July08

ASTRONOMY

TECHNOLOGY TODAY Your Complete Guide to Astronomical Equipment

CCD LABS Q453-HR AND Q285-M • STELLAFANE DONATION SCOPE PROJECT THE TZEC MAUN FOUNDATION • PETERSON EZ BINOCULAR MOUNT KIT IMAGING WITH THE MALLINCAM

Deep Sky Instruments New Affordable Ritchey Chretien Astrograph

Volume 2 • Issue 7 July 2008 $5.00 US

Contents Industry News

Cover Story Images -29 Rich Simons,(left) and Paul Jones team up to create Deep Sky Instruments’ new 10inch Ritchey Chretien astrograph. The f/7.3 RC10C with its integrated electronic secondary focuser and internal field flattener is shown mounted under dark skies in a remote observatory at the Deerlick Astronomy Village in Sharon, Georgia. The background image was taken with the RC10C by Chris Hetlage who is an accomplished astrophotographer and co-founder of the Deerlick Astronomy Village.

ASTRONOMY

TECHNOLOGY TODAY Your Complete Guide to Astronomical Equipment

CCD LABS Q453-HR AND Q285-M • STELLAFANE DONATION SCOPE PROJECT THE TZECMAUN FOUNDATION • PETERSON EZ BINOCULAR MOUNT KIT IMAGING WITH THE MALLINCAM

Deep Sky Instruments New Affordable Ritchey Chretien Astrograph

13 CELESTRON “Sky in Google Earth” Adds SkyScout Audio Tours Volume 2 • Issue 7 July 2008 $5.00 US

29 Deep Sky Instruments’ RC10C An Affordable World-Class RitcheyChretien Astrograph

By Rich Simons 37 Test Driving a Prototype RC10C This is a Great Imaging Scope, No Matter What Your Experience or Budget

By Chris Hetlage 43 CCD Labs: Q453-HR (QHY8) and Q285-M (QHY2 Pro) Hitting the Price/Performance Ratio on All Cylinders!

By Craig Stark

14 THE IMAGING SOURCE Expands Astro-Imaging Camera Line to Include USB Connection 15 TELESCOPE STABILITY SYSTEMS AND LXD55.COM - LXD75.COM Announce Management Agreement

In This Issue 8 Editor’s Note A Close Knit Family Industry

By Gary Parkerson 11 Upcoming Events Almost Heaven Star Party, Manitoulin Star Party, Indiana Family Star Party, Nebraska Star Party, Iowa Star Party, Weekend Under the Stars, Table Mountain Star Party

By Dave Miller

12 SKYSHED IBM Solar Energy Research Project Features SkyShed POD

15 OPTICAL WAVE LABORATORIES Introduces Videos of Helpful Tips on YouTube

49 The Stellafane Donation Scope Project Construction Continues Part 2

By Robert J. Teeter, Jr. 53 The TzecMaun Foundation Taking Astronomical Outreach to the Next Level

By Max Corneau

16 ROUND TABLE PLATFORMS Introduces a Dual-Axis Control Option 16 ASTRO-PHYSICS To Offer Keyspan USB/Serial Products

59 Peterson EZ Binocular Mount Kit A Binocular Pipe Mount That Really Works!

By Erik Wilcox 63 The MallinCam Live-Image Public Outreach Tool or Astrophotography Camera? Actually, It’s Both!

By Gary Kronk 68 Astro Tips, Tricks, and Novel Solutions A Souped Up LYBAR Chair

By Gary Parkerson

17 DIFFRACTION LIMITED Maxim DL Version 5 to Ship Soon 19 SKY & TELESCOPE Appoints Robert P. Naeye to the Position of Editor-in-Chief

Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

5

Contributing Writers

Contents New Products

Max Corneau is Vice President and a Life Member of the Texas Astronomical Society of Dallas, a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and Senior Army Space Operations Officer. Max possesses a Master of Science Degree in Engineering from Boise State University, and has served as a visiting astronomer at the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington, DC. His astronomical images can be seen at www.geocities.com/astrodad32

20 APM TELESCOPES New Micrometer Guide-Scope Holder

Chris Hetlage lives in Atlanta Georgia. He is the Co-Founder of the Deerlick Astronomy Village, a unique planned astronomy community located in Sharon, Georgia. He is also the creator of the m1OASYS Observatory Automation System and has been an avid astrophotographer for more than eight years.

Dave Miller decided after 25 year of computer software consulting and eCommerce sales, to follow his passion for astronomy. Dave now owns Durango Skies and has the opportunity to work with observatories and astronomy equipment every day.

Rich Simons is an engineer who has been active in astronomy since first visiting Camp Uraniborg, an astronomy summer camp, in 1972. His enthusiasm for astronomy has has culminated in his creating Deep Sky Instruments to market affordable Ritchey-Chretien Astrographs.

Craig Stark, Ph.D is, by day, a professor whose research involves trying to pull faint signals out of noisy, moving images of people’s brains. By night, he is an amateur astrophotographer and operates Stark Labs which provides software to help users pull faint signals out of noisy, moving images of the heavens.

Rob Teeter is a telescope builder and owner of Teeter's Telescopes, where he has produced over 50 custom Truss-Dobsonians since 2002. Rob graduated from Rutgers University in 2005 with a degree in Environmental Policy and from Montclair State University in 2007 with a Master's Degree in Environmental Management. Rob's current day job is as an environmental regulatory compliance consultant for a private New Jersey firm.

21 SHELYAK INSTRUMENTS Introduces a New Line of Spectrographs 23 ORION TELESCOPES & BINOCULARS Introduces the 6-megapixel StarShoot Pro Deep Space CCD Color Imaging Camera 23 LAZZAROTTI OPTICS Newest Member of the Gladius Family – the CF315 25 ANTARES/SKY INSTRUMENTS Introduces the Innovated Twist-lock Adapter 25 RIGEL SYSTEMS Introduces the QuickAdapt Prime Focus SLR Adapter 26 STARIZONA Expands Its New HyperStar 3 Line with a Version for the C11

Erik Wilcox has been observing the sky for more than 20 years. In addition to being a longtime moderator on the popular astronomy forum at www.cloudynights.com, he recently started a new forum at www.starstuffforums.com. When he’s not viewing the sky, he sings and plays guitar in a rock band.

Subscribe Now! Pay Only $18 Per Year and Get 12 Issues Covering the Latest in Technology

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Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

26 OBSESSION TELESCOPES Introduces a 15-inch Version of Its Ultra-Compact Dobs

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The Supporting

CAST

The Companies And Organizations That Have Made Our Magazine Possible!

We wish to thank our advertisers without whom this magazine would not be possible. When making a decision on your next purchase, we encourage you to consider these advertisers’ commitment to you by underwriting this issue of Astronomy Technology Today.

20/20 Telescopes and Binoculars www.2020telescopes.com page 58

Celestron www.celestron.com page 28

Oceanside Photo and Telescope www.optcorp.com page 42

Shrouds By Heather www.teeterstelescopes.com/shrouds page 19

Adirondack Astronomy www.astrovid.com page 57

DayStar Filters www.daystarfilters.com page 48

Optec www.optecinc.com page 36

SkyShed Observatories www.skyshed.com page 46

Deep Sky Instruments www.deepskyinstruments.com page 58

Optical Mechanics www.opticalmechanics.com page 33

Alvin Huey Observing Guides www.faintfuzzies.com page 36

Amateur Astronomy Magazine www.amateurastronomy.com page 45 APM Telescopes www.apm-telescopes.de page 22

Durango Skies www.durangoskies.com page 39 Farpoint Astronomical Research www.farpointastro.com page 47

Astro Domes www.astrodomes.com page 56

Glatter Collimation www.collimator.com page 67

Astro Hutech www.hutech.com page 52

AstroPhoto Insight Magazine www.skyinsight.net page 45 Astro Physics www.astro-physics.com page 9, 61

Great Red Spot Astronomy www.greatredspot.com page 39 Half Hitch Telescopes www.halfhitchtelescopes.com page 60 Jack’s Astro Accessories www.waningmoonii.com page 13

AstroSystems www.astrosystems.biz page 34

JMI Telescopes www.jmitelescopes.com page 18

Astrozap www.astrozap.com page 17 Backyard Observatories ww.backyardobservatories.com page 20, 21

Kendrick Astro Instruments www.kendrickastro.com page 44 Lumicon www.lumicon.com page 38

Blue Planet Optics www.blueplanetoptics.com page 72

Optic-Craft Machining www.opticcraft.com page 67 Orion Telescopes and Bionoculars www.oriontelescopes.com page 62 Ostahowski Optics www.ostahowskioptics.com page 61 Pacific Design www.casesandcovers.com page 11 Peterson Engineering www.petersonengineering.com page 20 ProtoStar www.fpi-protostar.com page 61 Quantum Scientific Imaging www.qsimaging.com page 27 Rigel Systems www.rigelsys.com page 15 Rubylith www.astro-rubylith.com page 17 ScopeBuggy www.scopebuggy.com page 32

Bobs Knobs www.bobsknobs.com page 44

Malco Precision www.malcoprecision.com page 33

Scope City www.scopecity.com page 14

Catseye Collimation www.catseyecollimation.com page 31

Meade Instruments www.meade.com page 4, 69

ScopeGuard www.scopeguard.com page 30

CCD-LABS www.ccd-labs.com page 25

MoonLite Telescope Accessories www.focuser.com page 64

ScopeStuff www.scopestuff.com page 26

Starizona www.starizona.com page 24 Stark Labs www.stark-labs.com page 58 Starlight Instruments www.starlightinstruments.com page 16 Stellar Technologies International www.stellar-international.com page 50 Stellarvue www.stellarvue.com page 51 Surplus Shed www.surplusshed.com page 10 Telescope Stability Systems www.telescopestabilitysystems.com page 44 Tele Vue Optics www.televue.com page 70, 71 Thousand Oaks Optical www.thousandoaksoptical.com page 33 Vixen Optics www.vixenoptics.com page 3 William Optics www.williamoptics.com page 2 Woodland Hills Telescopes www.whtelescopes.com page 12 Zeke’s Seats www.zekesseats.com page 35

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ASTRONOMY

TECHNOLOGY TODAY

Volume 2 • Issue 7 July 2008 Publisher Stuart Parkerson

Managing Editor Gary Parkerson

Associate Editors Russ Besancon Karol Birchfield Jessica Parkerson

Art Director Lance Palmer

Staff Photographer Jim Osborne

Web Master Richard Harris

3825 Gilbert Drive Shreveport, Louisiana 71104 info@astronomytechnologytoday.com www.astronomytechnologytoday.com Astronomy Technology Today is published monthly by Parkerson Publishing, LLC. Bulk rate postage paid at Dallas, Texas, and additional mailing offices. ©2008 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.

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Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

Editor’s

Note Gary Parkerson, Managing Editor

A Close Knit Family Industry As NEAF 2008 drew to a close, late on Sunday afternoon, the owner of one of our industry’s better known, premium refractor sources stopped me to express concern for the owner of another company featured at the event, and asked that we at ATT do whatever we could to assist the other company through a difficult transition period. I’ll not embarrass either by naming them, but the first owner’s concern for the second was despite the fact that they, in part, offer competing products to this relatively small market.

As industries go, that which provides the equipment and services we use to better enjoy astronomy is very small, comprised of no more than 400 or so companies worldwide in any given year. This is due in large part to the relatively small number of enthusiasts who invest in their products and each of those companies is generally as small as the market it serves.

Ours is essentially a cottage industry in which even the largest participant is very small as international corporations go. Most companies count annual unit sales of their key products in the hundreds rather than the thousands and relatively few companies boast profits sufficient to support more than one family. I say family because the majority of astronomy enterprises are family ventures.

The gentleman who stopped me at NEAF to express concern for his competitor was there with his wife, who is as active and valued a participant in their family business as is its figurehead. The second owner was also accompanied by his wife, who was similarly integral to the day-to-day operation of their

family business.

I know of no one who starts an astronomy business because it’s among the most profitable options. Far from it! Most astrobusinesses are truly labors of love. I’m reminded of Wayne Parker’s observation in his May 2007 ATT cover article. He recalled attending the annual Starfest in Mt. Forest, Ontario, with his wife and business partner, Lorelei, and saying to her, “We have to find a way to get to manufacturer’s row,” as the collection there of astro-vendors had become known. As Wayne explained, “What I meant, of course, was that we had to find a way to be involved with astronomy 24/7, because that’s what we really liked to do.” Now that I’ve gotten to know Wayne and Lorelei much better, I know that he understated their relationship with astronomy – it’s what they love to do – a love that motivates most who provide products and services to this industry. The astronomy products industry is largely comprised of folks who are first and foremost astronomy enthusiasts and who have simply managed a livelihood, in part or in whole, from what they love most.

Perhaps it’s this shared, intense love of astronomy that explains the unusual sense of community with which this industry conducts itself; that, and the personal characteristics common to most who are attracted to astronomy – character traits that permit me to leave my vehicle unlocked and equipment unsecured at star parties, without the least fear that something might go missing; to have confidently purchased hundreds of astroproducts over the Internet, sight unseen,

without fear of mishap; and for one of our industry leaders to be moved to assist a kindred spirit, even a competitor, when he thought him in distress.

Another of our fellow astro-business owners is truly in distress today and I ask that you consider assisting. I’ve only met Rex McDaniel, owner of Astro Stuff, a dozen times or less, and then only at various annual star parties where he presents his vast collection of used and new astro-equipment. I won’t presume to count myself among Rex’s friends, but he has quickly become one of my favorites on the star party tour’s manufacturers’ row, and, although he probably doesn’t know it, he played a significant role in shaping this publication. Rex is a valued and reliable source of information on vintage equipment and is unusually generous in sharing that knowledge – he simply and unselfishly exhibits the finest traits and practices that define this industry.

Rex and his wife, Lilia, recently lost their young son, Yuri, to illness – all the more cruelly because it happened without warning.

Although it’s not something they can begin to focus on for some time yet, their loss has caused a total disruption of day-to-day operations of the business that the McDaniel family relies upon for their livelihood. The financial impact of their loss, therefore, greatly exceeds the unexpected medical and final expenses.

Like most, when I learned of their loss, my first reaction was a parent’s horror – my second the frustration of knowing that there was really nothing meaningful I could do beyond repeating condolences offered by so many. So, I was relieved to learn that friends of the McDaniel family had arranged a memorial fund. While there may be nothing more meaningful we can do to help, we can at least assist with the mundane realities of financial impact of this tragedy by donation, no matter how small, to the memorial fund maintained by Dover Church of Christ, P.O. Box 299, Dover, Arkansas 72837.

Information on the church is available at www.dovercoc.org, and it welcomes your call to 479-331-3428 for more information.

Thank you.

The new Astro-Physics 6" Eagle Adjustable Folding Pier is a versatile work-of-art as well as a totally practical tool for the advanced imager.

The one piece assembly sets up quickly in the field and allows adjustment of pier height, leveling of the mount, and eases the process of polar alignment.

www.astro-physics.com • 815-282-1513 Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

9

s

The Supporting

CAST

The Companies And Organizations That Have Made Our Magazine Possible!

We wish to thank our advertisers without whom this magazine would not be possible. When making a decision on your next purchase, we encourage you to consider these advertisers’ commitment to you by underwriting this issue of Astronomy Technology Today.

