), but how you set up those exposures is different. The Xtreme allows you to set and execute long exposures with either a laptop computer or with MallinCam’s wireless shutter controller. The Junior Pro does not feature computer control of long exposures, so

you are required to use the wireless. The good news is that the wireless controller for the Junior Pro is included in the purchase price (Image 1).

Control of the camera’s other functions is the same for both the Xtreme and the Junior Pro. You can use the buttons on the cam’s rear panel (Image 2) to access a settings screen (Image 3) on your video monitor (not computer). If you don’t like small buttons or don’t like touching the camera when it’s mounted on the scope, you can purchase a wired 4-button remote.

Or, you can set things like gain and short exposures (2.1 seconds or less) using a program running on a PC. The Junior Pro’s control software is free and can be downloaded from Jack Huerkamp’s website (http://waningmoonii.com). In order to use a computer with Junior, however, you will have to purchase an optional serial cable. Unlike with the Xtreme, the cable is not included in the Junior Pro package.

What does come with Junior? In addition to the camera, there’s a screw-on 1.25inch nosepiece (threaded for filters), the wireless remote hand control, a wireless receiver that plugs into the camera, a video/power cable, and a small AC power supply. The instructions for the camera are on printed pages and can also be downloaded from Jack’s website.

How are the instructions? They are sufficient, and, supplemented by the advice you can get from Jack, Rock, and plenty of experienced users on the MallinCam Yahoo group, will be enough to get most video novices started. However, I’d very much like to see a simplified, comprehensive manual aimed at beginners included in the box.

Any other nits your old Unk picked? I wish a 12vdc power cable were included (one is available as an option). In most cases, running the MallinCams off battery results in cleaner looking video than can be achieved with the stock AC power supplies. The cameras, and especially the Junior Pro, don’t draw much current and work well with the ubiquitous jump-start battery packs.

I was impressed by Junior’s build quality,

THE MALLINCAM JUNIOR PRO

Image 3 - On-screen settings shown on video monitor.

yeah, but the only true test of astro-gear is under the stars. That turned out to be a problem down here on the Gulf Coast during the summer of 2013. It was the wettest, cloudiest summer I can remember since 1994. It took till late September before I got an evening good enough to give the Junior Pro a fair evaluation.

When I finally got that clear night, Junior and I headed to my club’s dark site in the suburbs-country transition zone. The Milky Way is usually visible, but this site is hardly perfect due to a substantial light dome to the east. My telescope? A video camera will work fine with a modern (tracking) alt-azimuth mounted scope, but my current favorite video rig is my Celestron Edge 800 SCT and VX German equatorial mount (Image 4).

That combination is light, the go-to is extremely accurate, and the telescope provides a good image scale for the MallinCams’ small chips when equipped with an f/3.3 reducer.

I’d control the Junior Pro with a laptop computer just like I do the Xtreme, since I much prefer that to mashing tiny buttons on the camera. But I still had to figure out the wireless shutter controller – I don’t use one with the Xtreme. After a little fumbling around with it, I gave up and read the “quick

Image 4 - For the purposes of this article, Uncle Rod tested the MallinCam Junior Pro with his Celestron Edge 800 SCT and VX German equatorial mount.

start” instructions Jack put in the box, and soon had Junior cranking out 15-second exposures.

What happened when I sent the C8 to

M13? At first, not much. A layer of clouds had covered the Great Globular. But when they finally blew away, I was also blown away.

I’m not sure what I’d expected, but what I

Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

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THE MALLINCAM JUNIOR PRO

Image 5 - M13, the Great Globular Cluster in Hercules.

Image 6 - M15 globular cluster in Pegasus.

Image 7 - NGC 7331, the Deerlick Galaxy.

Image 8 - Stephanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Quintet.

Image 9 - NGC 6888, the Crescent Nebula.

Image 10 - M27, the Dumbbell Nebula.

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THE MALLINCAM JUNIOR PRO

Image 11 - M22 globular cluster in Sagittarius.

Image 12 - M28 globular cluster in Sagittarius.

Image 13 - M16, the Eagle Nebula

Image 14 - Stephanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Quintet.

Image 15 - NGC 6888, the Crescent Nebula.

Image 16 - M27, the Dumbbell Nebula.

Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

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THE MALLINCAM JUNIOR PRO got was a beautiful image of M13 (Image 5). If I hadn’t known I was using the Junior Pro, I’d have sworn it was a MallinCam Xtreme shot. There was a great big ball of stars staring back at me from my monitor in full-color glory.

I was impressed, but M13 is a bright Messier, one of the brightest globs in the sky. Just about any camera can do a good job with something like that. How about a less good globular cluster? Like M15. Away we went. Again, I was flabbergasted at how similar the image was to what I am used to with the Xtreme. M15 (Image 6) with its tiny stars and intense core looked dadgum spectacular. It was still a Messier, though.

How about something even harder? Like nearby NGC 7331, the Deerlick Galaxy?

