June08 by Astronomy Technology Today

ASTRONOMY

TECHNOLOGY TODAY Your Complete Guide to Astronomical Equipment

LIGHTWEDGE NIGHT VISION • ASTRONOMIK LRGB TYPE IIC FILTERS JMI 14.5-INCH F/4 REVERSE BINOCULARS • BAADER HYPERION EYEPIECES CONFESSIONS OF A CHRISTMAS TRASH SCOPE

How Optical Mechanics Volume 2 • Issue 6 June 2008 $5.00 US

Built a TEXAS Size Dob!

Contents Industry News

Cover Story Images - 33 The cover of this issue of ATT pictures Jimi Lowrey ready to test the massive, 48-inch Dobsonian installed in April of this year in his Ft. Davis, Texas, observatory. A truly international project, the all metal telescope was designed and constructed by Optical Mechanics, Inc. (OMI) of Iowa City, Iowa, to support a 700 pound Astro-Sitall primary mirror supplied by Yuri Petrunin of Telescope Engineering Company (TEC) of Golden Colorado and fabricated by LOMO of Russia. Its 8-inch secondary was fashASTRONOMY TECHNOLOGY TODAY ioned by Howard Johnson Optical Labs from fused quartz supplied by TEC. This exceptionally large telescope required an observatory of equal scale and is shown shortly after assembly in the 32-foot by 32-foot roll-off-roof observatory located adjacent Lowrey’s home, just down the hill from the MacDonald Observatory complex. The large Dobsonian is designed specifically for visual observation and features such amenities as ServoCAT and Argo Navis for accurate go-to and tracking. Early observations through the telescope indicate that it has exceeded Lowrey’s expectations in every regard. The design, construction and installation of the telescope How Optical Mechanics will be the subject of a presentation by James Mulherin of Built a TEXAS Size Dob! OMI scheduled for the 2008 edition of the Texas Star Party.

12 OPTICAL WAVE LABORATORIES Introduces Cast Cellular Mirror Blanks at NEAF

Your Complete Guide to Astronomical Equipment

NIGHT VISION LIGHTWEDGE • ASTRONOMIK LRGB TYPE IIC FILTERS JMI 14.5-INCH F/4 REVERSE BINOCULARS • BAADER HYPERION EYEPIECES CONFESSIONS OF A CHRISTMAS TRASH SCOPE

Volume 2 • Issue 6 June 2008 $5.00 US

In This Issue 8 Editor’s Note Finding Articles in the Dark By Gary Parkerson 11 Upcoming Events Rocky Mountain Star Stare, Green Bank Star Quest, Julian Starfest, Bryce Canyon Astronomy Festival, Far Out Fridays, Southern California Astronomy Expo, 2008 Midwest Astro-Imaging Conference, EPOCH 2008 By Dave Miller 31 The “Barbarella” 48-Inch Dobsonian How Optical Mechanics Built a Texas Size Dob! By James Mulherin 43 The LightWedge Night Vision The LightWedge and S&T’s Pocket Sky Atlas - A Heavenly Match By Penny Distasio

47 JMI 14.5-inch f/4 Reverse Binoculars What Happens When You View Through Twin Telescopes - One for Each Eye! By Tony Hallas 53 Astronomik LRGB Type IIc Filters A Superior Choice for Your Astronomical Imaging Requirements By David Snay 59 Confessions of a Christmas Trash Scope The Bane of Amateur Astronomers World-wide! By Richard S. Wright, Jr. 63 Baader Hyperion Eyepieces I Love Wide-Field Eyepieces! By Erik Wilcox 68 Astro Tips, Tricks, and Novel Solutions Wilcox Rings – Not Just for Newtonians Anymore!

13 TELESCOPE STABILITY SYSTEMS New Source for Telescope Mounting Platforms 14 BOB’S KNOBS Announces Custom Knobs 14 DENKMEIER OPTICAL Announces a New Innovation Under Code Name “BIPH” 15 OCEANSIDE PHOTO AND TELESCOPE New ProPlanet Dobsonians 15 DURANGO SKIES OBSERVATORY SOLUTIONS Now Offering Pier-Tech Domes 15 TETON TELESCOPES Introduces Intes-Micro 12.5-inch f/9 Ritchey-Chrétien 16 TMB OPTICAL Charles Back, TMB Optical President, Announces Reintroduction of TMB 16 EARTHWIN OPTICAL New Specialty Optical Systems Company