20/20 Telescopes and Binoculars www.2020telescopes.com page 58

Celestron www.celestron.com page 28

Oceanside Photo and Telescope www.optcorp.com page 42

Shrouds By Heather www.teeterstelescopes.com/shrouds page 19

Adirondack Astronomy www.astrovid.com page 57

DayStar Filters www.daystarfilters.com page 48

Optec www.optecinc.com page 36

SkyShed Observatories www.skyshed.com page 46

Deep Sky Instruments www.deepskyinstruments.com page 58

Optical Mechanics www.opticalmechanics.com page 33

Alvin Huey Observing Guides www.faintfuzzies.com page 36

Amateur Astronomy Magazine www.amateurastronomy.com page 45 APM Telescopes www.apm-telescopes.de page 22

Durango Skies www.durangoskies.com page 39 Farpoint Astronomical Research www.farpointastro.com page 47

Astro Domes www.astrodomes.com page 56

Glatter Collimation www.collimator.com page 67

Astro Hutech www.hutech.com page 52

AstroPhoto Insight Magazine www.skyinsight.net page 45 Astro Physics www.astro-physics.com page 9, 61

Great Red Spot Astronomy www.greatredspot.com page 39 Half Hitch Telescopes www.halfhitchtelescopes.com page 60 Jack’s Astro Accessories www.waningmoonii.com page 13

AstroSystems www.astrosystems.biz page 34

JMI Telescopes www.jmitelescopes.com page 18

Astrozap www.astrozap.com page 17 Backyard Observatories ww.backyardobservatories.com page 20, 21

Kendrick Astro Instruments www.kendrickastro.com page 44 Lumicon www.lumicon.com page 38

Blue Planet Optics www.blueplanetoptics.com page 72

Optic-Craft Machining www.opticcraft.com page 67 Orion Telescopes and Bionoculars www.oriontelescopes.com page 62 Ostahowski Optics www.ostahowskioptics.com page 61 Pacific Design www.casesandcovers.com page 11 Peterson Engineering www.petersonengineering.com page 20 ProtoStar www.fpi-protostar.com page 61 Quantum Scientific Imaging www.qsimaging.com page 27 Rigel Systems www.rigelsys.com page 15 Rubylith www.astro-rubylith.com page 17 ScopeBuggy www.scopebuggy.com page 32

Bobs Knobs www.bobsknobs.com page 44

Malco Precision www.malcoprecision.com page 33

Scope City www.scopecity.com page 14

Catseye Collimation www.catseyecollimation.com page 31

Meade Instruments www.meade.com page 4, 69

ScopeGuard www.scopeguard.com page 30

CCD-LABS www.ccd-labs.com page 25

MoonLite Telescope Accessories www.focuser.com page 64

ScopeStuff www.scopestuff.com page 26

Starizona www.starizona.com page 24 Stark Labs www.stark-labs.com page 58 Starlight Instruments www.starlightinstruments.com page 16 Stellar Technologies International www.stellar-international.com page 50 Stellarvue www.stellarvue.com page 51 Surplus Shed www.surplusshed.com page 10 Telescope Stability Systems www.telescopestabilitysystems.com page 44 Tele Vue Optics www.televue.com page 70, 71 Thousand Oaks Optical www.thousandoaksoptical.com page 33 Vixen Optics www.vixenoptics.com page 3 William Optics www.williamoptics.com page 2 Woodland Hills Telescopes www.whtelescopes.com page 12 Zeke’s Seats www.zekesseats.com page 35

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INDUSTRYNEWS

UPCOMING EVENTS July, August and September are “the months” for stargazing events across North America. So, rather than spend precious column space on a topic of interest to me, I’m going to get right to the events. For this months column, I’ve organized events going from the east to west across the US and Canada. For a complete list, visit www.durangoskies.com and navigate the Events Calendar. To have an event added to the calendar, please send email to mail to: events@durangoskies.com.

Almost Heaven Star Party A very appropriate name for this star party considering that the amenities include hot showers, meal service and Internet access.

The Almost Heaven Star Party is July 31 to August 1 in Spruce Knob, West Virginia.

Billed as one of the darkest sites in the East, this event has daytime family activities too, including hiking, birding, canoeing, caving and mountain biking. For more information, visit www.ahsp.org.

Manitoulin Star Party This event takes place August 8-12 at Gordon’s Park, on the island of Manitoulin, in the Province of Ontario, Canada. This Dark Sky Preserve offers exceptionally dark skies (7.5 + magnitude) and 360 degree observing. Camping takes place in the fields and meadows in the Dark Sky Preserve, with some picnic tables and cook stands available.

U.S. stargazers can get to Manitoulin Island from either northern Michigan or western New York. For more information, visit www.gordonspark.com/ astronomy.html.

Indiana Family Star Party The Indiana Family Star Party/GREATCon will be held July 31 through August 3 at Camp Cullom, the site of the Prairie Grass Observatory, which is about 50 miles northwest of Indianapolis.

The Prairie Grass Observatory includes dome and roll-off roof observatories and several scopes. The main observing area for the star party is approximately 75 yards from the

observatory site. For more information, visit home.comcast.net/~jmmahony1/PGO/starp arty.

Nebraska Star Party The 15th annual Nebraska Star Party (NSP) takes place July 27 to August 1 at the Merrit Reservoir’s Snake Campground, which is 27 miles south of Valentine, Nebraska. This is the perfect venue for both seasoned observers and stargazing newcomers.

Seasoned observers will enjoy observing challenges, an astrophotography contest, and skies approaching magnitude 7.5 to 8! For newcomers, NSP offers a unique Beginner's Field School to show you how fun it is to explore the heavens, with or without a telescope. For more information, visit www.nebraskastarparty.org. And be sure to check out the “historic” photo of late 1800s astronomers on the prairie all setup for stargazing with their motorized scopes and laptop computer. I wonder where the electrical outlets go in the sod house?

Iowa Star Party The Iowa Star Party is August 28-31 in Coon Rapids, Iowa. Coon Rapids is about 70 miles west of Des Moines. In addition to the standard nighttime stargazing activities, daytime activities include fishing, horseshoes, volleyball, playing in the river, bird watching and hiking the beautiful 4200 acre river valley. For more information, visit www.iowastarparty.com.

Weekend Under the Stars The 17th annual Weekend Under the Stars will be held July 31 through August 2 at the winter sports parking area for the south side of the Snowy Range in Wyoming. The parking area is approximately 40 miles west of Laramie and just outside Foxpark, Wyoming.

At 9,100 feet in elevation, this is billed as one of the darkest sites in the U.S. An interesting statistic that I’ve not seen advertised for any other star party is the total aperture of the attendees. The 2007 event recorded 158 registered guests and a total of 1,257 inches of

aperture. Visit home.bresnan.net/~curranm/wuts.html for more information.

Table Mountain Star Party The Table Mountain Star Party is an annual gathering of people interested in astronomy and its many related topics. This year’s event takes place July 31 to August 2.

Table Mountain (elevation 6357') is located about 20 miles northwest of Ellensburg, Washington. Stargazing activities include speakers, workshops, seminars, a swap meet, door prizes and a young astronomer program.

During the day, the organizers recommend the short hike up to Lion Rock for a beautiful panoramic view of the Cascade Mountain Range, including Mount Rainier and Mount Adams. Visit www.tmspa.com for more information.

Astronomy Events is written by Dave Miller.

For a complete list, visit www.durangoskies.com and navigate the Events Calendar. To have an event added to the calendar, please contact: events@durangoskies.com.

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INDUSTRYNEWS

SKYSHED IBM Solar Energy Research Project Features SkyShed POD

Although the SkyShed POD was originally designed to bring the many benefits of domed observatories within affordable reach of amateur astronomers and backyard observers world-wide, it was inevitable that its unique design would eventually be used by professional researchers in nontraditional applications as well, and examples of this secondary trend are growing. Among such recent projects is IBM’s utilization of the POD in a groundbreaking solar energy research effort.

As IBM scientists seek to translate its semiconductor and nanotechnology experience into related and critical fields, a growing range of applications, such as the subject solar energy research project, are anticipated. If this appears an unlikely application for a domed astronomical observatory, consider that IBM’s system features a large lens assembly designed to concentrate solar energy enough to capture as much as 230 watts per square centimeter of solar cell and that it is also utilizing standard German Equatorial telescope mounts to maintain alignment of research equipment with the sun. Our guess is that the IBM research team includes one or more dedicated astronomers.

The SkyShed POD was designed to provide efficient, economical, secure and weather-resistant housing for valuable, sensitive astronomical equipment, so it’s not much of a stretch to conclude that it is also competent for housing sensitive, valuable non-astronomy equipment that also requires ready access to the open sky. When viewed in this light, IBM’s selection of the POD for its solar project appears more obvious than novel.

For more information on the IBM solar energy research project, please visit www.ibm.com/ibm/green. (Image courtesy of IBM.)

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Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

INDUSTRYNEWS

CELESTRON “Sky in Google Earth” Adds SkyScout Audio Tours

Celestron is providing a series of deep space interactive audio tours for use with Sky in Google Earth’s technology using the SkyScout knowledge base. Celestron’s SkyScout Audio Tours enable Sky in Google Earth explorers to embark on an interactive cosmic journey of discovery that includes in-

depth information on everything from constellations to supernova explosions to hundreds of millions of stars.

The SkyScout Audio Tours will automatically appear in the Sky feature in Google Earth. All deep space objects with available SkyScout audio files will be marked with a Celestron logo. When the user selects the object, a virtual SkyScout audio player will appear and proceed to play the information-packed audio file as well as display the corresponding text.

“The SkyScout Audio Tours are designed to give Sky in Google Earth enthu-

siasts access to a universe of knowledge and adventure like never before,” said Joseph A. Lupica Jr., president and CEO of Celestron.

“Together, Celestron and Sky in Google Earth transform the night sky into a personal planetarium, satisfying the natural curiosity to explore new frontiers, and creating a thirst for knowledge that will inspire the next generation of explorers and scientists.”

Sky is a feature of the very popular Google Earth application. Sky in Google Earth allows anyone with a computer to view 3D images of nearly 100 million stars and 200 million galaxies, and with the addition of SkyScout Audio Tours, users will be guided through an interactive tour of the night sky that includes detailed information on all of the planets, stars, galaxies, clusters, nebulae, constellations, and asterisms that make up the universe.

For more information go to www.celestron.com.

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13

INDUSTRYNEWS

THE IMAGING SOURCE Expands Astro-Imaging Camera Line to Include USB Connection In the September 2007 issue of ATT, we noted that The Imaging Source, a multi-national manufacturer of imaging hardware and software for industry, medicine and astronomy, had introduced a new line of cameras dedicated exclusively to astro-imaging, offering astro-photographers many new options for highly affordable, low noise astronomy cameras. At that time, control of all cameras in this new line was exclusively by FireWire connection. The Imaging Source has now expanded its full line of cameras to provide a series that uses a fast USB connection to compliment the existing series that connects via FireWire.

As before, each of The Imaging Source astronomy cameras ships in a blue and black anodized aluminum and zinc industrial housing that measures just 50 mm x 56 mm and weighs only 260 grams. The included nose piece attaches via a C/CS mount on the front of each camera, while a USB or FireWire connector is available (model specific) on the rear panel. A threaded tripod adapter on the bottom panel

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Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

rounds off the exterior of the camera.

Monochrome and color models are available with and without an IR cut filter in three resolutions: 640 x 480, 1024 x 768 and 1280 x 960. These dedicated astronomy cameras deploy low noise CCD chips from Sony and feature exposure times of up to 60 minutes and a maximum frame rate of up to 60 fps.

The cameras ship with the camera control and acquisition software, IC Capture.AS, which allows image sequences and singular images to be written to disk.

Furthermore, using the highly intuitive graphical user interface, all camera parameters, such as exposure, sensitivity and frame rate, are easily set.

The Imaging Source’s astronomy cameras are available worldwide and start at only $350USD or 290 EUR (without shipping and sales tax). They can be purchased online directly from The Imaging Source, as well as through an international network of dealers.

To learn more visit www.astronomycameras.com.

INDUSTRYNEWS

TELESCOPE STABILITY SYSTEMS AND LXD55.COM - LXD75.COM Announce Management Agreement Tim Ray of Telescope Stability Systems has announced that his company has entered into a management agreement with Richard Harris, owner of the websites LXD55.com and LXC75.com, to enhance and expand the product offerings and services provided through the two websites.

This merger is a strategic move for LXD55.com and LXD75.com as it provides new facilities and support to its customers in the areas of HyperTune telescope tune-ups and related products and services.

“Over the last eight years, we have seen tremendous growth and interest in the products and services offered on our website,” said Harris. “With the popularity and longevity of the LXD55, LXD75 and other GEM telescopes we have seen our customer base grow as customers want to get the greatest possible performance from these scopes.”

Hypertuning is one of the most popular services offered through the two websites. The process takes telescopes that are not performing to their optimum potential and tunes them to improve GOTO slews as well as tracking when doing astrophotography.

“We now see over 100,000 unique visitors to each website annually, a testament to the popularity of these scopes, and the interest owners have in getting the most out of their equipment,” said Harris who is also the owner of ScopeTrader.com and will continue to offer that service to the astronomical community.

Telescope Stability Systems was established last year to offer telescope repair as well as the manufacture of astronomical equipment. TSS’s current product and service lines include telescope mounting products and optical tube assembly support systems. Its

high-quality and functional products range from its ultra-stable telescope tripods, to its non-marring dovetail saddles and dovetail systems and accessories. Its StableMax Tripods utilize the unique MountMate adapter system which allows it to connect to a variety of telescope mountings providing maximum versatility with existing and future telescope mountings.

“Our goal at Telescope Stability Systems is to provide even faster service with the same level of expertise and quality that the HyperTune name has provided to thousands of customers,” said Ray. “We are excited to be serving the community under the HyperTune name and through the LXD websites, and they are dedicated to expanding the service even further.”

For more information go to www.telescopestabilitysystems.com, www.LXD55.com or www.LXD75.com

OPTIC WAVE LABORATORIES Introduces Videos of Helpful Tips on YouTube It’s one thing to read a detailed description and view still photos of steps in a complicated procedure, but quite another to see and hear someone explain and demonstrate that procedure and that’s just what Optic Wave Labs’ growing collection of YouTube videos does.

Current offerings include How to Clean Your Telescope

Mirror, How to Wrap Optics, and How to Box Your Mirror, Method #1. Each video is admirably concise, substantive, topical and entertaining and we hope that Optic Wave Labs will continue to add to the collection.

To access the videos, simply visit www.youtube.com/user/ OpticWaveLabs.

Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

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INDUSTRYNEWS

ROUND TABLE PLATFORMS Introduces a Dual-Axis Control Option In response to popular demand, Brian Reed of Round Table Platforms has announced that a dual-axis control option is now available on all new Round Table Platforms, a feature that will prove very useful for ease of centering objects in the eyepiece, CCD chip, or on a live video monitor.

Round Table’s second axis control mechanism adjusts the altitude of the Dob by raising or lowering the south foot pad. Because the bearing is modified to make room for the second axis motor, a retrofit option

for existing platforms is not currently available.

The additional cost for this option is only $210. For more information, please visit www.roundtableplatforms.com.