Once more, I was taken by how close what I was seeing was to what I get with the top MallinCam on a similar night. The galaxy’s golden hue was obvious. So were the little NGC galaxies scattered across the field, the “deer” at the deer lick. When the

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seeing and transparency cooperated, I could even see traces of NGC 7331’s subdued spiral arm with 15-seconds of exposure (Image 7).

By the way, the images here are just simple single-frame screen grabs. Other than a little adjustment of their curves, I haven’t done much processing. And rest assured the live video looks much better and shows more detail. It’s a testament to the quality of the Junior Pro’s images that these stills look as good as they do.

How about Junior’s lack of cooling?

Did that make a difference? Some difference, yeah, but not a huge amount in my opinion. There are, naturally, more warm pixels than with the cooled cam, and the backgrounds don’t look as smooth.

Still, for me, video is about going deep and seeing lots of detail, not getting pretty pictures. There was most assuredly plenty of detail visible in all objects bright and dim.

“Hokay, Unk, but what about ampli-

fier glow?” Because of the heat generated by their on-chip amplifiers, most CCD sensors will show some glow in one of the corners of the frame. The longer the exposure, especially with an uncooled camera, the more prominent this brightening will be. There was some visible in 20-second exposures with the Junior, but I am happy to report it was minor.

After the Deerlick, we were off to an even more challenging target, the nearby and legendary galaxy cluster, Stephan’s Quintet (Image 8). It was easily visible, though not showing much detail. That was mainly because the approximately 800 mm of focal length of the C8 and reducer combination was just not enough to show details in such small targets. I could see the cluster, though, and that put to bed any worries I had about the Junior Pro being able to tackle the faint stuff. If I needed any more reassurance in that regard, NGC 6888, the Crescent Nebula in Cygnus provided it. The Crescent’s notoriously dim loop showed up easily (Image 9).

By the time I’d done the Crescent and the Dumbbell (Image 10), another mess of clouds was on the way. I had just enough time to do a quick run through the showpieces of the south, though. They all fell before Junior and all looked good. In fact, M22 (Image 11), M28 (Image 12), M16 (Image 13), M17 (Image 14), and M8 (Image 15) looked marvelous. See also Image 16 of M57, the Ring Nebula.

At no time did I feel overly handicapped by using the Junior Pro instead of the Xtreme. I just enjoyed the pretty pictures as they appeared on my monitor one after another.

I had some other tests planned – longer exposures and filters – but the fricking-fraking clouds prevented that. Even so, I have no hesitation in giving this camera a big thumbs-up. It’s not just a relatively inexpensive way to get into video; it is more than capable of doing real work. If you’ve been sitting on the video fence, muchachos, it’s time to hop off and give Jack a call. You want the Junior Pro.

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Telescope Resolution Measurements at the 2013 Texas Star Party

By Keith Venables

Summary Qualitative field measurements taken with 26 telescopes of varying type and aperture have confirmed that structure below the theoretical resolving power of the telescope (the Dawes limit) can indeed be resolved under some circumstances. Some high-quality refractors achieved a resolution around half the Dawes limit.

In the seeing conditions prevailing during the tests, it was found that the maximum useable magnification varied according to telescope aperture, as might be expected. However, the widely accepted magnification rule of x50 per inch of aperture was instead found to range from x120 for some apertures of 80to-200 mm to x20 for some apertures of 200-to-650 mm.

Measurements taken on one telescope (10-inch reflector) over four nights showed that the effect of seeing on measured resolution could be severe and variable over a pe-

riod of an hour or so. Over one particular night, the resolution of the telescope varied from 40 percent to nearly 90 percent of the Dawes limit, yet on another it remained very close to 100 percent.

The tests proved very effective in identifying where telescopes could be better collimated, or other corrective action taken. The relative performance between telescopes and eyepieces was readily apparent to observers and was widely used. It also allowed observers to closely evaluate their own visual acuity and the impact of any spectacles worn.

Introduction Each year, the dark skies of the Texas Star Party (TSP) attract hundreds of amateur astronomers and their telescopes from across the US, and a few from even further afield. It attracts a wide variety of astronomers, from the beginner to the seasoned expert, and telescopes ranging through department-store

Image 1 - The 3-inch square 1951USAF â&#x20AC;&#x153;metal-on-glassâ&#x20AC;? bar-target slide used in these tests can be seen at lower right within the larger target, which was made by ink-jet printing on A4-size OHP acetate.

budget models, homemade projects, large reflectors, to top-of-the-line refractors.

Following the chance find by the author of an optical test target in a scrap box, the idea was developed to set up the target on a nearby hill and see if some useful measurements of telescope resolution could be achieved. With a wide variety of telescopes and observers, it was hoped that some interesting comparisons might be made.

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TELESCOPE RESOLUTION half power, to full power. The complete target arrangement is shown in Image 2.