17 DEEP SKY INSTRUMENTS To Produce the RC10, a 10-inch R-C for Under $5,000 Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

Contributing Writers

Contents New Products

Penny Distasio has worked for Meade Instruments as a dealer support rep, and even did a stint at the McDonald Observatory Visitor's Center in Fort Davis, Texas, but her main connection in the world of astronomy continues to be Oceanside Photo & Telescope, where she has worked for the past twenty years. Penny also writes articles for the Oceanside Photo & Telescope Astronomical Society's quarterly newsletter, Arc Minutes. She lives with her husband, Tony, and their two cats, Abbey & Pippin, in Vista, California. Tony Hallas has been interested in photography since childhood and pursued a professional career by obtaining a BA degree in that discipline, later founding a custom photo lab in Ventura County, CA. About 20 years ago Tony discovered astronomy and astrophotography. Once he retired from his lab business, he moved to northern California to set up a backyard observatory in the foothills of the Sierra near the town of Auburn. He remains active in astrophotography and has recently become a large binocular enthusiast.

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.

18 UNIVERSAL ASTRONOMICS New Innovative Mount Options 19 STARIZONA Virtual View SCT Visual Back 21 PLANEWAVE INSTRUMENTS New Corrected Dall-Kirkahm Line: the CDK17 21 IOPTRON CORPORATION New MiniTower 23 ASTRO-PHYSICS 130-mm f/6.3 Starfire EDF Gran Turismo 23 SBIG New STX Series Cameras

James Mulherin is the President and Head Optician of Optical Mechanics, Inc. whose techniques for polishing optics and mirrors are the core of OMI's expertise. James is also a key member of OMI's professional observatory telescope development and installation team. James started the company after earning a Bachelor of Science in physics with minors in German and mathematics from the University of Iowa in 1991. James is an avid amateur astronomer who enjoys visual observing and attending regional star parties.

David Snay is a retired software engineer living in central Massachusetts. He graduated from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and has been an astronomer and astrophotographer for more than 10 years. David currently pursues fine art photography, specializing in traditional black/white images.

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.

Richard S. Wright, Jr. is a software developer and author living outside Orlando, Florida, and still dreams of having his own backyard observatory. Now on his fifth telescope, a computer driven GPS SCT, he dares anyone to call him “Go-to Boy”. He still doesn’t own a pair of binoculars.

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24 TAKAHASHI New FSQ-85ED Baby “Q” 24 TELE VUE OPTICS New 100° Ethos: the 8 mm 27 ADIRONDACK ASTRONOMY New ASTROVID FireballCam 27 KENDRICK ASTRO INSTRUMENTS New FireLite Controller and FireLite Camera Cozy 28 ORION TELESCOPES AND BINOCULARS New EON Line of Premium Apos

28 ASTRONOMY TECHNOLOGIES Two New R-Cs: Astro-Tech 8-inch f/9 and 6-inch f/9

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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.

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Stellar Piers www.stellarpiers.com page 60 Stellar Technologies International www.stellar-international.com page 49 Stellarvue www.stellarvue.com page 50 Surplus Shed www.surplusshed.com page 10 Telescope Stability Systems www.telescopestabilitysystems.com page 11 Tele Vue Optics www.televue.com page 70, 71 Thousand Oaks Optical www.thousandoaksoptical.com page 44 Van Slyke Instruments www.observatory.org page 25 Vixen Optics www.vixenoptics.com page 3 William Optics www.williamoptics.com page 2 Woodland Hills Telescopes www.whtelescopes.com page 12 ZCO www.zco.com page 66 Zeke’s Seats www.zekesseats.com page 41

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ASTRONOMY

TECHNOLOGY TODAY

Volume 2 • Issue 6 June 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.

Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

Editor’s

Note Gary Parkerson, Managing Editor

Finding Articles in the Dark A Chance Encounter Each year, a thicket of telescopes grows out of the berm that parallels the beach of West Summerland Key when the Winter Star Party is in session. I wander through them in the dark, alert for chances to peek through the many remarkable instruments assembled there and hoping to identify potential subjects for future issues of ATT. I was doing just that when an unusual scene caught my attention – a fellow seated in front of a laptop that was obviously tied to the scope next to him. No, computers are hardly unusual telescope accessories these days and seeing folks with their attention fixed on glowing monitors rather than eyepieces is commonplace. But, this gentleman’s attention never waivered from his computer and his telescope showed no evidence of imaging gear. Curious, I introduced myself and asked what he was about. Richard Wright explained that he was a software engineer and working on final touches to a Mac version of one of Software Bisque’s

popular programs – thus his unusual focus on his Mac laptop. Our short visit resulted in, among other surprises, a promise by Richard that he would submit an article of unspecified topic and, as committed, he delivered it a month later. Now, given the circumstances under which we met, I could only imagine what highly technical, esoteric topic this engineer would choose to cover. Instead, and to my delight, the article Richard delivered covers an experience that many of us have shared: introduction to the tools of astronomy with the gift of a proverbial department store “junk” scope. Like many of you, my journey to practical astronomy began with the gift of a plastic laden 60-mm, f/15 refractor on a too shaky mount, complete with dubious eyepieces, a very dangerous solar filter, and promises of full-color deep-sky views at magnifications up to 650x! What delights me most about Richard’s article is the realization that, had he not been given that Christmas Trash Scope, he probably would not have been sitting before a laptop on the berm at WSP tweaking code of astronomy software, just as, had I not been given a similar instrument, this magazine would not exist – at least not in its present form (it would, most likely, have been a golf equipment technology journal instead, to better reflect the interests of its publisher). NEAF 2008 Highlights One of the highlights for me of NEAF 2008 was meeting Richard Wright for the second time there, where I found him demonstrating Software Bisque’s Seeker 3D. We did not recognize each other, since we hadn’t actually been able to see each other in the enviable darkness of the WSP site, so it was much like meeting for the first time (he also appeared much

younger in person than the fellow in the photograph that accompanied his article, (included here). While NEAF is primarily about astronomy products, for many of us, the greatest joy of attending and exhibiting there is the chance to see old friends in person again and to meet new friends, including a surprising number of you. We devoted more than 20 pages of the May 2007 issue of ATT to detailed coverage of NEAF exhibits and exhibitors, but have chosen not to do that this year. Instead, selected products first seen there, and other newsworthy exhibitor announcements, appear in the New Products and Industry News sections of this issue. For detailed coverage of NEAF itself, we invite you to visit Tom Trusock’s excellent Cloudy Nights NEAF Travelogue at www.cloudynights.com. A NEAF 2008 first was Cloudy Nights’ live webcast of the event, including interviews of many of the industry’s most notable personalities. If you missed that live coverage, selected webcast interview recordings have also been posted on Cloudy Nights and I highly recommend that you take the time to experience them. The Cloudy Nights all-volunteer team simply did an amazing job of covering the event. Giant “Dobs” We’re very pleased to feature OMI’s recent construction and installation of a supremely sophisticated 48-inch telescope for Jimi Lowrey of Ft. Davis, Texas. John Dobson’s original concept has evolved to such refinements that I often find myself reluctant to assign the label “Dob” to commercially offered alt-az, large aperture telescopes, of which this latest OMI creation is one of the finest examples. But, if for no other reason than that “Dob” is much easier to say and write than “large aperture alt-az go-to/tracking telescope,” I’ll continue to use that label. We hope you enjoy James Mulherin’s description of that project, as well as the rest of this issue of ATT. May 2008 Corrections We committed two errors in identifying contributing writers in the May 2008 issue of ATT. First, we misspelled Mike Harden’s name as “Hardin.” Similarly, while we correctly identified Gene Hunter as the author of our May 2008 Astro Tip in the Contents and Contributing Writers pages, we incorrectly identified him as “Greg Hunter” in the article itself. Sorry guys!

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.

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The Companies And Organizations That Have Made Our Magazine Possible!

20/20 Telescopes and Binoculars www.2020telescopes.com page 54

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Starlight Instruments www.starlightinstruments.com page 16

Alvin Huey Observing Guides www.faintfuzzies.com page 12

Amateur Astronomy Magazine www.amateurastronomy.com page 45 APM Telescopes www.apm-telescopes.de page 20

Farpoint Astronomical Research www.farpointastro.com page 56 Glatter Collimation www.collimator.com page 27 Great Red Spot Astronomy www.greatredspot.com page 55

Astro Domes www.astrodomes.com page 54

Half Hitch Telescopes www.halfhitchtelescopes.com page 67

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AstroPhoto Insight Magazine www.skyinsight.net page 45 Astro Physics www.astro-physics.com page 9, 64