ASTRO-PHYSICS To Offer Keyspan USB/Serial Products While the introduction at NEAF 2008 was overshadowed (literally) by the towering combination of AstroPhysics’ 3600 GTO “El Capitan” mount carrying its new 305-mm f/12.5 Mak-Cass, those who managed to notice that both the 3600 GTO and a Mach1 GTO were being controlled at the same time by a single laptop computer with no built in serial ports, were quick to ask how that remarkable feat was accomplished. The answer was provided by one of several products from Keyspan and interest in these was sufficient to encourage A-P to offer Keyspan products to the astronomy community.

These include two USB to Serial Adapters (USB1P & USB4P), a USB Server (USB1S4P), and a 15 foot straight-through serial cable that is compatible with A-P mounts.

The USB to Serial conversion devices by Keyspan are all backward compatible and fully upgradeable, employing the latest chipsets from Texas Instruments, including re-programmable ROM. The separate drivers for Windows, MacOS and LINUX are

16

Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

kept at the most current level and will actually update the ROM in the device itself as needed.

The Keyspan USB to Single-Port Serial Adapter (USB1P - pictured) supports 230 Kbps, weighs just 2 ounces, and is priced at $43 US. Keyspan’s USB to Four-Port Serial Adapter (USB4P) supports 460 Kbps and is priced at just $153 US. For more information on the Keyspan products offered by Astro-Physics, please visit www.astrophysics.com.

INDUSTRYNEWS

DIFFRACTION LIMITED Maxim DL Version 5 to Ship Soon Version 5 of Diffraction Limited’s Maxim DL represents a major step forward in that already advanced and comprehensive CCD imaging software, with significant enhancements in imaging, equipment control and image processing.

Enhancements include a redesigned camera control with a consolidated interface that reduces the number of tabs and provides for greater ease of use. The user can now create complete “presets” for various functions, e.g. finding targets, focusing, LRGB sequences, etc. The user can quickly switch between presets and auto-darks which are remembered for each. More camera and guider settings are directly available on the main control tab. The new version also makes it far easier for the user to switch back and forth between the main and secondary (guider) camera and supports a second independent filter wheel for the focuser.

A new observatory control window integrates dome control with graphical display and includes a “Mini-planetarium” with sky overview and field-of-view displays, provides for automatic image linking after PinPoint solve, and a greatly expanded object database and search capability.

Version 5’s new stack command automatically processes entire folders of images with multiple objects and filter bands, inspects FITS headers to recognize file groups by object name, filter, etc., automatically assembles sets of images for monochrome, RGB, and LRGB images, automatically rejects poor images according to user-defined quality levels, features pre-

determined alignment, automatically creates aligned and stacked color images from RGB and LRGB sets, and automatically calibrates images on-the-fly as they are loaded.

The new Load/Save Configurations save all program settings, including hardware configurations, into a stored configuration, making it easier to swap configurations, and are perfect for users with multiple hardware configurations.

The Wavelet Filters feature provides highly adjustable filters, working much like a graphic equalizer, and the Remove Pedestal automatically subtracts off any large pedestal in an image and sets pedestal to desired final value. The new Log

Window displays detailed information on image processing steps, hardware operations, etc., and the Virtual Keypad provides for easy entry of numbers using only the mouse – very handy when operating in the dark!

Other enhancements include improved color conversion (de-bayer), simple selection of popular camera models from a list, and elimination of the frustration of “trial and error” adjustment of settings. Many Maxim DL users will also appreciate the improved Curves command – simply clicking on the image shows the corresponding point on graph.

For more information, visit www.cyanogen.com.

Rubylith Saves Your Night Vision!

Rubylith comes in 15×20 inch sheets and can be used to cover anything that emits light. It’s sturdy enough to be reused and flexible enough to cover flashlights, led lights, etc…and of course it’s ideal for computer monitors. It actually increases contrast on monitors for better seeing in the dark!

www.astro-rubylith.com Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

17

INDUSTRYNEWS

SKY & TELESCOPE Appoints Robert P. Naeye to the Position of Editor-in-Chief Sky & Telescope magazine has because, in addition to his qualifications positions since that time. He became announced that it has appointed as a writer and editor, he has worked Editor in 2000 and has been central to Robert P. Naeye to the position of with our team in the past, which the periodical’s expansion into foreign Editor-in-Chief.

Mr. means he knows the editions, books, tours, and other astronNaeye succeeds Richard magazine and its people. omy-related media endeavors. In retiring Tresch Fienberg, Ph.D., He is at the same time from the magazine, Dr. Fienberg has who will retire from someone who brings the accepted the position of Visiting the magazine this sumperspective of an ‘outScientist for Astronomy and Astromer. sider’, which means he physics at Phillips Academy in Andover Mr. Naeye joins Sky can respect the traditions (MA), where he will begin teaching in & Telescope from NASA’s of this great title without the fall. He will also maintain his associGoddard Space Flight being hidebound to ation with Sky & Telescope by becoming a Center, where he has them and he sees the Contributing Editor simultaneous with been serving as Senior opportunities we have Mr. Naeye’s start date in June.

Science Writer in the going forward. We get Mr. Naeye worked as a Senior Editor Astrophysics Science freshness in a package at Sky & Telescope from 2003 to Robert P. Naeye Division since February that is familiar, and that 2007 and earlier in his career had 2007. In accepting the position, Mr. doesn’t happen often in served as Editor-inNaeye becomes only the fifth Editor-inthis business.”

Chief of Mercury magaChief of the magazine in nearly 70 years.

Mr. Naeye added, zine. He has authored Dr. Fienberg has spent nearly 22 years “It’s a tremendous honor two books and conwith Sky & Telescope, serving in various to be hired as Editor-intributed to two others. positions, including eight years as Chief of Sky & Telescope.

In 2002, Mr. Naeye won Editor-in-Chief.

The magazine has a the David N. Schramm “This is a highly successful magazine longstanding tradition of Award for Science and a brand that is recognized by serious excellence and integrity.

Journalism from the amateurs and professionals in astronomy Working with S&T’s American Astronomical throughout the world, so this change is outstanding staff, we will Society’s High-Energy important, particularly after the successbuild on that tradition Astrophysics Division, ful and stable leadership Rick Fienberg and carry the magazine and he received the has provided,” commented Stephen and website to new Professional Astronomer Dr. Richard Feinberg Kent, the CEO of New Track Media, heights.” of the Year Award from the Astronomical which owns Sky & Telescope. “Bob Naeye Rick Fienberg joined Sky Publishing Association of Northern California is without question the right choice Corp. in 1986 and has served in various the same year.

Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

19

NEWPRODUCTS

APM TELESCOPES Introduces Micrometer Guide-Scope Holder The usual method of mounting a guide-scope is through a set of 6-point guide-scope rings. Unfortunately, traditional guide-scope rings have several significant disadvantages. First, the two ring assembly takes up a lot of space – you have to be able to reach all six screws in order to adjust orientation of the guide-scope and that requires adequate spacing from other components of the telescope assembly. Additionally, guidescope rings generally move the guide scope only at 120-degree angles – you can actually move the guide scope in any direction, but doing so is hardly intuitive.

Enter the APM Micrometer Guide-Scope Holder. It holds a guide-scope or heavy camera firmly and securely and provides easy, intuitive two axis (up-down, left-right) adjustment. Plus, it takes up far less space than tradition 6-point ring assemblies. Because of its precision design and manufacture, the Micrometer Guide-Scope Holder has no mechanical play or slop and will not lose alignment.

D O B S E R VAT O R Y

Our newest offering, the Dobservatory is specifically designed for the low pivot point of DOBs allowing you to view near the horizon. The Dobservatory is available in sizes from 7'6" x 7'6" to 15'6" x 15'6".

The Micrometer Guide Scope Holder accepts a Vixen-style saddle plate – cameras are attached with the optional PS Foto dovetail plate, while telescopes can be attached with any standard Vixen-style dovetail plates. The Micrometer Guide Scope Holder itself can be attached at various points via a standard 1/4-20 female thread.

The Micrometer Guide-Scope Holder is priced at 235 EUR (around $395 US).

For more information, please visit www.apm-telescopes.com.

The Home Model is the perfect design of form, function and, of course, pricing with every feature you’ll need for the ultimate in observing! The Home Model is available in sizes from 7'6" x 7'6" to 15'6" x 15'6".

HOME MODEL

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Why Backyard Observatories?

SHELYAK INSTRUMENTS Introduces a New Line of Spectrographs Shelyak Instruments of Revel, France, and Adirondack Astronomy of Hudson Falls, New York, have announced the availability in the U.S. of a new line of spectrographs, including the Shelyak Littrow High-Resolution Spectrograph (LHIRES) III. The LHIRES III allows visual observation of solar spectra in fine detail and is an ideal instrument for clubs and associations that organize astronomy public outreach events.

The LHIRES III spectrograph has been designed for small telescopes (typically 8-inch f/10 SCTs) and is therefore perfectly adapted for backyard astronomy. However, it can be used with numerous telescope and camera designs, including CCD imagers, webcams, and DSLRs to record spectra. The LHIRES III is also the perfect tool for studying the sky at large and students from several universities are already learning from this spectrograph.

The LHIRES III can be used visually, which makes it a great educational tool during astronomy days and public observing sessions. Without a telescope, it allows users to safely observe solar

spectra in very high resolution.

With a video camera or webcam and a small instrument, the LHIRES III becomes a spectro-heliograph for imaging the Sun in multiple wavelengths using a scanning technique. It brings very high resolution spectrography to amateurs at an affordable price.

The LHIRES III is shipped with a 2400 lines/mm grating and optional gratings are available. It offers a resolution (D1/1) of 17000 around Ha; 0.012nm dispersion (with 9µm pixels) and is optimized for f/10 instruments, but adaptable to all types of instruments.

The spectrograph offers a mirror slit for precise guiding and compatible detectors include CCD imagers, DSLR cameras and webcams. It weighs just 3.7 pounds and its dimensions are 9.8 x 7.9 x 3.3 inches.

The LHIRES III spectrograph is priced at $3295 US. For more information, please visit www.astrovid.com.

CLUB MODEL

Our Club Model is quite probably the largest home observatory available and more bang for the buck than anything else out there! The Club Model is available in sizes from 16' x 20' to a whopping 24' x 32'!

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More options, Most roll-off roof experience, 25 years construction experience, Turn-key installation, Ever customizable designs, Highest quality residential specs (not shed type construction), Heavy duty industrial capacity roller system design, Exclusive m1 OASYS roof automation, Standard and Heavy Duty roof motor designs, Big Bear Piers, Warm/Control room options, Plans available created by an experienced builder/astronomer with DIYers in mind, Our observatories have been chosen 10 to 1 over other commercially built observatories at Deerlick Astronomy Village.

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m1 OASYS A Backyard Observatories Exclusive! The m1 OASYS system is the ultimate Roll-OffRoof Observatory Automation/Security System. This very flexible and robust system is a must-have tool for anyone wishing to secure, monitor, and remotely control their telescope observatory and best of all, you can install it yourself! Go to www.m1oasys.com for more info.

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NEWPRODUCTS

ORION TELESCOPES & BINOCULARS Introduces the 6-megapixel StarShoot Pro Deep Space CCD Color Imaging Camera As if things weren’t already hot enough in the fast-paced astronomy imaging systems market, Orion Telescopes & Binoculars has shaken things up even further with the recent introduction of its new 6-megapixel StarShoot Pro Deep Space CCD Color Imaging Camera – at the unprecedented, low price of $1299.95 US. The new StarShoot Pro DS features a high-resolution 6.1-megapixel Sony ICX413AQ SuperHAD, 1.8-inch format (23.4 mm x 15.6 mm) Color CCD chip with a 3032 x 2016 pixel array, thermoelectric cooling plus rear fan for dramatically minimized thermal noise and smoother images, 16-bit dynamic range for better image depth, autoguider capability, IR filter,

and optional ASCOM drivers, allowing use with many other types of imaging software.

The camera package includes a 10 foot USB 2.0 cable, 10 foot 12V DC power cable w/ cigarette-lighter plug, die-cut foamlined Deluxe Accessory Case, and MaxIm DL Essentials software CD-Rom. The new Orion StarShot Pro DS CCD Color Imaging Cameras are expected to ship as early as July 2008. For more information, please visit www.telescope.com.

Other Product Specifications • Pixel Size: • Imaging Chip: • Exposure Range: • A/D Conversion: • Mounting: • USB Connection: • Software Compatibility: • Weight:

7.8 x 7.8 Single Shot Color 0.002 seconds to 9.3 hours 16 bit 2-inch barrel or T-thread High-speed 2.0 Windows XP/Vista 28 ounces

LAZZAROTTI OPTICS Introduces the Newest Member of the Gladius Family – the CF315 Lazzarotti Optics’ latest and previously unseen version of the Gladius family of open tube, classical Dall-Kirkham optical systems, the CF315, was first unveiled at the ATT fair in Essen, Germany, on May 31. The CF315 and all other Lazzarotti Optics products are available in the U.S. through Alpine Astronomical, its U.S. distributor.

Lazzarotti Optics Gladius telescopes are exclusively designed to deliver optimum performance for high resolution imaging, both visual and digital. Each Gladius optical set far exceeds the diffraction limit and, with tiny 20 percent central obstructions, these specialty telescopes suffer none of the optical compromises that degrade critical image contrast in many general purpose telescopes.

For more information on the Gladius CF315, please visit www.alpineastro.com or www.lazzarotti-optics.com.

Specifications

The Gladius CF250 and CF315.

• Primary Mirror Diameter 315 mm • Primary Mirror Focal Ratio f/4 • Focal Length 7875 mm (f/25) • Secondary Mirror Diameter 58 mm • Effective Secondary Obstruction 0.20 • Telescope Dimensions 1180 mm x 350 mm x 320 mm • Telescope Weight 11.9 kg (26 pounds) • Mirror Glass Pyrex 7740 • Mirror Coatings Al + SiO2 Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

23

NEWPRODUCTS

ANTARES/SKY INSTRUMENTS RIGEL SYSTEMS Introduces the Innovated Twist-lock Adapter

Introduces the QuickAdapt Prime Focus SLR Adapter

Canadian based Antares/Sky Instruments has introduced the new Twist-lock adapter which serves the function of a standard 2-inch to 1.25-inch adapter with one significant difference: rather than using set-screws to hold an eyepiece or other accessory, whether directly or via a brass “compression” ring, the Twistlock Adapter uses true 360 degree, self-centering contact to hold the inserted barrel.

Simply twist the lock-ring to tighten the compression ring and your 1.25-inch eyepiece, laser collimator or camera barrel is firmly and precisely centered.

The compression ring is formed from Polypropylene so as not to mar even the most pristine chrome or anodized barrels. The adapter is machined to accept 2-inch threaded filters and removal of the lock-ring/compression ring assembly even reveals standard T-threads.

The Antares Twist-lock Adapter is priced from just $29US. For more information, please visit www.antaresoptical.com.

The Rigel Systems QuickAdapt Universal Digital Camera Adaptor has already attracted a considerable following among those who enjoy eyepiece projection astrophotography with point-and-shot and DSLR cameras. This already versatile system now accommodates even more applications with the addition of the QuickAdapt Prime Focus SLR Adapter.