Due to the spread of telescopes over the three fields, it was necessary to provide lookup adjustment tables so that observers could correct for their range to the target, plus make corrections if they were significantly off-axis and hence seeing vertical bars appearing at a closer spacing than if head-on.

All TSP observers were invited to participate by taking measurements after initial set-up and collimation (for reflectors) and then to repeat them if further collimation or other action improved the results. They were also asked to get fellow observers to make collaborative measurements.

Image 2 - The complete target assembly was back illuminated with white LEDs powered from a 12-volt DC battery, topped up by a solar panel during the day. A simple radio-control system was used to turn the illumination from off, to half power, to full power.

Target & Measurements The basis of the optical target was a 3inch square 1951USAF â&#x20AC;&#x153;metal-on-glassâ&#x20AC;? bartarget slide. The telescopes at TSP are spread across three fields, and the preferred location of the target so that all could see it meant that this 3-inch slide would be too small for some telescopes and would need to be supplemented with some larger bar targets. Average distance from observer to target was around 700 meters.

The target used is shown in Image 1.

The 3-inch target slide can be seen at lower right within the larger target, which was made by ink-jet printing on A4-size OHP acetate. The complete target comprised of six groups, each of six vertical and horizontal pairs of bar patterns. This covered a resolution range from 4 to 0.1 arc seconds. The target was back illuminated with 40 high-power white LEDs powered from a 12-volt DC battery, topped up by a solar panel during the day. A simple radio-control system was used to turn the illumination from off, to

Findings Effect of Aperture The resolution of a telescope is fundamentally determined by its aperture, with telescope type, optics quality, seeing conditions and observer variability also being major factors. The first finding presented in Figure 1 is therefore a plot of measured resolution versus telescope aperture. The basic types of telescopes are differentiated according to the plot legend.

The solid line is the Dawes limit for a telescope of aperture D in millimeters, given by 116/D in arc seconds, and the dashed line is the Rayleigh Criterion, 138/D arc seconds for 550-nm light. At first, some may be surprised that the results appear to show that some observers were seeing beyond the Rayleigh or Dawes limit for their telescopes.

This is indeed so and will be discussed a lit-

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TELESCOPE RESOLUTION tle later.

From now on, we will refer only to comparisons with the Dawes limit, as this was based on practical measurements, although, as we can see, it is close to the Rayleigh limit.

In general, it is good to see that most measurements are close to the Dawes limit.

There is one refractor measurement at the very top of the graph that is poor, but that is really only the one significant exception.

The error bars represent the difference between one bar pattern and those on either side of it. The difference between patterns on the USAF1951 target is a fixed ratio and hence this becomes quite significant for the larger bars. If we assume the possibility of an observer being optimistic or pessimistic and selecting a bar pattern one away from the “right” one, then these error bars indicate that in most cases this error is insignificant.

At larger apertures (>400 mm), the telescopes all failed to reach the Dawes limit and we may possibly attribute this to poor seeing (see later section), and their inherent general design of being fast-focal ratio light collectors with less than diffraction-limited performance other than exactly on-axis.

With a few exceptions, telescopes in the 80- to 400-mm aperture range came close to or exceeded the Dawes limit.

Overall, results in this aperture range fall on or either side of the Dawes limit, irrespective of the telescope type. If we assume that the effect of seeing was roughly the same for all observations in this range, then we can perhaps look for other factors to explain the relative performance of telescopes.

Notable in the aperture range 150- to 270-mm is the cluster of four refractors below the Dawes limit, along with a Maksutov-Cassegrain and an SCT. All except the SCT were Astro Physics or TEC telescopes.

They are of, no doubt, superior quality, but also we may expect telescopes of that standard to be owned by very experienced observers. However, all but one of the top measurements were collaborated by multiple observers, and this points towards telescope quality making a difference, rather than observer.

Significantly, we can see that in the 150-

Figure 1: Plot of measured resolution versus telescope aperture.

Figure 2: Plot of resolution versus magnification used.

to 180-mm aperture range, high-quality telescopes were able to exceed the Dawes limit by up to a factor of two. This is, in fact, to be expected as the Dawes limit is for point sources, and our target was comprised of bars. This is why small telescopes can often resolve the Cassini division in Saturn’s rings,

when application of the Dawes suggests they shouldn’t.

Effect of magnification A plot of resolution versus magnification used, Figure 2, reveals a distribution that is similar to the shape of the Dawes limit, i.e., Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

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TELESCOPE RESOLUTION a power curve. Compare Figure 2 with Figure 1, above it. However, this is to be expected as the maximum magnification useable for a telescope is proportional to its aperture, and hence the horizontal axes in Figures 1 and 2 are roughly equivalent.

The graph does have some value in easily identifying those measurements made where the magnification may not have been optimized. The plots for refractor A in Figure 3 is a case where too much power was probably used, and the measured resolution consequently suffered. Refractor B, on the other hand, appears to have used too little power, yet has achieved excellent resolution.

An example of superb optics and visual acuity.