Jack’s Astro Accessories www.waningmoonii.com page 13 JMI Telescopes www.jmitelescopes.com page 26 Kendrick Astro Instruments www.kendrickastro.com page 44

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Scope City www.scopecity.com page 14 ScopeGuard www.scopeguard.com page 32

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Meade Instruments www.meade.com page 4, 69

Catseye Collimation www.catseyecollimation.com page 33

MoonLite Telescope Accessories www.focuser.com page 42

Celestron www.celestron.com page 30

Obsession Telescopes www.obsessiontelescopes.com page 46

Shrouds By Heather www.teeterstelescopes.com/shrouds page 23

DayStar Filters www.daystarfilters.com page 58

Oceanside Photo and Telescope www.optcorp.com page 28

SkyShed Observatories www.skyshed.com page 67

ScopeStuff www.scopestuff.com page 60

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NEWPRODUCTS

UNIVERSAL ASTRONOMICS Introduces Two New Innovative Mount Options Among the many alt-az telescope/binoview to best display the context of the object’s cular mount options exhibited by Universal setting and the other a high magnification Astronomics (UA) at NEAF 2008, there were view for detailed study of the object. To two new prototypes that promise peculiar be able to switch from scope to scope without functionality. having to recenter the object with each The first was dubbed by UA owner, switch should meaningfully enhance the Larry Patriarca, as the “Double Star Mount” experience and that’s what the DSM is (DSM). At first designed to do. glance, the DSM The second UA appeared to be an innovation was a ordinary, large capacunique wheelchair ity, dual-scope alt-az accessible, three axis mounting. But, on alt-az mount that was closer examination, specifically designed the mount’s unique to permit a wheeldesign revealed the chair bound observer ability to accurately to easily re-aim the and firmly align both mounted telescope or Close-up of the UA-DSM Prototype. telescopes with each binoculars without other so that the same target is perfectly cenhaving to reposition her or his chair. Again, tered in both. this may sound like a small thing, but our Now think about that for a moment. guess is that it will significantly enhance While that capability may, at first blush, the viewing enjoyment of any and all who sound like a small thing, surely it’s not! Why use it, including those who must view while else bother to mount two scopes on the same seated. alt-az mounting unless it’s to more easily Detail on pricing and specifications of study the same object through telescopes the two prototypes will be posted to offering different perspectives of that object – www.universalastronomics.com as they for example, a wide-field, low magnification become available.

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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".

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STARIZONA Introduces the Virtual View SCT Visual Back With a Twist! We were treated to lots of new products at NEAF 2008, from the most premium of telescopes to to-die-for observatories. But, some of the most impressive new items were of much more humble stature. A wonderful example is Starizona’s new rotating visual back for SCTs, an item so well designed and executed, that it was simply hard to ignore. Have you ever been to a star party with both kids and adults and wished you had an easy way to adjust the eyepiece orientation for observers of all heights? Have you ever wanted an easier way to frame your astrophotos without fumbling around with the camera adapter in the dark? Starizona has your solution. With its Virtual View rotating SCT visual back, there is no ring to adjust each time you rotate your diagonal/eyepiece. The Virtual View replaces the standard visual back on an SCT and allows one-hand adjustments. Its tension ring provides just the right amount of grip to hold your diagonal/eyepiece in place, but still allows it to move freely when you need it to. Plus, Virtual View eliminates the possibility of damage to

your equipment if someone accidentally forces rotation of the diagonal/eyepiece to get a better view. Simply loosen one of two easy to reach thumb screws and the finely machined housing provides silky-smooth rotation to any position you desire, while maintaining perfect alignment. Retighten the thumbscrew and its position is firmly held until you’re ready to reset it again. The Virtual View rotating visual back is available in configurations that fit most commercial SCTs and is priced from just $99. For more information, please visit www.starizona.com.