Eyepiece projection with the camera lens removed from a DSLR provides much more magnification than does prime focus photography and is therefore often more suitable for capturing optimum detail of planets and other small, bright objects. But, because prime focus astrophotography remains the preferred method for DSLRs, Rigel Systems has answered that demand by introducing the QuickAdapt Prime Focus SLR Adapter.

Simply attach the adapter in place of an eyepiece and you’re ready for prime focus photography. The adapter fits any 2-inch eyepiece drawtube, diagonal or other accessory that accepts 2-inch eyepieces.

The unique design of the adapter provides a maximum unobstructed path to the sensor, minimizing vignetting of the lightcone.

The QuickAdapt Universal Camera Adapter and Prime Focus SLR Adapter are just $94.59 US when purchased together, or the Prime Focus SLR Adapter is available separately for those who already own a

QuickAdapt Universal Camera Adapter for just $19.95 US. For more information, please visit www.rigelsys.com.

Rigel 49slr2

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Q285-M – Only $1,499!

The Q285-M (QHY2-Pro) is a medium format 2/3" 1.4 mega pixel monochrome camera that uses the Sony ICX285AL ExView HAD CCD, the same CCD used in competitors’ cameras that cost as much as $3,000!

Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

25

NEWPRODUCTS

STARIZONA

OBSESSION TELESCOPES

Expands Its New HyperStar 3 Line with a Version for the C11

Introduces a 15-inch Version of Its Ultra-Compact Dobs

We reported the introduction of the HyperStar 3 lens system in the January 2008 issue of ATT, with initial configurations available for the Celestron 8-inch and 14-inch SCTs. Starizona has now announced a new HyperStar 3 lens designed specifically for the Celestron 11-inch Schmidt Cassegrain telescopes.

Like its 8-inch and 14-inch siblings, the new C11 HyperStar lens allows for coverage of up to a 27-mm (APS-size) sensor, producing a full 2.3- by 1.5-degree field of view. The new HyperStar 3 for the C11 also facilitates the use of digital SLR cameras, in addition to a variety of CCD imagers.

The HyperStar lens systems work by easily and quickly replacing the secondary mirror assemblies of Schmidt Cassegrain telescopes for which they are

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Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

specifically configured, converting those scopes from a relatively slow f/10 native focal ratio to a very fast f/2, 560-mm focal length imaging platform – an incredible 25 times “faster” than that standard f/10 focal ratio! Images of remarkable depth can be obtained in just seconds!

The HyperStar 3 series significantly increased the imaging fields of view available to such scopes versus the original HyperStar designs. With the introduction of the HyperStar 3 lens system for the C11, the wide-field capabilities of the HyperStar 3 are now available to the many owners of these very popular Celestron SCTs. Adapters are available to attach a variety of cameras to the HyperStar 3, including many from SBIG, Starlight Xpress, SAC, Orion, Meade, and Astrovid.

All Starizona HyperStar lens systems feature fully multi-coated optics, a black anodized finish on all finely machine metal surfaces, collimation adjustment, independent camera rotation, a counterweight, and a secondary mirror holder for safe storage of that precious assembly when using the HyperStar system.

For more information, please visit www.hyperstarimaging.com.

Dave Kriege and Obsession Telescopes broke new ground last year with the introduction of the Obsession 18-inch UC (UltraCompact) at the 2007 Texas Star Party. The UC line has now been extended to include an even more portable 15-inch UC.

The new 15-inch f/4.2 UC is a revolutionary design – a large aperture telescope that collapses into an incredibly small package. If you have limited hauling or storage capacity, but still require significant aperture, this is the scope for you.

The 15-inch f/4.2 UC is all black with a modern space frame construction. Its clearance height in transport configuration is a mere 12 inches. Or, place the VMB (Virtual Mirror Box) next to the rocker in your car and its height is reduced even more. The 15-inch f/4.2 UC will appeal to all who prefer the ultimate in form-follows-function style. Its very low eyepiece height at zenith means that 100 percent of observing will be done with your feet on the ground – no more climbing ladders in the dark to enjoy large-aperture views.

It comes standard with a Feather Touch focuser, Telrad, upper and lower light baffles, and counterweight kit. The base price is $4995 US. For specifications and other information visit www.obsessiontelescopes.com.

Deep Sky Instruments’

RC10C An Affordable World-Class Ritchey-Chretien Astrograph

By Rich Simons

This story starts in New York at NEAF 2008, the annual North Eastern Astronomy Forum where most folks in the business gather to show off their new products and to keep their finger on the pulse of the industry. I attended NEAF last year with my friend Paul Jones, a master optician and owner of Star Instruments. But this year was different. This year we were exhibiting a new product from a new company. The product was a new, affordable Ritchey-Chretien astrograph and the company was Deep Sky Instruments (DSI).

Paul, his wife Sharon, and I, came up with the company name over lunch one day not too long after we decided to start the new business. “There, the hard part is done.” I said. Of course, I was kidding as that was over a year of many late nights ago.

Most of you have probably already heard

of Paul Jones. He has been making the finest R-C optics for RC Optical Systems, Optical Guidance Systems and others for over thirty years. But, I doubt many of you have heard of me. My name is Rich Simons and I live in Atlanta, Georgia – not exactly an astronomy Mecca. An exceptional night there is when you can see a dozen stars out. I’ve been an engineer for most of my career, not an astronomer – while astronomy is far more pleasurable, engineering pays much better.

Well, all that changed about five years ago, but more on that later.

OK, back to NEAF. From our booth I could see Don “Astrodon” Goldman. We use his very fine filters and Monster MOAG offaxis guider. I could also see Tim Puckett of Apogee Instruments. We use Apogee’s Alta U16M, an incredible camera with a monster

2-inch diagonal Kodak 16803 CCD chip and Tim helped us extensively with early testing of the DSI RC10 series. I could also see Gary and Stuart Parkerson. You may not know them, but you should. They publish the magazine you are reading right now. I could see them because they were in the booth right next to us! That was one of several very good things that happened to us at the show.

I first met Gary at NEAF the year before and remember being very pleased that someone had decided to create a magazine specifically targeting us geeky hard-core enthusiasts.

I never thought that a year later I would be writing an article for that very magazine. So, before I forget, thank you Gary and Stuart for that opportunity, but more importantly for the great magazine you publish.

Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

29

DEEP SKY INSTRUMENTS’ RC10C

Camp Uraniborg as it existed in the summer of 1973.

A Bit About Me I’ll start with a very brief history of how I eventually got into the astronomy field. I think it worth mentioning because I suspect that many of you can relate to my story. The story goes something like this: A science loving kid gets excited about astronomy, but school, family and work take over, leaving little time for anything else. One day that kid turns 50 and rediscovers his love for the stars.

OK, that was too brief, so here are a few more details.

For me, this journey started in 1972 with Camp Uraniborg, an astronomy summer camp named after Tycho Brahe’s first observatory in Denmark. The camp was run by Joe Patterson, an astronomer currently at Co-

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lumbia University. I lived in Georgia and the camp was in Rhode Island, which was pretty exciting stuff for a fifteen year old kid. It was there that I played with my first computer, made my first hologram, saw my first Aurora, took my first astro-photographs, made (and broke) my first telescope mirror, and learned to sail. Wow – pretty cool!

This was all, of course, due to my Dad, an astronomer wanna-be. Though science was his true interest, he became an accountant, but dabbled in astronomy and realized his dreams vicariously through me. He started with a 4.5-inch Tasco Newtonian, which led to an 8-inch Criterion Dynamax, a couple of classic Meade SCTs, and eventually a Meade 14-inch RCX400, which resides in Chesham

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30 Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

Observatory outside his garage.

The next year, Camp Uraniborg moved to the Mohave Desert outside Barstow, California. Talk about dark! Needless to say, the skies were phenomenal. It was on that trip that my Dad and I met Tom Johnson, founder of Celestron. We had taken the 8-inch Dynamax along with us and Tom was very interested in testing it. After doing so he said, “It’s not as good as ours, but it’s not bad.”

Well, not much else happened with astronomy for me, until about five years ago when I built the Mirror-O-Matic mirror grinding machine created by Dennis Rech. I had always wanted to build a machine as grinding mirrors by hand is a drag (pun intended). At that time, I also discovered the Yahoo forum for the Zambuto Optical Company where Carl Zambuto makes some of the finest Newtonian Pyrex mirrors available anywhere. While I have never met Dennis or Carl personally, I have come to respect both of these gentlemen for their selfless giving of time and knowledge to enthusiasts such as myself.

I went on to work on several telescope and mirror projects as my interest was rekindled. I even asked my wife Sharon if she would consider moving to Arizona so I could work on the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) on Mount Graham. She said no.

How I met Paul Jones I was introduced to Paul Jones by Dan Llewellyn. Dan runs the Atlanta Astronomy Club’s ATM group and also owns Telescope Atlanta. Paul had just moved from Arizona to Georgia. Now, why would a world renowned optician move from the pristine skies of Flagstaff to the light polluted skies of Newnan? Well, as it turns out, he has two daughters who live here. If it wasn’t for that, Deep Sky Instruments would not exist today.

Paul had recently come out with a lowcost line of R-C astrograph optics made from Pyrex. He felt that there were enough folks who wanted an R-C, but could not afford the high cost of Astrosital, to justify the project.

Astrosital is an expensive zero-expansion glass ceramic produced in Russia and has similar characteristics to Schott Zerodur and Paul

DEEP SKY INSTRUMENTS’ RC10C uses it for his professional line of optics. Paul also had a vision that these optics could be used as the basis for a low-cost, high-performance line of astrographs – scopes that would be purpose built to provide the best value for the dollar. Paul contacted his friend, Brad Ehrhorn, at RC Optical Systems, and the RCOS 10RCA Ritchey-Chretien astrograph was born. It is a great scope and uses Brad’s professional secondary focuser, Telescope Command Center, carbon fiber trusses, and highly machined aluminum components, but the cost of the scopes remained relatively high.

So, Paul and I started talking about a solid but no frills version. We started thinking about ways we could eliminate high-cost components without sacrificing quality or performance, but first we had to decide what those performance requirements were.

Design Decisions There were several important design decisions to consider for the new scope. Everything that was important had to be there, but expensive options had to be eliminated. Here are some highlights of the design process and the results.

The Mirrors Some design decisions had already been made with respect to the current optical design. The astrograph optics were designed for ease of manufacture and to optimize performance when used for astrophotography. A limited but sufficient back focus was chosen to maximize performance while minimizing vignetting. Initially, this number was set at eight inches, but was increased to nine to allow

The RC10 provides more than enough back focus to accommodate a multi-instrument imaging train, while its secondary focus design facilitates perfect rigidity of that train.

more flexibility when selecting optical components. More back focus would help for visual use, but was an unacceptable compromise for an astrograph. We knew that there was no right number and there would always be folks who wanted more. But, imaging performance was at the top of the list and we would not compromise past a certain point.

A longer focal length than normal was chosen for the primary mirror, which increased the required tube length somewhat.

This actually improves optical quality as the slower Pyrex mirrors can be made more smooth and precise. This decision was OK as long as the tube length remained reasonable (it is 32 inches - very portable and quite easy to handle). As another note of interest, the

primary mirror hole size was increased once we decided we would support very large CCD cameras.

Pyrex and Other Substrate Materials I’d like to take a moment to talk about the use of Pyrex as a substrate for optical mirrors. This can be a real can of worms and there are many differing opinions on the subject.

Some folks think the best mirrors must use Astrosital or Zerodur. Others opine that Pyrex is the perfect material, all things considered.

And yet others think there are no good reasons to use anything more expensive than common plate glass. A smarter man would probably avoid the topic altogether, but that’s not me, so here goes nothing.

Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

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DEEP SKY INSTRUMENTS’ RC10C

The RC10 is shown set up for backyard testing.

First of all, it is a common belief that most telescope mirrors are made of Pyrex.

That is not true. Most are made of lowly plate glass. So, can you make a fine mirror from plate glass? Sure you can. The surface figure of plate glass can be just as good as that formed on Pyrex, Astrosital, Zerodur, or fused silica. It may take much longer, but it can be done.

That said, there are many reasons why

you might choose one material over another, but I’ll just mention a few. First, all mirrors perform best when at thermal equilibrium.

One reason is that the substrate may have a non-zero coefficient of expansion. If such a mirror is not at thermal equilibrium, its figure will be distorted and image quality degraded. This affects plate glass a lot, Pyrex (low coefficient of expansion) much less, and does not affect Astrosital (very low coefficient of ex-

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pansion).

What may be an even worse problem though is the thermal boundary layer created between the mirror’s surface and surrounding air when a mirror is not at thermal equilibrium. This affects all mirrors regardless of substrate material used. A fan can be used to remove this layer, but the best solution is to simply let your mirror equilibrate before use.

If you are going to equilibrate anyway, why do you need expensive zero coefficient of expansion materials? Well, you may not, depending on what your goals are. If you are a visual user, plate glass is probably just fine under most conditions, even for very fine instruments.

But, what if you are an imager? That could be problematic. Not necessarily because of image quality, but because of changes in focus.

Visual users focus all the time, but most imagers would prefer not to have to refocus during exposures. However, they can more easily focus between subs, usually under PC control. This means that focusing a few times during an evening imaging run is not a big deal if conditions require it. They simply run FocusMax, or other PC applications, and continue with what they were doing. Many astrophotographers simply script this along with their imaging goals for the evening and then go to bed. So, if that is the case, why would anyone ever need Astrosital?

Here are a few reasons: First, zero coefficient-of-expansion materials act a lot nicer during fabrication. There are manufacturing and testing techniques you can use on them

DEEP SKY INSTRUMENTS’ RC10C that you simply can’t use on Pyrex or plate glass. While there are techniques that work very well on other materials, some opticians aren’t willing to adopt them for various reasons. Secondly, some folks just don’t want to refocus. The use of Astrosital in a well designed instrument can eliminate focusing issues altogether. (I know an individual who owns a professional RCOS R-C made with an Astrosital mirror from Star Instruments, who reports that he refocuses once every year whether it needs it or not!) Thirdly, some folks simply want the best – pure and simple.

We chose Pyrex for our mirror substrates because of the great savings over Astrosital.

Our manufacturing techniques are a bit different because of this, but we can produce diffraction limited optics economically, which is what we are all about. Would we like to use Astrosital? Sure, but our scopes would be much more expensive. Pyrex allows us to provide very good performance under most conditions at a small fraction of the cost of instruments that use more exotic primary mirror substrates. So, Pyrex is the perfect material for what we are doing.

lenging as it could have been, in great part due to the fact that a Ritchey-Chretien is already well corrected. The task was to flatten the field and correct for any residual large-angle astigmatism that may exist. We were hoping that a single-element Gascoigne corrector would suffice, as this would eliminate two optical surfaces, thus improving the system and increasing light transmission.

Well, that was too much to hope for, so we settled on a two-lens corrector that was optimized from 380nm to 950nm (well past the visible spectrum) over a two-inch image circle. The corrector was designed to be added to the base R-C scope. That is, the scope works just like a Ritchey without the corrector and you can purchase it this way if you want. The corrector was also designed to be placed inside the scope so it would not reduce usable back focus. The corrector is near zero power and does reduce the back focus, but only slightly. We could have made it zero power, but that design would not have been optimum, so we went with best optical performance. Also, there was really no compelling reason to make it zero power.