The Maksutov-Cassegrain measurement, labeled C, with a power of x1033, may be attributed to the relatively high-focal ratio of the telescope at f/15.5.

To explore the issue of magnification further, a plot of magnification versus aper-

ture was made, Figure 3.

A working assumption is that observers will have increased the power they were using to try and resolve smaller and smaller bar patterns, until they reached that point at which seeing and their aperture prevented higher powers from improving matters. A couple of results where it was clear that this was not the case have been excluded from the plot.

Although there are fewer data points than desirable, the graph does appear to show two distinct trends highlighted by the dashed lines. The blue line represents a magnification scale of about “x20 per inch” of aperture, while the red represents about “x120 per inch.” A scale of “x50 per inch” is often quoted as a maximum useable magnification, and we can see that our results do bracket this number, but also show a very wide difference between the two trends.

The blue line represents Newtonian reflectors, with focal ratios of f/5 or less, and apertures greater than 200 mm. The red line

represents refractors, with focal ratios of between f/5.5 and f/9, and apertures less than 180 mm.

The question arises whether we can attribute these two trends to the type of telescope, range of focal ratios, or aperture range?

This is not easy with the limited data points available. There are some clues, however, that might provide some insight as to the drivers behind these two quite disparate trends.

The first is the single Newtonian reflector result sitting between the two trends. This had a focal ratio of f/7, much higher than the other Newtonians. Similarly, the single MakCass result appears to be on an extension of the red trend line, right at the top of the graph. This telescope had a focal ratio of f/15.5.

The cluster of SCT results also sit in the middle between the two trends. They were all working at f/10.

The single Makustov-Newtonian working at F/5.3 sits down on the blue line. It can

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Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

TELESCOPE RESOLUTION be postulated that for all these “hybrid” telescopes employing reflecting and refracting elements in their design, it is focal ratio that is the major determinant of maximum magnification useable. This is supported by the high-focal ratio Newtonian discussed earlier that also broke “the trend.”

There are also two pairs of Newtonian results that add further weight to this theory.

At the far right of the blue line are two broadly similar aperture telescopes, but the higher-focal ratio scope (f/5) performed significantly better than the other one (f/4.2).

Similarly, the two Newtonians at around 350 mm seem to perform according to their respective focal ratios of f/4.3 and f/4.9.

If aperture alone was the determinant of maximum useable magnification, we would expect to see a much simpler trend line through all the data points and not the complicated plot structure measured. Once again, we must consider the quality of the optics being tested. The two refractors at the top of the red trend line, and the Mak-Cass at the very top, are all of the very highest quality available to amateurs.

It would appear therefore on the basis of these results that the maximum useable magnification for a telescope can vary between x20 to more than x100 per inch of aperture, depending on focal ratio and quality of the optics.

As stated above, more data is required to clarify these findings, and we may be able to

Figure 3: Plot of magnification versus aperture.

follow this up at a future TSP. Effect of f/no The previous section may indicate, at first reading, that high-focal ratio numbers will resolve better. A plot of focal ratios versus resolution achieved is shown in Figure 4.

This plot clearly highlights the limited range of focal ratios for each telescope type, but does not show any other clear correlation.

This is satisfying as it supports the clas-

sical theory of optics where the resolving power of a telescope is purely a function of its aperture. Large focal ratios may have helped observers use a higher magnification, which may have assisted those with poorer eyesight, but, in general, it is the telescope and not the eye that determines resolving power.

This statement is supported by the generally very-good coherence in measurements between different observers on the same telescope.

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TELESCOPE RESOLUTION

Figure 4: Plot of focal ratios versus resolution achieved.

Effect of Seeing It quickly became apparent that atmospheric turbulence would be a major factor in making measurements. On the first night,

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wind was also a problem, effectively preventing good readings.

The atmospheric turbulence, or “seeing” had been expected, but the severity was un-

known and might have negated all measurements. As we have seen, this was not the case as some very useful results have come through.

This is witness to the skill and determination of the observers to take their time waiting for the seeing to improve and to repeat measurements on better nights.

The author chose to spend much of his TSP making comparative resolution measurements on his 10-inch Newtonian. In general, these were repeated every 30 minutes and so did allow some “real” observing in between times. The results are shown in Figure 5.

As mentioned earlier, the wind on the first night prevented good measurements and so none are included for that night. At least this enabled the author to complete his John Wagoner observing list! Also of note is the short curve for the night of the 9th/10th where the author actually fell asleep while looking through the eyepiece and decided he should go to bed!

It is apparent from the figure that seeing can vary tremendously, both during a night

TELESCOPE RESOLUTION and from one night to the next. The line of sight from telescope to target was approximately 700 meters at an altitude of about 10 degrees or less, depending on observing location. The terrain under this path was a mixture of dirt and rock, with a little scrub. The author had expected seeing to improve gradually after dusk, as the terrain cooled down to approach the air temperature, and then stay good until sunrise.