The Field Flattener The next major consideration was how big to make the corrected image circle size.

The uncorrected R-C design performs very well for moderately sized CCD chips, but larger and larger chips were starting to appear and we wanted a scope that would handle them. This meant designing a field flattener to correct for field curvature.

All Cassegrain designs have a curved focal plane and because CCD chips are flat, off-axis stars will be more and more out of focus the larger the CCD chip is (assuming on-axis stars are brought to focus). We decided we wanted at least a two-inch image circle – large enough to handle the popular Kodak 16803 CCD chip used in the Apogee Alta U16M and others. While this is not a chip most folks would hang off the back of a ten-inch scope, we knew that cameras were getting bigger and costs smaller and wanted to produce a scope that would not become obsolete just because a user upgraded to a larger camera.

The corrector design was not as chal-

The Focuser From the beginning, we wanted to use an internal electronic focuser – an external focuser would eat up precious back focus.

We also wanted a mechanically rock-solid optical train where an external focuser can often be the weakest link. The problem was cost. Off-the-shelf solutions aren’t readily available and the few that would work in our application were very expensive. So, we had to design a custom focusing system to keep it affordable and this is where my engineering degree came in handy. We also knew we wanted a standard interface and chose the ubiquitous RoboFocus standard, which also meant ASCOM compatibility with programs like FocusMax and others. An electronic focuser does require power, but this isn’t a problem since imagers always have power. Another advantage is that an external focuser has to carry the weight of whatever varying physical load is attached to it, while the load of a secondary focuser is constant.

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DEEP SKY INSTRUMENTS’ RC10C that in the AstroPhysics 2.7-inch standard. When it comes to standards, the only thing they have in common is that they have nothing in common. Take the Meade 3.25-inch, 16threads-per-inch standard for example.

Celestron supports this standard too – except it uses the slightly larger diameter of 3.29 inches. Sheesh!

We could have creThe controller selected for the RC10 provides a simple but effective ated our own stancontrol of key components of the scope. dard, but choose not The Visual Back to. With the A-P 2.7-inch standard, custom When it came to choosing a visual back, adapters are usually not required and off-thewe wanted a threaded standard that was well shelf adapters and extenders are readily availsupported by third party vendors and large able and affordable. We like that. We also like enough to minimize vignetting of the twoit when things screw down tightly to the rear inch image circle we had chosen. We found of the scope.

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What Size?

Another decision to be made was what apertures to make. There was a certain appeal to starting with a single scope and that scope would have been a 12.5-inch instrument: Good aperture, fairly portable, yet suitable for a dedicated observatory scope. While that would have been a fine choice, we felt that it might also price too many folks out of the market, which we definitely didn’t want to do.

So, we decided to start with two scopes: a teninch for the serious astro-imagers on a strict budget and a 14.5-inch for permanent pier applications. It does leave a portability gap, which we may fill in the future, but we’ll let our customers decide that for us. And who knows, we actually think our 14.5-inch instrument will be portable as well. Many folks transport their Celestron C14s all the time.

One additional benefit of the ten-inch scope is that the mount requirements are minimal. While we subscribe to the idea that you can never have too much mount, not everyone can afford a Software Bisque Paramount ME or Astro-Physics AP1200. We often use a Losmandy Titan, which is plenty of mount for the 10-inch scope.

The Tube One of the more significant decisions involved what material to use for the tube. Once we decided that a tube made the most sense for the 10-inch scope, we began looking at materials, including steel, aluminum, Phenolic and carbon fiber. Many folks expressed their desire for carbon fiber, which offers the advantages of low coefficient of expansion, light weight, and great looks. The big downside is, of course, cost. In fact, it could easily add $1,000 to the price of the scope, something we really didn’t want to do. Thin gauge steel is used in a lot of scopes and may have been a reasonable choice if that was the best we could do. We actually started with aluminum for our first prototype, but quickly decided that wasn’t a great choice either. Reasons included coefficient of expansion, consistency, finish, weight, manufacturability and availability – in other words, everything. We are really not big fans of aluminum tubes in these sizes.

DEEP SKY INSTRUMENTS’ RC10C The other choice was Phenolic. These tubes have been around for a long time and are made in various sizes for various applications. Almost all Phenolic tubes today are made by winding multiple layers of Phenolic impregnated kraft paper around a cylindrical mandral. Such tubes are consistently uniform, strong, light weight, economical, and look great when finished – just about everything we wanted in a tube. And, to boot, the combination of the Phenolic tube with our mechanical design yields an OTA that has surprisingly good thermal characteristics. This was one of the primary characteristics reported by our first two independent testers and was corroborated by our own internal testing.

Our first Phenolic prototype was made using ProtoStar’s BlackLite tube material which it markets primarily for Newtonians used visually. These are great tubes for that purpose, but were not quite what we needed for photographic use. Our solution was to have tubes custom made for us to our own specifications. We additionally add reinforcement to assure a rigid, no flex tube. We then finish the tubes using automotive materials for good looks and durability.

The Ritchey-Chretien Design I would like to take a minute to explain what constitutes a Ritchey-Chretien telescope and why it should be considered over other available options. The Ritchey-Chretien design is a class of Cassegrain that was developed

by George Ritchey and Henri Chretien in the early 1910s, not long after Martin Schwartzchild, a German physicist, published equations characterizing two-mirror optical systems. Three main Cassegrain designs are usually discussed and they are listed here in order of most aberrations to least aberrations.

Dall-Kirkham Cassegrain This design has a spherical secondary which requires an ellipsoidal primary to remove spherical aberration. It has large amounts of off-axis coma, astigmatism and field curvature, which is why the design is generally used for a high focal ratio instruments which produce small fields of view.

This scope was developed to be easy and eco-

The RC10 is shown adorned with a generous coating of frost. The Phenolic tube assembly handles the elements quite well.

nomical to produce, but is generally limited to planetary and other similar on-axis applications.

Classical Cassegrain This design has a parabolic primary which requires a hyperbolic secondary to remove spherical aberration. It has less coma, astigmatism and field curvature than a Dall-Kirkham.

It is generally a good performer, but is much more difficult and expensive to produce and still exhibits significant off-axis coma.

Ritchey-Chretien Cassegrain George Ritchey and Henri Chretien discovered that by increasing the correction of a Classical Cassegrain in both the primary and

secondary mirrors, off-axis coma could be essentially eliminated at the expense of adding a small amount of large angle astigmatism. This is a good trade-off as the Classical Cassegrain’s main aberration is coma. Ritcheys perform very well over moderate fields of view and then slowly degrade as star images become out of focus due to field curvature. Ritcheys can be difficult to figure due to their high degree of correction. This is particularly true of the secondary, since it is small, convex, and not easily tested.

Although all of these scopes perform well on-axis, the Dall-Kirkham performs poorly off-axis, the Classical Cassegrain performs OK off-axis within limits, and the Ritchey-Chretien performs well off-axis for moderate fields

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DEEP SKY INSTRUMENTS’ RC10C of view. Additionally, all of the Cassegrains mentioned above have curved image fields.

Corrected Dall-Kirkham (CDK) vs. Corrected Ritchey-Chretien Both Dall-Kirkhams and Ritchey-Chretiens may be improved for wide-field astrophotography use by introducing a corrector/field flattener. The Dall-Kirkham corrector must correct for large amounts of coma, astigmatism and field curvature, while the Ritchey-Chretien corrector is added mainly just to flatten the field. Since the R-C corrector is doing very little work, it can theoretically do it better, while introducing virtually no chromatic aberration. Sometimes corrected Dall-Kirkhams are compared to uncorrected Ritchey-Chretiens. This is understandable since Ritcheys are so good and well respected. But, this is an unfair comparison as they should rightly be compared instead to corrected Ritcheys. When uncorrected DallKirkhams are compared to uncorrected Ritcheys, they do very poorly. Our corrected Ritchey has <5 micron theoretical spot sizes

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36 Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

over an extended spectrum and a two-inch image circle – a direct result of the basic Ritchey design being so inherently good.

The Astrograph Market I’d like to say a few things about the astrograph market and where Deep Sky Instruments fits in. The first point to be made is that Deep Sky doesn’t compete with RC Optical Systems, Optical Guidance Systems, or any other high-end scope. These folks are making the finest scopes available and getting paid for it. Their customers demand the best of everything and have the funds to afford it. If you buy one, you won’t be disappointed, as they are very truly fine scopes indeed. Our scopes, by comparison, are value scopes – high-performance, but value priced. Our customers may want the very best, but either can’t justify the expense or simply want more value for their dollars. Like everything else, that last little bit of extra performance tends to cost a whole lot.

What is much closer to the truth is that enthusiasts may be introduced to serious practical astronomy through consumer scopes, such as the very popular 8-inch Schmidt Cassegrains with go-to features, may learn the sky with such instruments (possibly attend a star party or two), and perhaps even take astrophotos using a DSLR or a value-priced astronomical CCD camera. If, encouraged by those experiences, these same enthusiasts may graduate to larger, value astrographs like those from Deep Sky Instruments. If astrophotography turns into their primary hobby and additional expenditures can be justified, they may further graduate to professional series R-Cs such as those offered by RC Optical Systems and other

fine companies. They may do this because they want that last little bit of performance, more aperture, or simply want the best. It also works the other way. Maybe they see some impressive astro-images taken with professional equipment by a member of the local astronomy club and are inspired to buy that first starter scope.

The point is that each separate market is critical to and helps support the others.

Credits I would like to publicly thank some of the folks who have helped get Deep Sky Instruments off the ground and helped make the RC10 and RC10C the best it can be. First and foremost, I would like to thank Paul and Sharon Jones of Star Instruments. They not only provide the fine optics for our instruments, they have become very good friends. As reported earlier, Tim Puckett assisted us with early testing of our first prototype and his encouragement and insight were invaluable.

Likewise, Chris Hetlage has done the lion’s share of testing at his personal observatory at the Deerlick Astronomy Village in Sharon, Georgia. Chris is a first-class gentleman and always eager to help all in the hobby. Two more classy guys are Carl Zambuto of the Zambuto Optical Company and Dennis Rech, creator of the Mirror-O-Matic mirror grinding machine (if you look up generous in the dictionary, you will see pictures of these guys). And, last but not least, my dad, Richard, who got me started in all this, and my wife, Sharon, who steadfastly and lovingly supports this insanity. For more information about Deep Sky Instruments please visit our website at www.DeepSkyInstruments.com.

Test Driving a Prototype RC10C Ritchey-Cretien Astrograph At Deerlick Astronomy Village

By Chris Hetlage

Several months ago, I approached Paul Jones and Rich Simons to learn more about their new affordable Ritchey-Chretien astrograph. I have met Rich and his father in the past through our local astronomy club and I have talked to Paul several times over the years. It was very cool to hear that Paul had moved his Star Instruments operation to the Atlanta area and it was great to hear the two of them teaming up on this project. I was of course very anxious to know more.

Rich and I talked for some time about my needs, his new R-C scope project, and his goals for production. I have been looking to get a longer focal length scope for some time and an R-C design was high on my list. Rich also mentioned to me that he was looking into leasing an observatory spot at Deerlick Astronomy Village (DAV), a property development that I

started a few years back. It just so happened that I had an available pier with an Astro-Physics 1200 GTO mount in my automated observatory at DAV, shown above, so I asked Rich if he wanted to use that spot for a while for a test bed. He was interested. In fact, he immediately asked if I would be interested in independently testing the scope. I agreed and for the past six months I have been using this scope as my primary imaging instrument.

When Rich brought the scope out I was surprised at the fit and finish of the OTA. After all, it was a prototype. Rich did a nice job assembling the scope and all the parts were obviously professionally machined and anodized. It features a Phenolic-impregnated tube that is painted glossy white. My preference would be for a carbon fiber tube, but after doing some research on my own I discovered that the

properties of the Phenolic-impregnated tube were perfectly acceptable and, besides, this saves at least $1,000 off the price.

The back plate of the scope is very solid and includes several fans, an input for a fan/dew heater/focuser module, and a pair of handles to help carry the OTA. The scope is supported by two Parallax rings that are attached to a Losmandy DUP dovetail plate. All the rear cell fittings use A-P 2.7-inch threads, which works well for me since I have lots of A-P accessories. The scope is equipped with an electronic focuser on the secondary. One of the key features of the design is a builtin field flattener to correct for any field curvature. This is critical if you are using a large sized CCD camera, which I do use.

All fit nicely on my AP1200.

The first light testing was done using

Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

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TEST DRIVING THE RC10C my SBIG STL-11000 camera and guided using an SBIG Remote Guide Head through an AT66ED guidescope. The first thing I tested was the focuser. The controller connected immediately to my computer via an RS232 to USB converter and was easily recognized by FocusMax through the included ASCOM driver.

The next step was to verify the focusing and collimation. The first “V” curve I ran was nearly perfect and it focused very fast.

Rich was there to collimate the scope, but even after transporting it all the way from Atlanta, the collimation looked dead on using a Tak Collimation Scope and CCDInspector – by the way, I expected that since Rich and Paul designed this system, it would be well collimated! I should state that I do not even have a collimation scope, as all I have used for the past seven years are refractors, and to date I have not needed to collimate the scope after its initial install.

My first test was a quick Lum of M51. It was kind of late and M51 was just

38 Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

rising. I calibrated my guider and went to work. Guiding went OK, but I discovered later when taking longer 20-minute subs that I probably needed a longer focal length guidescope. I have since bought a TAK FSQ-106 and that works much better. I have also guided through an Astrodon off-axis Monster MOAG and that works very nicely and is highly recommended for guiding at these focal lengths.

Several months ago, Rich and Paul purchased an Apogee U16M camera and filter wheel. They were very interested in seeing how this large-format chip performed on this scope and I, of course, was willing to help! Over the past several months I have imaged M8 (the Lagoon Nebula), NGC2237 ( the Rosette Nebula), NGC2264 (the Christmas Tree Cluster), M101, M78, and others, using the 16803 chip, see images on next page.

The field is perfectly flat across the chip and there is only a slight amount of vignetting in the corners - easily removed

TEST DRIVING THE RC10C

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with a sky flat.

The scope handles well and, being that I remotely control my telescopes and observatory, it was very important to me that the scope not require frequent collimation or other adjustments. The first version of the scope I tested had a slight flexure issue on the secondary when I did a meridian flip, but Rich recently replaced the secondary holder/focuser with a new design and that, to-date, shows no signs of flexure.

My final thoughts: This is a fine imaging instrument and it is perhaps the best value 10-inch scope out there. It has a flat field, thanks to its built-in field flattener, and can support the large-format cameras that are out there today. It is somewhat limited in back focus, but can support a large format CCD camera, a filter wheel, a Monster MOAG and still has about three inches remaining for a rotator if needed. The fit and finish is way above what you would expect for a scope in this price range, however probably not what you would get for a scope in the $12,000 to $14,000 price range. The focuser controller is a no thrills design, but works perfectly, and that is what matters in the end. Bottom line: this is a great imaging scope, no matter what your experience or budget.