In practice, this did not happen. The red and blue lines demonstrate almost reverse behavior over two consecutive nights. The purple line shows steady performance, and this was a night that followed some thunder and very heavy rain during the late afternoon.

These plots, taken every 30 minutes, do not show a more rapid change in seeing that was observed and noted by nearly all observers.

They reported staring at the test target for long periods, waiting for short glimpses of high resolution as the seeing momentarily improved.

This technique will be well known to any planetary or double star observers reading this.

Also reported were significant changes in seeing that accompanied the frequent breezes that are well known on TSP nights. These breezes are usually noticed by a sudden chilling effect on the observers, but with the test target we were able to see marked changes in seeing too. Improvements and deteriorations were both noted.

Although not everyone was diligent about recording the time of their resolution measurements, inspection of the detailed results do show that most of the best were indeed taken during the night of 10/11th May. An unknown is the relevance of these measurements across a very low 700 meter path to a target, to more conventional astronomical observing at say 45 degrees elevation through a much longer atmospheric path.

Clearly, our measurements were only sensitive to local ground level effects, but how significant are these in practice compared to the seeing over the middle to upper atmosphere?

Two qualitative inputs can be added to the results in Figure 5, however. The first is an observer situated near the author who was doing video measurements of close double stars. We found broad correlation between my

Figure 5: Plot of comparative resolution measurements made with the authorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 10-inch Newtonian at 30-minute intervals demonstrates dynamic nature of local seeing challenges.

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TELESCOPE RESOLUTION resolution as his colleagues on the same telescope. In at least one of these, this was put down to a previously known eye problem, but these tests allowed the impact to be quantified.

Many observers verbally reported how they tried either eye and with or without spectacles. The author, committed to making his repeated measurements every 30 minutes, took some time to explore this. With astigmatism in both eyes, corrected on one side by his spectacles, but needing a new prescription on the other, these effects were pronounced.

Even with the much-reduced exit pupil present at the high magnifications used for these tests, it was clear that good correction for astigmatism was essential in achieving the best telescope test results.

Image 3

measurements of good or bad seeing versus his success in capturing useable frames. The second is the author’s observations of the “double – double”, ε Lyrae. Although always able to split both doubles with the 10-inch Newt, it was quite challenging most of the time, except notably on the stable night, 10/11th May. Other Findings Improving Performance One of the expected uses of the target was for observers to check their telescope performance and potentially improve it through better collimation or other actions. 20 percent of the test program participants reported a significant improvement (>20 percent) in resolution performance through use of the test target and corrective action.

Astigmatism Very few measurements reported showed astigmatism. There were two notable exceptions, both with SCTs. One was corrected by some expert help on collimation, the other was corrected by replacing the diagonal with a higher-quality item. These results alone justify future deployment of the test target at TSP! Visual Acuity In one or two instances, there appeared an observer who could not achieve the same

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Equipment Evaluation The bar target allowed observers to evaluate relative performance of different telescope-eyepiece combinations. The author was witness to many instances where telescope owners were actively seeking out equivalent telescopes to their own and then making their own comparisons of resolution.

It was also clear that a lot of eyepiece swapping was going on. In some instances, this was to try a higher power or fill in a gap that the observer couldn’t achieve with his own eyepieces. In other cases, it was to try an alternative eyepiece type or manufacturer. In two known cases, this resulted in a trip to the vendors the next day!

CCD Imaging A few observers attempted to capture the target image with a CCD. As it turned out, only one had the right configuration to capture a useable image. This was using an SCT with a x3 Barlow operating at f/30 and a video camera for image capture. Using the “lucky imaging” technique, he captured 2000 frames, selected the best 100, and then aligned, stacked and sharpened the result using Registax 6. An example resulting image is shown in Image 3.

Overall Conclusions The overall results show very strong cor-

relation with the Dawes limit for resolution as a function of telescope aperture. Some higherquality refractors achieved a resolution twice as good as indicated by the Dawes limit. This strongly supports other experimental findings that structure finer than this limit can in practice be seen.

The large-aperture reflectors tested could not achieve the Dawes limit, due probably to the disproportionate impact of atmospheric seeing on the larger aperture, but may also arise from inherent general poorer performance for fast-focal ratio systems.

The widely adopted rule of x50 magnification per inch of aperture was found to be a gross simplification for the conditions at TSP. Better figures would be x20 for large apertures (>200mm) and x100 for smaller apertures. x50 remained appropriate for SCTs and highfocal ratio Newtonians.

The effect of atmospheric turbulence on the tests was variable and at times strong. Nevertheless, good readings were made thanks to the perseverance and skill of the participants.

There were some qualitative indications that the turbulence apparent in the test target correlated with the seeing apparent in the night sky.

The test target proved valuable in identifying collimation or performance problems with telescopes and facilitating their correction. The horizontal and vertical bar patterns were very useful, allowing observers to explore differences between their eyes and the impact of using spectacles or not. This was particularly effective at quantifying the effect of ocular astigmatism.