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Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

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Image 1: The Lagoon Nebula - Ha = 15x20min each Image 2: The Cocoon Nebula - Lum = 4x5min each, RGB = 10x3min each Image 3: The Rosette Nebula - Ha = 15x20min each

All images taken by Chris Hetlage at his Deerlick Astronomy Village observatory with a DSI RC10 telescope, Astro-Physics 1200GTO German Equatorial Mount, Apogee U16M Camera, AstroDon LRGB filters and m1OASYS observatory automation.

TEST DRIVING THE RC10C

Image 1

40 Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY Image 2

Image 3

TEST DRIVING THE RC10C

Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

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CCD Labs Q453-HR (QHY8)

Q285-M (QHY2 Pro)

Hitting the price/performance ratio on all cylinders!

By Craig Stark

It’s a great time to be an amateur astrophotographer. We have a dazzling array of equipment to choose from and performance at both ends of the price spectrum keeps getting better. While many of the names in the market are well-known to even someone with only a casual interest in astrophotography, there are a number of relative newcomers on the block worth noting. Two names you may not know but that are worth a look are CCD Labs (www.ccd-labs.com) and QHY CCD Astronomy (www.qhyccd.com). Before covering two of their cameras here, a bit of history is in order.

William Behrens of CCD Labs (Wichita, KS) and Qiu Hongyun (Beijing, China) first began working together in the design of the SAC 10 camera for SAC Imaging. While SAC Imaging is no more, the SAC 10 enjoyed strong demand for its 3.3 megapixel sensor, good performance, and tight package. Several years ago, I was hired by SAC (Bill Snyder) to help test and assemble SAC 10 cameras and it was then that I got into frequent contact with both William Behrens and Qiu Hongyun. Their next creation, the Orion Starshoot Deep

Space Color Imager, was a very popular camera built by SAC imaging (and again, one that I had a lot of contact with, starting as an early beta-tester.) What both these cameras have in common is being designed to hit a sweet spot on the bangfor-the-buck curve. Neither was a “high end” camera, but both offered solid performance that was quite arguably better than what much of the competition was offering, and they were sold at a lower price.

Since this time, QHY has gone on to create a wide range of cameras and CCD Labs acts as a VAR (Value Added Reseller) for the cameras (a number of other dealers act as resellers or VARs as well, including Starizona in the USA). One camera, the QHY8, is sold through CCD Labs as the Q453-HR (formerly the Q8-HR) and a second, the QHY2-Pro (not to be confused with the entirely different QHY2), is sold through CCD Labs as the Q285-M. CCD Labs provides the cameras with additional capture and processing software, an install disk with a manual, assembles the cameras, does a full quality control check before shipping to customers, and seals the CCD

chamber following an argon purge to keep it nice and dry. Different vendors sell the cameras in slightly different formats, so it’s worth checking with the vendors you’re considering before making any final purchase decisions. By way of disclaimer, I should note that the supplied capture and processing software that augments the AstroArt and Maxim drivers is Nebulosity and that I am the author of Nebulosity.

Q453-HR: Overview The Q453-HR uses an APS-sized (23.4 x 15.6 mm), 6 megapixel (3032 x 2016, 7.4u square pixels), one-shot color CCD, the Sony ICX-453AQ. This proAstronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

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CCD LABS Q453-HR (QHY8) AND Q285-M (QHY2 PRO) gressive-scan chip is found in several Nikon DSLRs and in current versions of the Starlight Xpress SXVF-M25C (early versions of the M25C used an interlaced version sensor). These two other cameras provide a nice basis for comparison when considering the Q453-HR. Unlike the Nikon DSLRs, this is a dedicated CCD imager. Whereas DSLRs typically have 12bit A/D converters (and 4096 shades of gray for representing the brightness in each pixel), dedicated CCDs like the Q453-HR and the SXVF-M25C have 16-bit A/D converters (with 65,536 shades of intensity). They are also cooled to reduce dark current, don’t use optical or electronic lowpass smoothing filters, and are tuned for low noise rather than high speed. They can’t take photos of the kids (unless they’re really far away) and tend to cost a lot more too. The street price on a Nikon D40 is about $500 as of this writing, while the Q453-HR costs $2100 and the SXVFM25C costs $4195. A slightly stripped-

down version of the Q453 is currently set for release for about $1500.

The current version of the Q453-HR comes in two pieces. The camera head itself is about 3.5 x 3.5 x 2 inches and weighs less than 1.5 pounds. This is light enough for any focuser you’d consider for astrophotography and small enough for use in configurations like Starizona’s Hyperstar. The camera head has a USB2.0 port for connecting to your computer and a power input port (mini-DIN connector).

T-threads are provided for attaching to your telescope.

The second piece is a control box (3.5 x 2.75 x 1) that creates the various power supplies needed by the camera from a 12volt input. It has a small display, several control buttons, and the electronics needed to control the two-stage thermo-electric cooler (TEC) inside the camera. This second box, dubbed the DC102, is a fairly recent addition to the camera and earlier versions of the camera (including my own)

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Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

CCD LABS Q453-HR (QHY8) AND Q285-M (QHY2 PRO) did not require it or had a more basic supply dubbed the DC101. The DC102 has a number of features, some of which are quite obscure (e.g., being able to read out or set the current pulse-width modulation of the power supply feeding the TEC).

Some are clearly more compelling. With the DC102 version comes temperature regulation, allowing the user to pick a setpoint and ensure that darks and lights are taken at the same CCD temperature (setpoint can be adjusted on the box itself or via your camera control software). With either control box, the camera requires a hefty 4 amps at 12 volts.

Q285-M: Overview The Q285-M uses the same monochrome, 1.4 megapixel (1360 x 1024, 6.4u square pixels) Sony ICX-285AL sensor found in a wide range of popular cameras (e.g., Meade DSI III Pro, Atik 16HR and 314L, and Starlight Xpress H9). There is a reason this CCD has been very popular among astrophotographers: it is the largest of the monochrome Sony CCDs, sports their ExView HAD technology for extended IR response, has insanely low dark current, has very low read noise, and has a nicely flat spectral response in the visible spectrum with a QE that is just starting to drop at the critical Ha line. While the largest of the monochrome Sony CCDs and while several years ago it might have been considered large, its 10.2- x 8.3-mm sensor is about a quarter the area of the APS-sized Q453-HR. Pricing on the camera at time of this writing is $1499, priced

between the uncooled Meade DSI III Pro and the cooled cameras using this chip.

Like the Q453-HR, the Q285-M comes in two pieces. The camera head itself is just a bit smaller than the Q453HR, but weighs just a touch more. The same DC102 control box is used and provides the same temperature regulation for the two-stage TEC inside the camera head.

Like the Q453-HR, the USB connector is on the camera head itself and a fan covers the back of the black anodized aluminum case.

Bench Tests I have reported data from a full suite of bench-tests on the Q453 elsewhere (“DSLR vs. CCD: A Bench Test Comparison,” Astrophoto Insight, December 2007, Special Hardware Issue Volume 3, Issue 7) and a full bench test of the Q285-M is forthcoming. Here, I will provide a synopsis of the cameras’ performance, however. The Q453-HR turned in a reasonable read noise value of 12 e- RMS, while the Q285-M turned in a very respectable value of 7 e- RMS. Raw read-noise values tell only part of the story and an examination of the bias frames turned up a few noise signatures in the cameras. The Q453-HR was overall quite clean, showing only a touch of very low frequency, horizontal fixed-pattern noise in an analysis of the average row and in 2D FFTs of individual frames. This was not present in the 2D FFT of the read noise frame (single frame vs. a stack), which looked almost perfect, demonstrating that the noise in each individual frame would be canceled well with things like bias subtraction or dark subtraction (a highly desirable property for your noise). While signature of the noise is nicely clean in this respect, there is noticeably more noise here than in my current reference standard, a QSI 520.

The Q285-M had a quite different signature. It showed almost zero fixed pattern noise in the average row FFT (only marginally worse than the QSI). It did, however, show evidence of diagonal bandAstronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

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CCD LABS Q453-HR (QHY8) AND Q285-M (QHY2 PRO)

The shot shown here of M101 is a one-hour test taken with an 8-inch scope (Vixen R200SS, 20 frames at 3 minutes each) with no filter.

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Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

ing in the 2D FFTs. While difficult to see visually in the bias frames, there were clear frequencies that shone through in both the single frames and in the analysis of the read noise. The latter showed that, while the frequency of this noise is stable, the location of it in the image is not, meaning that it will not be removed by simple bias or dark subtraction. The good news is that it was variable enough that in modest sized stacks, the noise averaged out to a smooth bias frame. This does mean that either a solid stack of bias or dark frames should be used or that this step should be skipped entirely, instead relying on bad pixel mapping or standard-deviation based (sigmaclip) stacking employed for best results.

Dark current on both cameras was negligible, clocking in with numbers like 0.1 ADU (.024 e-) per second on the Q285-M when set to -10C (and even this rating is skewed by the hot pixels and doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t reflect how low the current is for typical pixels). Dark current is such a nonissue on these cameras that you are better

CCD LABS Q453-HR (QHY8) AND Q285-M (QHY2 PRO) off doing bad pixel mapping or standarddeviation based stacking methods (and potentially bias subtraction) than doing dark subtraction, in my opinion. This advice does limit the usefulness of regulated cooling on these cameras, as it would suggest that you are fine simply running the cooler flat-out and dealing with the few hot pixels.

Hands-on I have had a lot of time to use the Q453-HR in its one-box variation as I was the first customer to buy one from CCD Labs and certainly one of the first to buy one in the world (a fringe benefit of being the software developer is that, since you need to have a camera to write the software, you sometimes have a good shot at being first in line). Sadly, my talents are such that others have really shown what the Q453-HR/QHY8 can do and a search on any of the popular Internet sites will turn up some absolutely breathtaking images. This is a big sensor that covers a

wide swath of sky and does so with very nice sensitivity. While the noise is a touch higher than some cameras, the noise is well behaved and the final shots can be simply gorgeous.

The shot of M45 in the background at the start of this article was taken with a 4-inch Borg refractor and comes from a total of 2 hours worth of data (40 frames at 3 minutes). In a recent shot of mine of the region around M81 / M82 with the same 4-inch Borg and a little over 3 hours of data, I pulled out 13 other small galaxies, such as the magnitude 15.3 UGC 5449 and UGC 5336 (which, by the way, are not candidates for the best non-Messier DSO targets). This is going quite deep for a one-shot color camera on a 4-inch scope, especially considering the size of chip and price-point. Overall, I’m very pleased with the camera and would easily buy it again.

While I have not had the same amount of seat-time with the Q285-M, the work I have done with it has shown it

to be a fine performer. The shot shown on page 46 of M101 is a one-hour test taken with an 8-inch scope (Vixen R200SS, 20 frames at 3 minutes each) with no filter.

Having spent a lot of time with one-shot color cameras, I must admit feeling a nice jolt of excitement as the first few images came up on the screen, undimmed by the color camera’s filters and with the nice boost provided by the ExView HAD’s sensitivity and the camera’s low noise. Preprocessing of the images consisted only of applying a bad pixel map. No smoothing, cropping, or local tools were applied to hide any camera defects as the Q285-M put up a very clean stack that was easily stretched.

Have a good look at the Q453-HR and Q285-M from CCD Labs. I’ve had a lot of cameras here on the test bench and these entries are hitting the price/performance ratio on all cylinders, offering up some very stiff competition in this part of the market, performing like they should cost a lot more than they do.

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The Stellafane Donation Scope Project Construction Continues Part 2

By Robert J. Teeter, Jr.

The UPS, Fed-Ex and USPS delivery people have been knocking on my door quite frequently with packages full of astro-goodies for the 12.5-inch Stellafane Donation Scope (SDS). The parts for this special build have been streaming in since my last article, which introduced this project, and construction of the scope is now fully underway. But, what design considerations go into such a telescope and how will the donated components be integrated into the SDS? My hope is to provide sufficient tutorial in this and subsequent articles for readers to get a general idea of what goes into the production of a custom-made Truss-Dobsonian.

Primary Support As discussed in my previous article, the primary mirror for this telescope was provided by Terry Ostahowski and is a 12.5-inch f/4.8 (1.5-inch thickness Pyrex). The primary mirror is obviously the heart and soul of any reflector telescope and should be the component that is decided upon first with any build. From there I always like to design my scopes

from the bottom to the top. Therefore, the next logical component for consideration is the primary mirror cell. The cell will support the primary mirror, allow for its collimation and, depending upon its design, will play a critical role in the acclimation of the primary mirror to the ambient temperature of the observing location.

The primary mirror cell for this project was donated by James Grigar of Astro Sky Telescopes in Lake Charles, Louisiana. James uses a traditional “Kriege-style” cell built using steel squarestock and steel flat-bar. The cell employs a flotation type design that allows optimal support of the mirror such that changes in temperature of the Pyrex mirror substrate do not translate to distortions at the mirror surface. James crafted this mirror cell to offer nine flotation points of support (pictured next page), widely regarded as optimal for 12.5-inch aperture primaries down to approximately 1.5-inch thicknesses.

The mirror cell from Astro Sky offers a sling that will support the lower edge of

the primary mirror while it is seated in the cell. The sling is 1.5-inch width interwoven nylon material, or what a lot of people refer to as “seat-belt material,” which has virtues of being relatively inexpensive and also relatively easy to acquire. The material also has very little to no stretch in it, which will keep the mirror centered in the cell without having to readjust the sling before each observing session. Essentially the sling will be set here in my shop before the scope is delivered to the Springfield Telescope Makers. This will ensure that the primary mirror is centered within the mirror-box yet is able to expand and contract due to changes in ambient temperature, without becoming pinched within the confines of the mirror cell.

Other notable features of this mirror cell include the placement of the three large-diameter collimation bolts, which James modified to better accommodate my scope design. Many times when a mirror cell is designed, two collimation bolts will be placed on the top “rung” of the mirror cell, while the third is placed on the bottom “rung,” as viewed from Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

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THE STELLAFANE DONATION SCOPE PROJECT

The Astro Sky primary mirror cell viewed from its bottom side.

behind the scope when it is pointed parallel to the ground. The problem with that traditional set-up manifests itself if the scope is equipped with digital setting circles and the associated azimuth bearing encoder. The scope builder is then locked into building a taller rockerbox to allow that one collimation bolt on the bottom

Mirror cell detail showing the tailgate pin release.

“rung” to clear over top of the azimuth encoder, essentially adding approximately 1.5 inches of height to the mirrorbox, which can, and should, be avoided. A shorter rockerbox will translate to a more sturdy scope and to a wobble-free observing experience at the eyepiece. By rotating where the primary mirror cell collimation

Series IV ‘Stiletto’ continues to be a key item in serious astrophotography sessions. If you are doing deep-sky imaging, the ‘Stiletto’ is simply the fastest and easiest way to get perfect photos every time out! The Stilettois available for DSLR, CCD, Medium Format, and Film.

available for all 35mm digital and film cameras, including Canon EOS, Nikon, Pentax, Olympus, Minolta, Sony, and others.

Whether digital or film, you will find the CVF is the finest and most flexible visual focuser available today for precision 35mm photography during day or night.

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Better yet, check out our total DSLR focusing solution, the Series IV 'Stiletto' Super Package which contains both units at a big savings!

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Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

Don’t forget to check out our complete line of 35mm accessories including the Canon EOS Framing T-2 Adapter only $39!

bolts are placed, you can now clear the azimuth encoder between the two bolts and then drop that rockerbox height.