Acknowledgements The author would like to thank the Texas Star Party for supporting and facilitating these tests. Also, sincere thanks must go to the many observers who gave up valuable night-sky observing time to support the resolution test programme. Special thanks go to Craig Colbert for building the outer weather housing and making countless trips up the hill with the author to set-up the target.

With thanks to Ed Wiley for his dedication in capturing the video images and their subsequent processing.

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The Hofheim Instruments 8-inch f/4 Travel Dobsonian Good scopes DO come in small packages!

By Dragan Nikin

Anyone who has ever attempted travel with a telescope knows just how difficult it can be. Available space is always at a premium and many times our particular situations often dictate what size telescope we can travel with. Whether it is limited trunk space or a cramped overhead compartment on an airliner, travel scopes have typically fallen into one of two categories: a small short tube refractor or a small catadipotric attached atop a camera tripod. Now these scopes can and do fulfill the purpose of a travel scope – they are quick to setup, easy to use and require little else in providing pleasing views. But therein lies a problem.

For a scope to be suitable for travel, particularly by air, it must also be portable. But portability often comes with a sacrifice. The majority of telescopes that are typically used

for airline travel tend to be on the smaller side, 90-mm or so, while larger scopes have been relegated to travel by car. Sure, a 90-mm refractor can show you a pleasing wide-field view, but aperture rules, right? You’d like to see more in the eyepiece on your travels, correct? Well, Joachim Tennigkeit of Hofheim, Germany just may have the solution!

Joachim, and his wife Monika, had the same desires many do when it comes to travel scopes. They sought a travel scope with decent aperture and The Hofheim Instruments 8-inch f/4 Travel Dobsonian capabilities. What they wanted was an 8-inch reflector that was collapsicided that if he couldn’t buy it he’d just have ble in minutes and transportable in the overto make it. Three prototypes and many obhead compartment of an airliner. Searching serving sessions later, Hofheim Instruments for a solution proved fruitless. Joachim de(HI) and their 8-inch f/4 Travel Dobson Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

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THE HOFHEIM INSTRUMENTS 8-INCH F/4 TRAVEL DOBSONIAN were born! Although HI now produces three models, an 8-inch, a 12-inch and a 16-inch, I will be focusing on the 8-inch.

Image 1 - The HI 8-inch f/4 Travel Dob in travel mode.

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Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

Overview The disassembled telescope comes in a nondescript dark wooden box with aluminum corners and carrying handle (Image 1). A small aluminum tag is affixed just above the handle displaying the manufacturer’s name. The box itself comes in at 12 inch by 12.5 inch by 7.5 inch and weighs in at 18.5 pounds. Everything you need for a night of observing, minus eyepieces and accessories, is contained within this box. That’s the beauty of this system. It is a true travel scope, and just looking at it you’d never believe that an 8-inch telescope lives inside.

Once you open it, you’ll realize just how much thought has gone into this product and why this system works so well as a travel scope. Oh, one more thing: Other than your fingers, no tools are required for setup.

THE HOFHEIM INSTRUMENTS 8-INCH F/4 TRAVEL DOBSONIAN Assembly The box itself is held together by three knurled thumbscrews located on the sides.

Removal of these screws allows for separation of the bottom and top, or the two pieces that will become the rocker box and scope stand, respectively (Image 2). With the top removed, one can truly appreciate the ingenuity of Mr. Tennigkeit’s handmade design.

Everything just fits so well together. The upper cage is nestled into the mirror box and these two assemblies rest within the rocker box. Brilliant!

During transport, the mirror is protected by a piece of plexiglass that lies atop gussets inside the mirror box. Though the upper cage is nestled inside the mirror box and has no way of touching the mirror, the surface of the mirror is still offered additional protection by this plexiglass.

Assembly continues with the separation of all the major components. The feet, truss poles, azimuth pivot bolt and Teflon azimuth bearings all have their places at the bottom of the rocker box (Image 3). The feet are attached using the three thumbscrews that held the entire assembly together for transport.

The top now becomes your telescope stand.

The Teflon azimuth bearings are placed in predrilled holes on the topside of the stand and the rocker box is then placed atop the bearings and is held in place with the center pivot bolt. The altitude bearings fasten to the mirror box and have to be rotated into position before use, easily and quickly done with thumbscrews (Image 4). Stowage of the bearings is needed to minimize the height of the mirror box during transportation. Once the bearings are rotated and locked into place, the mirror box can be placed onto the rocker.

Now we come to the trusses (Image 5), and here is where I had some initial concern.

When you first come across these, you’ll wonder “How in the world could these work?” They look like they are straight out of highschool wood shop. (Think folding

Image 2 - Removal of three knurled thumbscrews allows for separation of the bottom and top, the two pieces that will become the rocker box and scope stand.

Image 3 - The feet, truss poles, azimuth pivot bolt and Teflon azimuth bearings are stored at the bottom of the rocker box.

Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

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THE HOFHEIM INSTRUMENTS 8-INCH F/4 TRAVEL DOBSONIAN

Image 4 - The altitude bearings are rotated into position before use – easily and quickly done with thumbscrews.

Image 5 - The eight truss poles are collapsible, much like folding carpenter rulers.

carpenter rulers.) Afterall, they’re collapsible and rather flexible and couldn’t possibly hold collimation, right? Well, believe me when I say that you have nothing to worry about.

Once installed, these things work, and work extremely well.

There are a total of eight trusses that need to be expanded and installed, which is easy and straightforward. There are two pins

on the inside of each corner of the mirror box as well as a small hole drilled in each end of a truss rod. You place a truss rod onto each pin and rotate a small aluminum plate that effectively cams the rod in place (Image 6).

Do that eight times at the mirror box and again eight times at the upper cage and voila!

You have just assembled a fully transportable 8-inch f/4 travel Dob!

S

Construction The entire telescope is made of Balticbirch plywood, with the rest being beech.

The rocker box and stand are finished in a dark stain, while the mirror box and upper cage are painted in a more natural wood tone. The six coats of finish on the telescope not only provide beauty, but also protect from the elements. Even the hardware on the

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Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

THE HOFHEIM INSTRUMENTS 8-INCH F/4 TRAVEL DOBSONIAN scope has been carefully selected so that it will never corrode.

All interior surfaces of the scope are painted in a flat-black paint to help minimize reflections, and the overall fit and finish of the telescope is way above par. The inside of the mirror box contains several gussets as well as corner bracing for rigidity and strength.

This mirror box will not go out of square on you. The rocker box itself has several holes drilled into its sides, which I presume were meant not only for decoration, but weight savings as well.

The primary mirror, made of BK7 glass, is attached by silicon to a mirror cell which looks to be 1/2-inch plywood. There are three collimation bolts at the rear of the scope as well as three locking screws to help lock collimation (Image 7). I found that these screws worked wonderfully. The scope kept collimation between observing sessions requiring, at most, just a tweak of the secondary. The mirror cell and the rear of the mirror box each have three holes drilled to help facilitate mirror cooling.

The octagon-shaped upper cage assembly is a piece of craftsmanship to be admired.

9.5 inches in diameter and only 3.25 inches tall, the upper cage is made up of eight individual pieces of birch beautifully joined together using dovetail joints. Also, depending on your personal preference, you can set the scope up with the focuser on the left- or right-hand side of the telescope.

The secondary is a unique three-vane variety constructed of threaded rod with which diffraction spikes were never a bother.

The secondary mirror itself has a 50-mm minor axis, or 1.97-inch, and actually contains a 3-mm offset. It is attached to the secondary holder by three globs of silicone. The holder has three thumbscrews to make collimation a breeze.

The focuser is a 2-inch helical focuser (Image 8). Though some may not feel that a helical focuser is ideal, on this scope it’s your only option. See, a traditional Crayford fo-

Image 6 - Two pins in each inside corner of the mirror box secure the truss rods. Place a truss rod onto each pin and rotate a small aluminum plate that effectively cams the rod securely in place.

cuser just wouldn’t work. The knobs would get in the way and you wouldn’t be able to place the upper cage inside the mirror box for transport. The fit is already tight as is, and

only a helical focuser will allow for it. In fact, the fit is so tight that the supplied focuser has to be drawn all the way in just to allow the upper cage to be placed into the mirror box!

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THE HOFHEIM INSTRUMENTS 8-INCH F/4 TRAVEL DOBSONIAN

Image 7 - The altitude bearings are rotated into position before use â&#x20AC;&#x201C; easily and quickly done with thumbscrews.

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Image 8 - The octagonal upper cage is equipped with a custom 2-inch helical focuser.

THE HOFHEIM INSTRUMENTS 8-INCH F/4 TRAVEL DOBSONIAN Nevertheless, the focuser performs more than adequately.

Accessories Hofheim Instruments also offers a good selection of accessories for the 8-inch, such as a shroud, a counter weight and a springloaded friction system, to name a few. I own these three, but I’ve never needed to use the counter-weight system. Utilizing the friction lock system seemed to be enough to handle balance on a variety of eyepieces ranging from Naglers to orthos. If you are so inclined, there is even a cradle available for purchase that allows you to mount the telescope on a German Equatorial mount!

Performance Once assembled, the scope will be a little mirror heavy in regards to balance. This is by design. Once you install the shroud, finder and an eyepiece the scope is very well balanced. The motions are just as smooth as the finest large aperture dobsonians on the market, and hand tracking at moderate to high power just wasn’t a concern. In fact, it was fun!

Having purchased the scope this past July, I had it out at several different sites over the past few months with the darkest site being the Nebraska Star Party. I can tell you, I truly loved this telescope – as did everyone who used it on Dob Row with me. With an eyepiece height of only 39 inches, all that is needed for some comfortable seated observing is a small stool. Image 9 pictures me kneeling beside the HI8 to reference eyepiece height relative to a seated observer.

Views are exactly what you’d expect from an 8-inch telescope with excellent optics. I do not have any specs for my mirror, but objects were crisp and would snap beautifully into focus against a black, contrasty background. I noticed no obvious aberrations in this mirror when checking inside/outside of focus, nor was there any obvious vignetting. By no means am I an ex-

pert star tester, but I’d like to mention that star images were identical on either side of focus.

During the Nebraska Star Party, we looked at targets ranging from Messiers to several different and difficult Arp and Hickson groups. Butter-smooth movements ensured that handguiding on dim objects – even in a narrowfield, high-powered ortho eyepiece – was never an issue.

In regards to coma, it’s what you’d expect from an f/4 system. It’s there, but it just wasn’t enough to detract from the view. I never did place a Paracorr in the focuser nor did I (or anyone looking through the scope) feel that it was warranted. Overall, I can say that I’m very pleased with Image 8 - The author is pictured kneeling beside the HI8 to referthe optics provided in this ence eyepiece height relative to a seated observer. scope. emails in a timely manner and would love to help with any questions you may have.

In Conclusion…

Hofheim Instruments 8-inch f/4 travel Hofheim Instruments pride themselves scope may just be an astronomer’s answer to on being a preeminent travel-scope manutravel. The scope is everything you would facturer, and their instruments command a want. It’s light. It’s portable. Best of all, it ofprice. At the time of this review, the telescope fers an aperture that can actually provide the sells for € 1080, or about $1400 USD. Add user with very pleasing views of the night sky. a few accessories and shipping, and you No more will an astronomer be relegated to could be looking at nearly $2000. Not a a short-tube, wide-field refractor. Deep-sky chunk of change to sneeze at, but like many objects are possible! things in life, you get what you pay for.

So, if you’re in the market for a scope to One final note: Since each telescope is bring along on your travels, give this beautihandmade and demand is high, a ful instrument a thorough consideration. I year-long wait for one of these fine instruthink you’ll be glad you did, especially when ments is not unheard of. Purchasing inforyou’re seated at 35,000 feet and you realize mation is available on their website, you have a complete 8-inch f/4 telescope sitwww.hofheiminstruments.com, as well as by ting in the overhead compartment! email. Joachim is very good about returning

Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

71

ASTRO TIPS tips, tricks and novel solutions

A Low-Cost Replacement for Twisting, Buckling Steel Tubes

By Gerd Neumann I’m an amateur astronomer interested in astrophotography and needed something to replace the rolled-steel tube of my imaging scope – something robust that could support the extra weight of my camera combined with a corrector.

With my current setup, there was deformation evident when the focusing tube was extended. Moreover, the steel tube was even deformed by the retaining rings, introducing mechanical stresses and some axial errors. Last, but not least, temperature changes had an effect on the geometry of the tube, most evident during the summer months here in Greece, when the temperatures go well

Submit Your Astro Tip! Astronomy Technology Today regularly features tips, tricks, and other novel solutions. To submit your tip, trick, or novel solution, email the following information: • A Microsoft Word document detailing your tip, trick or novel solution.

• A hi-resolution digital image in jpeg format (if available).

Please send your information to tips@astronomytechnologytoday.com

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Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

over 35°C. The deformation was, at times, so severe that the spider became loose, requiring I realign the optics on site.

I searched for quite some time for the perfect replacement. The price of the obvious choice, carbon fibre, was too high.

Since my local market does not offer many choices, I had to consider shipping costs as well, making a shop in Europe my only viable choice. My search yielded a myriad of alternatives with characteristics similar to carbon fiber, each with pros and cons, but my ultimate solution was the phenolic tubes advertised by Gerd Neumann.

I emailed Gerd to ask about the material, worried that the custom size I required would not be available.

Fortunately, the only significant consequence was the additional production time. In the end, I received the new tube well before the expected delay, and my first impression was, “This thing is SOLID.” It doesn’t budge a bit.

Its axial rigidity is excellent, as well as its ability to maintain its tubular/circular shape, unlike the original steel tube that became elliptical when the retaining rings were tightened. You really feel that you could sit on the phenolic replacement tube and its shape

would remain exactly the same. Very, very good!

The finish of the tube is excellent as well. You can paint it with a brush or spray on a final coat, and I am sure that it wouldn’t show any texture from the bare surface. It’s very smooth. And its weight? Although I expect a carbon tube to be lighter, this material is also significantly lighter than my old steel tube! Gerd has a weight calculator on his site that is very accurate. It calculated the weight of my new tube at 2.6 kilograms, and the finished product weighed exactly that! As a reference, my current tube – the rolled-steel one that twists and buckles – weighs 3.1 kilograms. All in all, Gerd’s phenolic tubes are a great replacement alternative.

I recommend them for anyone needing a replacement that is lightweight, rigid and of normal price. Many thanks to Gerd for a great buying experience.

Visit www.gerdneumann.net for more information.

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