Lastly, James has included “pins” at the pivot-point of the mirror cell that will allow me to set the cell up to “tail-gate” (pictured). Should the mirror ever need to be removed from the mirrorbox for cleaning or re-coating, the future owner will be able to unlock the mirror cell and fold it out of the back of the mirrorbox and then slide the mirror out of the cell. Many observers find this much easier – far less nerve-wracking and much more ergonomic than reaching into the top of the mirrorbox and trying to pull the mirror up and out.

Ball & Socket Trusses The beauty of Ron and Al’s ball and socket truss-pole connector system from Moonlite Telescope Accessories is the ease of installation and use. Setting this part of the scope up could very well be the most straight-forward and least complicated step of the whole process since Moonlite has taken all of the guess work out. On Truss-Dobsonians that employ other truss-pole connection methods, there is a degree of accuracy that must be met to ensure that the truss connectors are mounted on the mirrorbox and the bottom of the upper tube assembly (UTA)

THE STELLAFANE DONATION SCOPE PROJECT correctly, such that the truss poles all meet and seat properly. The Moonlite system erases any doubt a builder might have of the angles involved in getting the truss poles to go from the mirrorbox to the UTA. I design my mirrorboxes to have a flat surface on top constructed from 3/4-inch Baltic Birch that will bear the brunt of the torque imparted by the UTA and truss poles. The Moonlite truss connection blocks, machined out of Delrin, are mounted flush to the top of the mirrorbox (pictured). The ball and socket system then automatically provides the necessary angle to allow the truss poles to meet up properly at the bottom of the UTA, which employs matching ball and socket connectors. Simple, yet elegant!

tor system (OCS) from Denkmeier and a Tele Vue Paracorr to correct the inherent coma at f/4.8, will take more detailed calculations for achieving focus on all of this equipment.

I try to design all of my scopes with as small a secondary mirror as possible to

Fine Focus I discussed in my previous article the desire for a dual-speed focuser on the SDS. I will also mention that I stipulated the focuser to have 2 inches of travel (also known as having a 2-inch drawtube), which is a number that some new builders are unsure how to settle upon.

Always keep in mind what it is that your scope project is attempting to bring to focus. The SDS, since it will be provided with such a wide variety of eyepieces, a binoviewer and associated optical correc-

View of the mirror box showing location of the Moonlite truss connectors.

decrease the central obstruction and associated diffraction. Doing so increases contrast in the final image at the eyepiece.

However, this practice limits how much in-focus the telescope will have. Products like the Denkmeier binoviewer, for example, require additional in-travel of the focuser above and beyond that needed for single eyepieces, which this scope will also need. The builder cannot simply purchase

a focuser with a long drawtube (ie. 2.5- or 3-inch) and place the focal plane such the binoviewer focuses at the bottom of the focuser’s travel and then figure the single eyepieces to focus at the other end of the focuser’s travel 3 inches above the top of the focuser. The light cone on the SDS, in particular, will not extend that far above the focuser without being clipped by the inside diameter of the 2-inch focuser.

I have found after building several dozen scopes that 2 inches is generally the optimal drawtube length and that placing the focal plane for the Denkmeier binoviewers and the OCS approximately 1/2 inch above the top of the focuser is also ideal. You then have enough backtravel on the focuser to allow single eyepieces to focus and you haven’t clipped the light cone coming off the secondary mirror.

Stay Tuned Work is progressing on the SDS on a daily basis and I will continue to cover the build process from the bottom up. My next article will chronicle the secondary support system from Bryan Greer at ProtoStar, the Rigel QuickFinder reflex sight, StellarVue’s 50-mm optical finder, JMI’s SuperMax digital setting circle computer and Specialty Millwork’s cabinetry on this project.

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The Tzec Maun Foundation Taking Astronomical Outreach to the Next Level

By Max Corneau

Picture this: You are leading an astronomical outreach effort with students who have never used a telescope before in their lives, but today they are going to operate a Takahashi astrograph mounted atop a Paramount ME to collect photons on a Santa Barbara Instruments Group ST2000 camera. The wind rasps loudly through the pine stands at the observatory site to create near zero-degree wind-chill temperatures. This scenario seems destined to end in a trail of frozen fingers, tangled wires, and frustration. How could a neophyte possibly use high end equipment to produce astrophotos and what is the benefit to the astronomical community and to society writ large?

Enter the Tzec Maun Foundation.

The name “Tzec Maun” (pronounced “Teh-Zeck-Moan”) comes from Tzec Maun’s sister foundation, the Maya Foundation, which is dedicated to helping children at risk across the world. It has made major donations to organizations like The Ronald McDonald House, Doctors without Borders, and Rotoplast. One of the

words used by the ancient Maya people for the planet Mercury was “Skull Owl” or “Tzec Maun” (the ancient Mayans actually mistook Mercury for four different planets, since it showed up as a morning and evening star at different times of the year). Tzec Maun was a jovial messenger, who was known for laughing in the face of adversity. The purpose of the Tzec Maun Foundation is to provide free access to telescopes.

The Foundation’s overall goal is to educate and enrich those who are interested in the field of astronomy and who may not otherwise have the means to access the proper instruments. To this end, the Foundation provides remote-controlled telescopic equipment accessible through the Foundation's website to qualified institutions and individuals. The Foundation’s primary audience is students attending regular classes. Tzec Maun’s work is carried out by experienced leaders working with teams at individual schools.

If you guessed correctly, you know that I’m a Tzec Maun team leader, specif-

ically for the Rockwall High School Science Council (SciCo - pronounced Psycho). Life has been pretty good to me and astronomical outreach is my way of using my skills to “give back” to society. Indeed, having run my mouth and pointed telescopes from coast to coast, the Astronomical League recently awarded me the Master Outreach designation. Having operated telescopes and equipment across the United States, I can say unequivocally that the Tzec Maun Foundation is, without question, the most well designed and best managed astronomical foundation in the United States and quite probably the world. Being a team leader for the Tzec Maun Foundation enables me to truly take outreach to the next level.

The Tzec Maun Foundation The Tzec Maun Foundation was founded by Michael Wilson, who also runs the Maya Foundation. Mr. Wilson is CEO of Makena Technologies, home of the virtual world, There.com (www.there.com). Author Ron Wodaski

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THE TZEC MAUN FOUNDATION cility hosts the four telescopes depicted in Image 1: an Astro-Physics AP-180 f/7.32 refractor with ST2000XCM camera, an Astro-Physics AP-206 f/7.87 refractor with STL11000 camera, a 14-inch Maksutov-Newtonian catadioptric f/3.8 with STL6303 camera, and finally a Takahashi Epsilon f/2.8 corrected Newtonian with ST2000XCM camera.

The observatory in Pingelly, Western Australia, operates two telescopes: a Takahashi Epsilon f/2.8 corrected Newtonian with ST2000XCM camera and a Takahashi TOA-150 f/7.3 refractor with STL11000 camera.

Image 1

Tzec Maun’s New Mexico equipment: Foreground AP-180, right Maksutov-Newtonian, background Astro-Physics AP-206, all mounted on Paramount MEs. Unmounted E-180 on floor is now situated on the mount just left of center.

Image 2

Snapshot of Astronomy Sky Chart Interface

serves as the observatory director and his wife Donna, manages administrative duties. Donna has a thankless job and all users should salute her for keeping the train on the rails. Even the most cursory glance at Ron’s blog reveals that he cares about the Tzec Maun foundation and be-

54 Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

lieves strongly in its goals.

The Foundation operates two observatories: one located at a popular New Mexico astronomy community and one on the opposite side of the planet at the Fair Dinkum Observatory in Pingelly, Western Australia. The New Mexico fa-

Operating the Telescopes A key to the power of Tzec Maun’s facilities to support astronomical student outreach is the fact that, through one user-friendly portal, operators can nearly always access a dark sky somewhere on our home planet. More about the importance of global coverage later in this article.

Students do not queue requests for images; they directly control the telescope and camera in real time using their web browser. New students can operate the very fast Takahashi E-180, with its oneshot color ST2000XCM camera, for immediate and satisfying results. The primary interface to the E-180 is through Snap-Shot Astronomy. Once students have accomplished three very well developed web-based lessons and receive administrative permission from and through their team leader, they can use the Telescope Portal to schedule time on the telescopes.

Through the telescope portal, students accomplish all tasks required to take images: log in, navigate the star chart, slew to an object, focus, establish image parameters, take the image, and process their data. Images are saved automatically, and students can download their data for advanced processing.

The Sky Chart is provided by Software Bisque’s TheSky software which runs behind the scenes on the telescope server.

THE TZEC MAUN FOUNDATION The Chart is extremely user friendly and presents a familiar interface to amateurs.

The Chart features Arrow buttons to move the view up, down, left, or right, and zoom buttons to move the view in or out. Direction buttons provide instant access to views of the North, East, South, West, or the Zenith (all-sky view). A cross-hairs button moves the view to where the telescope is currently pointing.

A sample Sky Chart is seen in Image 2.

The prominent red/purple line in this Sky Chart indicates the meridian.

Throughout the interface, great pains are taken to prevent operators from slewing across the meridian or imaging past the meridian. Once students identify objects of interest, they can slew to it simply by clicking on the object and clicking on the slew button. Slewing by object name or coordinates is also available. During slewing, the Sky Chart interface transitions to a near real-time slew monitor showing telescope pointing. During the student lessons, emphasis is placed on image composition, exposure time, and basic processing. Students interested in immediate satisfaction can simply click on an individual exposure and save as a JPEG. My students are completely satisfied; actually blown away by the images they take using this very simple and satisfying software/hardware.

My own observatory has no remote control functionality and I have only limited experience with robotically controlled astronomical systems. However, my work in the military has exposed me to a variety of advanced, robotic systems that enable me to understand remote controlled observatories.

Both observatories have local weather reporting stations, real-time video monitoring, and weather warning capabilities.

Additionally, when students take their training, they are instructed from the beginning to always check the weather first before beginning a session. The all-sky camera in each observatory provides immediate insight on local sky conditions,

Image 3

All-Sky Camera View from Fair Dinkum Observatory Image 4

The Omega Centauri Cluster imaged from Pingelly, Western Australia, on the TOA150/STL11000 in L/R/G/B for total exposure of 20 minutes.

which is a welcome aid in diagnosing image quality problems.

Anyone who has ever used a remote observatory knows that weather forecasts are merely a prediction. However, the

CCD is very unforgiving of a lousy prediction. When it comes to astronomical imaging, a high cirrus layer can ruin the night without raising the attention of many forecasters. Kudos to the Tzec

Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

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THE TZEC MAUN FOUNDATION Image 5

Image 6

The workhorse Epsilon 180 and ST2000XCM in New Mexico.

Maunâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wonderful interface that makes using the equipment fun, rewarding, and safe.

How Good is the Equipment?

Readers should keep in mind that Tzec Maun is dedicated to inspiring stu-

56 Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

Future home of the Tzec Maun 1-meter telescope.

dents by providing free telescope time using quality instruments. So, just how good is the equipment and what can it accomplish at the hands of experienced users? The research grade SBIG cameras mounted on top-quality refractors and reflectors, driven by perfectly aligned and modeled Paramount ME mounts, defi-

nitely surpass anything found in all but the most advanced observatories. In addition to basic system performance, operators benefit from generally clear skies and excellent seeing conditions at both observatories.

Although initially concerned about unguided exposure duration, my fears were completely allayed during my first session when the E-180/ST2000XCM captured 15-minute unguided sub-exposures with only the slightest star trailing.

Longer focal length telescopes are not limited by shorter unguided exposure times, because remote autoguiding is available on those telescopes. Students can also stack multiple images to increase signal-to-noise ratio. Guided images of 30 minutes or longer allow even very deep objects to be imaged successfully.

Experienced amateurs will be drawn to the lure of southern hemisphere objects and this amateur is no exception. I have observed, studied, and imaged the Omega Centauri globular cluster (NGC 5139).

The tack-sharp image in Image 4 highlights the many blue-stragglers in the cluster of about 10 million stars. Omega Centauri itself is about 15,000 light-years away and 150 light-years in diameter â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the largest of 150 or so known globular star clusters that roam the halo of our galaxy.

Though most star clusters consist of stars

THE TZEC MAUN FOUNDATION with the same age and composition, this cluster clearly exhibits the presence of different stellar populations with a spread of ages and chemical abundances.

Timing is Everything In 2009 Earth celebrates 400 years since the Italian scientist Galileo Galilei turned a telescope to the heavens. The International Year of Astronomy (IYA2009) is a global celebration of astronomy and its contributions to society and culture. The IYA2009 theme is “The Universe, Yours to Discover” which will help reconnect people with the night sky, the common heritage of humanity. IYA2009 is an initiative of the International Astronomical Union, and UNESCO, the educational and cultural arm of the United Nations and activities will take place locally, regionally and nationally.

The IYA2009 website states, “The vision of the International Year of Astronomy (IYA2009) is to help the citizens of the world rediscover their place in the Uni-

verse through the day- and nighttime sky, and thereby engage a personal sense of wonder and discovery. All humans should realize the impact of astronomy and basic sciences on our daily lives, and understand better how scientific knowledge can contribute to a more equitable and peaceful society.” I can think of no more capable facility to engage the global community toward this end than the Tzec Maun Foundation.

Image 7

Educational Goals – How Far Can We Go? Thanks to a clear mission, vision, and resources, the Tzec Maun Foundation has built a facility that can support the most EOS Technologies 1-meter telescope prototype. inexperienced observer through an job at astronomical outreach that I can. experienced astronomer dedicated to My own instructional approach is to doing research. Quite frankly, the design, “back the students into astronomy” by incapabilities, and global reach of the Tzec spiring them first with easy-to capture, Maun facilities inspire me to do the best captivating images. To accomplish this

Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

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THE TZEC MAUN FOUNDATION step, we use the E-180 and SnapShot Astronomy and save images as JPEGs for immediate gratification.

Once the students are trained and can be “set free” to operate the telescopes on their own, I plan to continue an instructional lecture series during their SciCo meetings. Already, the students have indicated they are motivated to do discovery projects, such as light curves to detect extra-solar planet transits and perform photometry.

Despite only conducting two classroom sessions with Tzec Maun’s equipment to date, I have found that a tremendous amount of unintended learning outcomes can be achieved through astronomy. An interesting anecdote from the first session (at 8 am before school one day) highlighted such unintended outcomes. I explained that an easy way for students to remember the time at the Australian observatory is to “flip the clock” from pm to am and add three hours.

Everything was ok until the science teacher observed correctly that a teachable moment was at hand and he added, “But it’s the next day.” From here, a discussion on time zones and UTC took place in a very practical way.

Once the students push hard enough and display the necessary motivation to undertake basic research projects, we will be guided by Robert K. Buchheim’s outstanding book, The Sky is Your Laboratory.

Buchheim, himself a member of the Orange County Astronomers, provides the astronomical community an excellent handbook on how amateurs can conduct research.

The Future – Bigger and Better The Tzec Maun Foundation plans on installing a one-meter telescope, equipped with the latest innovations in active optics, to support Internet astronomy for students of all levels. In 2004, Tzec Maun

Introducing the TrueRC™ astrograph series from Deep Sky Instruments RC10 (uncorrected): $4,995 (Introductory price) RC10C (corrected): $ 5,995 (Introductory price) We offer two versions in the TrueRC™ series depending on your requirements. The RC10 provides Ritchey-Chrétien performance free from coma, spherical aberration and firstorder astigmatism. The RC10C adds a corrector/field flattener to remove third-order astigmatism and flatten the field for excellent star images on even today's largest CCD cameras. Both astrographs feature optics by Star Instruments, maker of RC optics for over 30 years.

www.deepskyinstruments.com 58 Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

placed an order with EOS Technologies for a 1-meter f/8 telescope. Current plans call for placing the instrument in the former Department of Defense space tracking facility north of Cloudcroft, New Mexico. With a 50-foot dome and a mountain-top location, the observatory is virtually perfect for this instrument.

Built in the early 1960s, the observatory required substantial improvements.

Upgrades included code-required improvements, modern control systems, and lightning protection.

According to observatory director, Ron Wodaski, Tzec Maun will follow the same philosophy with the 1-meter telescope as with the other equipment.

Scheduling and red tape will be kept to a minimum. Assuming Tzec Maun continues on its path of excellence, and everything seen to date indicates this will continue, the 1-meter telescope will support the most demanding research applications.

Peterson EZ Binocular Mount Kit A binocular pipe mount that really works!

By Erik Wilcox

Erik demonstrates use of the EZ Binoc Mount

I enjoy tinkering and building things – and, if it’s related to astronomy, all the better! I’d heard about the Peterson EZ Binocular Mounting Kits before, but had never seen one in person, so was excited to get the kit and build a mount from it to review for ATT. The box arrived with all the necessary parts, verified by the enclosed list and photo of everything contained in the kit.

Also included is a rather extensive, well written instruction manual (complete with pictures) on what other materials are needed, as well as how to put everything together. To reduce the price of the kit, as well as shipping costs, the kit does not come with pipes and other parts that are easily obtained at most hardware stores.

The kit does come with all hard-to-find parts, as well as the specially drilled pipe fittings for the mount.

All the pipe and fittings that need to be purchased separately are clearly outlined in the instruction manual, and there’s also a picture. I took the manual with me to the hardware store to make sure I didn’t forget anything. The purchased pipe can be found in black, or in galvanized steel. I chose the galvanized finish because it is durable and doesn’t need to be painted.

The kit is $99 and I obtained the pipe and other materials for about $70.

I’m sure that, with a bit of shopping around, lower prices could be found on the extra parts. I purchased all the pipe

and assorted fittings from OSH, a local hardware chain, and got the barbell weights (used as counterweights) from Target.

Putting everything together was easy.

No exotic tools are needed – just a pipe wrench or some large Vise-Grips. Some paper towels and hand cleaner is also recommended. The raw pipe is dirty (especially if you choose the black pipe) and the grinding compound can be especially messy.

Patience is not my strong point and I don’t always follow directions particularly well. Luckily, putting the mount together is rather straightforward and intuitive.

The pictures and instructions included are thorough and, should you run into

Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

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PETERSON EZ BINOCULAR MOUNT KIT

Shown are most of the locally obtained parts needed for construction of the complete mount.

any problems, more information can be found on the Peterson website, at www.petersonengineering.com.

The mount relies on correct balance (though the thumbscrews incorporated in the design can add a bit more friction), so the counterweights are important. Common barbell weights with a 1-inch hole

Some assembly required…

are used for this purpose and are held in place with the included clamps and washers. Pete Peterson recommends one 5 pound weight for small binoculars, or a 5-pound weight plus two 2.5-pound weights for giant binoculars. My local Target store was out of the 5-pound weights, so I bought two 2.5-pound

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weights instead. The mount would be primarily used with my Orion 10x50s, but I tried them with the Surplus Shed KonusVue 20 x 80s as well. Both binos worked well on the mount with no further counterbalancing necessary. For very large binoculars (over 100mm?), Peterson offers the new EZ Binoc Supermount Kit. The EZ Binoc Mounting Kit can be configured for use with binoculars that have a mounting hole parallel to the optical tubes, or for those that have a mounting post perpendicular to the tubes.

Transporting the mount requires a bit of disassembly. In fact, just getting it out the door was difficult at first without removing at least one of the tripod legs.

However, after doing it a couple of times, I found it was possible to get the mount outside without any disassembly. Of course, disassembly wouldn’t ever be necessary if the mount was left outside, and the galvanized pipe should stand up to the elements well.

I mostly view standing up, but the mount seems to work very well with the viewer seated or lying down as well. With the 20x80s mounted, it was easy to point at any part of the sky, and the motions were smooth. Just grab the swing arms, and go to any place in the sky! Tightening the hand knob a bit on the fine azimuth

PETERSON EZ BINOCULAR MOUNT KIT

Assembling the tripod section of the mount.

adjustment handle gave it a nice feel for fine tuning. The long, 36-inch pipe arm that holds the counterweights provides a nice center of gravity for the mount. I

found that I could place the mount in any position, with the binoculars mounted, and they’d stay in place, hands-free.

The Peterson EZ Binoc Mount Kit is a well-designed and well-thought out system. I know of no other mount that would hold binoculars as solidly for such a low price. There’s also a sense of accomplishment in putting something together yourself from a kit and the finished mount looks impressive. Anyone who’s the least bit mechanically inclined should have no problem building a mount from this kit.

The EZ Binoc Mount weighs about 20 pounds, including the counterweights, which is not at all heavy. It’s easy to pick up and move, or disassemble for transport, and using the mount is simple and intuitive. It’s obvious that Pete put a lot of thought into the design and it shows in the final product. If you’ve got binoculars that need mounting, the Peterson EZ Binoc Mounting Kit is the way to go!

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Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

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Live-Image Public Outreach Tool or Astrophotography Camera? Actually, It’s Both!

The

MallinCam

By Gary Kronk

The MallinCam Although I have taken astronomy pictures since the early 1970s, I didn’t really get the “bug” until August 2003, when my friend, Mark Brown, and I had the opportunity to photograph comets and Mars at the University of Denver’s MeyerWomble Observatory atop 14,100-foot Mt. Evans in Colorado. The astrophotography bug grew stronger still during the last half of 2004 when I had several opportunities to do some imaging of comets at the observatory of Principia College in Elsa, Illinois. These experiences gave me the opportunity to use high-quality, dedicated astrophotography CCD cameras for the first time. Although Mars was indeed impressive in 2003, comets are my passion and it was incredible to be able to image these objects when as faint as magnitude 16 and 17.

Unfortunately, my needs go beyond straightforward imaging. I belong to an astronomy club that does a lot of educational work with the public, including schools and Scouts. I had been looking into getting some sort of light intensifier after seeing one demonstrated at a star party I spoke at in 2004. So, here was the quandary: if I bought the light intensifier, the public could enjoy live views, but serious imaging would be sacrificed. If I bought a CCD camera, I could get my comet images, but would still not have a good solution for educating the public.

Enter the MallinCam Although I had seen a video integrating imaging system demonstrated as early as 2002, and admit that I was very excited, I was also disappointed by the graininess of the image. Images produced

by a more advanced version that I saw during the summer of 2004 were more impressive, but still fell short of what I was willing to spend money on. Then, during October of 2005, I stumbled across a discussion on the Internet that concerned imaging comets with the MallinCam Pro. I did not know anyone with this camera, but was able to find video footage on the Internet that provided a good indication of the quality of live images I could expect of comets and other objects and I bought the black and white MallinCam Pro early in December 2005.

The MallinCam Pro is a hand-built camera produced by Rock Mallin in Canada. The camera is built around the Sony ICX428ALL CCD Image Sensor, which has a total of 410,000 pixels.

Mallin uses Grade 1 components, which are the best available. He uses Class 1 Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

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THE MALLINCAM The peak spectral response of the MallinCam Hyper is between orange (590 nm) and red (650 nm), but its spectral response still allows 60 percent and better of all colors between violet and deep red.

Having previously only done 35mm/DSLR and Philips ToUCam Spectral Response of the Sony ICX428ALL CCD Image Sensor. imaging through my CCD sensors, but buys them in small telescopes, I was not prepared for another quantities and hand-selects them to make type of camera system. Here I had this sure each has no more than five hot pixels. great camera that I was eager to use, but What might be the true heart of the sysno way to attach it to my telescope! Writtem, however, is the custom-manufacing to Jack Huerkamp, Rock Mallin’s tured high-gain circuitry, which allows MallinCam distributor in the United shorter exposure times and less noise than States, brought a quick e-mail reply telling many other video systems on the market. me what I needed to make the camera re-

ally shine: a Celestron Visual Back to secure the MallinCam and a Meade f/3.3 Focal Reducer to widen the field of view.

With Christmas fast approaching, these necessary parts did not arrive until the end of the month. Sadly, a period of bad weather pretty much ate up the following four weeks and it was not until January 25, 2006, that I finally had “first light” with the MallinCam Pro. First Light With the telescope basically pointing to a random star field, I had the MallinCam connected to a laptop computer in my backyard. Believe it or not, I wasn’t sure which object to image first.

M42 was a tempting target, but I decided to go for something fainter. I moved the telescope to M1, the Crab Nebula and…I was stunned! I had seen this object dozens of times since my very first glimpse through a 60-mm refractor on January 25, 1974. Not even my 13.1-inch Dobsonian had shown the structure that the MallinCam Pro was revealing through my much smaller 8-inch Meade LX-200! (By the way, I did not realize I had imaged the Crab Nebula on the 32nd anniversary of my first visual observation of that object until I was writing this article!)

Although the live image was quite striking, I decided to capture a few AVI movies to see what would happen when I processed them using Registax. Following M1, I captured movies of the Horsehead Nebula, M81, M82, M31, and M33. Although there was a mild graininess to the live images, as well as continual minor distortions due to the atmosphere, Registax stacked movies of 800 to 1000 frames, removed the grain, and created excellent images. During the next four weeks I imaged nearly 90 of the Messier objects and nearly 200 NGC objects.

I imaged my first comet during my second session with the MallinCam Pro, six days after first light. Comet C/2005 E2 (McNaught) appeared on the screen Continued on page 67

64 Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

THE MALLINCAM

Image 1: A single, live frame of M1

Image 2: A 26-frame stack of M1 obtained about a month after Image 1

Image 3: A single, live frame of M33

Image 4: This 50-frame stack of M33 was obtained on the same night as Image 4

Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

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THE MALLINCAM

Mosaic of C2006A1 (Pojmanski) Image 5

Images 6 & 7: These are the best images I have obtained of M51. Removing the focal reducer and implementing the 12-second integration has produced excellent results.

66 Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

THE MALLINCAM Continued from page 64

with a diffuse tail extending southward.

As I sat there, I wished I could take a crack at a brighter comet. My wish surprisingly came true just over a month later, when I imaged comet C/2006 A1 (Pojmanski) on March 3. As I imaged the region around the head, it was obvious there were several rays leaving the comet, while the tail extended out of the field. I decided to create a mosaic image by moving the telescope up the tail. The final result was a six-image portrait showing a tail that forked in a couple of places.

Time Out for an Upgrade Following a session of imaging in early June 2006, I e-mailed Rock Mallin to see if I could have my MallinCam Pro upgraded to include a Peltier cooler. I had noticed as I was using the camera in May and June that warm pixels would show up the longer I had the camera turned on since the weather was getting warmer. So, I mailed my camera to Canada for some work.

I got the camera back near the end of September. The Peltier cooler was definitely installed, but I soon noticed another modification: my camera had essentially been upgraded to a prototype of the MallinCam Hyper, which meant that it now had a switch to select 6- and 12-second integration times. The production models of the MallinCam Hyper have a “hyper circuit” that allows integration times of 7, 14, 28, and 56 seconds.

But, the more modest (and unexpected) addition has taken my camera to a whole new level.

In the year and a half since having the MallinCam Hyper prototype, I have experimented in a number of ways. The integration settings have enabled me to obtain many striking images without using the f/3.3 focal reducer. Although comets are still the primary objects that I pursue, I am suddenly having an incredible time imaging galaxies and diffuse nebulae. As indicated earlier, the camera’s

spectral response definitely favors nebulae. Some of my favorite objects have been the Veil Nebula, the Rosette Nebula, the Lagoon Nebula, and the Orion Nebula.

The live images of these particular objects are wonderful, especially while sweeping up and down and back and forth across their expanses. One of my current projects is to construct multiple-image mosaics of these objects.

Valuable Software Tools In the course of using this camera, there have been a few programs that I have found to be invaluable. The first is Registax. This free program proved itself several years ago when it made simple web cams shine as incredible planetary cameras. The second invaluable program is GradientXTerminator ($49.95). This is a plug-in tool for Adobe PhotoShop which very simply and quickly removes vignetting. The last program is Neat Image (versions range from $29.90 to $74.90).

This is a fantastic program for noise reduction in digital images. It cleans up the MallinCam images, as well as the images obtained with my Canon DSLRs.

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Unexpected Bonus The River Bend Astronomy Club meets at my house once each month.

Since purchasing the MallinCam, it has been fun sitting around a computer monitor sharing live views of deep sky objects and comets with my friends. One longtime member, Jaime Goggin, and I enjoy looking up a comet or two at each meeting using his 12-inch Dobsonian. We have a great time studying each comet and recording our visual impressions. Then, we go to the MallinCam-powered 8-inch and get a better view of the comet. Usually, our visual impressions of coma size and tail direction are confirmed by the MallinCam. So, the video system is also great as a tool for confirming visual observations and boosting one's confidence at the eyepiece when seeking out faint detail in diffuse objects!

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ASTRO TIPS tips, tricks and novel solutions A Souped Up LYBAR Chair We’ve enjoyed a number of practical innovations created by Craig Stark of Stark Labs, including his Collimator Collimator that was featured in this column in the January 2008 issue of ATT. Among our other favorites is his “LYBAR” chair. The acronym stands for “lift your butt and rotate” and that’s all the instruction needed to quickly adjust seat height to one of three convenient settings. For more on the original LYBAR chair, please visit www.stark-labs.com/craig.

We took Craig’s concept one step farther and added…well, a step. Our version of the LYBAR chair enclosed one side of the structure, originally to form a stable platform for our shorter public outreach event guests to stand on when trying to reach a too high eyepiece. We soon found that this platform orientation added a very useful fourth seat height as well. We constructed our version out of 3/4-inch plywood and designed it to provide seat heights of 28, 22, and 18 inches, a range that works well for seated viewing with a 4-inch refractor. The platform adds a fourth seating or standing height of 12 inches.

Other refinements include cutouts that form four feet on each of the two “ends” and others that provide for convenient handhold positions for lifting and rotating the thing (at least they’re convenient now that we’ve literally riddled the thing with handhold holes!).

Since constructing our LYBAR chair, we’ve discovered that it also makes an effective sawhorse and even a competent household/shop step-stool and workbench. Ours wasn’t quite as cheap and easy to

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

12-inch Platform/Seat

18-inch Seat

22-inch Seat

28-inch Seat

construct as Craig’s original, but we still managed to build the thing in less than two hours and spent only the cost of a half-sheet of 3/4-inch plywood and a handful of screws. We plan to try 1/2-inch ply for the next one to cut weight a bit (the 3/4-inch version weighs 20 pounds) and to paint it in an earth-tone hue to better conceal the dirt and battle scars that naturally accumulate on the thing in the field.

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