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FACTORY INSTALLATIONS

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NEWPRODUCTS

PLANEWAVE INSTRUMENTS Announces a New Addition to Its Corrected Dall-Kirkahm Line: the CDK17 PlaneWave Instruments unveiled its new CDK17 at NEAF 2008. Like others in the PlaneWave CDK line, this Corrected DallKirkham is based on an innovative solution for unsurpassed astroimaging quality. Invented by Dave Rowe, the purpose of the design is to provide a telescope that will excel at imaging with large format CCD cameras, while remaining superb for visual use. The CDK is designed to excel in off-axis performance. The RMS Spot sizes at the edge of a 35-mm full frame remain smaller than a single pixel of a CCD camera. The design is unique in making the optical alignment very forgiving and collimation very easy, insuring that the user will be sure to get the best performance possible out of the telescope. The end result at the image plane of the CDK design is no off-axis coma, no off-axis astigmatism, and a perfectly flat field all the way

out to the edge of a 52-mm image circle. All this means the stars will be pinpoints from the center of the field of view out to the corner of the field of view. The CDK17 features a 3.5-inch Hedrick heavy-duty, no-slip focuser. The focus tube runs on five bearings and is driven by a leadscrew, so there is no chance of slipping. It accepts an optional dial indicator and PlaneWave’s EFA Kit to control many electronic accessories. The draw tube travel is 1.3 inches. Three fans blow out of the optical tube pulling air though the telescope and by the primary mirror, allowing the telescope to equilibrate quickly. The fans are controlled by a switch on the optical tube or can be controlled by a computer with the optional Electronic Focus Accessory (EFA Kit). The CDK17 is priced at $22,000. For more information, please visit www.planewaveinstruments.com. Specifications • Aperture: 17 inches • Focal Length: 2939 mm • Focal Ratio: 6/6.8 • Central Obstruction: 39 percent • Back Focus: 8.8 inches from the focuser mounting surface, 5.8 inches from racked in focuser • Weight: 94 pounds • OTA Length: 37 inches

IOPTRON CORPORATION Announces the MiniTower Seen first at NEAF 2008 was iOptron’s new MiniTower, designed to be the observing solution for those needing a capable and portable go-to mount to counter light pollution and for travel convenience. The MiniTower is designed to provide a standard payload capacity of 25 pounds with its 1.5-inch alloy/stainless steel tripod, metal worm and gear and two dovetail adapters, making it capable of handling the majority of telescope OTAs produced. Its payload capacity can even be further increased by using available heavy-duty accessories. The MiniTower system forms a surprisingly compact and portable package. With all standard components (excluding tripod) packaged in an alloy metal case, the MiniTower easily meets airline carry-on restrictions, and the entire system is designed to take no more than 10 minutes to assemble. Its unique portability, combined with the internal GPS, provides extreme flex-

ibility in selecting observing locations. Equipped with the SmartStar go-to technology, the MiniTower is designed to be a powerful and accurate go-to mount. The standard 8401 hand controller offers the navigation experience with an 8-line LCD back-lit display, a 130,000 object database, and a USB port for easy connection with ASCOM compliant PC planetarium programs. With a typical go-to accuracy of 1 arc minute and the SmartStar precision auto-tracking, the MiniTower is designed to consistently bring the celestial object of your choice to the center of the eye-piece and keep tracking for hours. The MiniTower offers additional features such as automatic over-current protection, automatic clutch protection for both axes, easy 3-point level adjustment, dual-scope setup with two dovetails, and much more. For more information, please visit www.ioptron.com. Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

NEWPRODUCTS

ASTRO-PHYSICS

SANTA BARBARA INSTRUMENT GROUP

130-mm f/6.3 Starfire EDF Gran Turismo

Announces New STX Series Cameras

Astro-Physics introduced the much anticipated prototype of its new triplet apochromatic 130-mm f/6.3 EDF Gran Turismo refractor at NEAF 2008. The new compact, lightweight tube assembly can be disassembled into three parts to easily fit into carry-on luggage. They have also incorporated a rotating focuser collar that enables the user to quickly frame photos for optimal, artistic composition. The dedicated 2.7-inch Prime Focus Field Flattener will provide pinpoint images across the field. The 130 StarFire EDF Gran Turismo can be disassembled to fit into a case for airline transport. Custom covers are provided for all of the ends to protect the lens and other components. It is shown in its most portable configuration in a custom case by ScopeGuard. The triplet lens is the same extraordinary quality that you have come to expect from Astro-Physics. It will feature the latest multicoating technology that they have used for thier 160-mm and 140-mm StarFires in recent years. Production is well underway with the first deliveries of the Gran Turismo expected in May or June. For more information visit www.astro-physics.com

SBIG has announced the new STX family of cameras. The STX series offers enhanced features including greater cooling, faster download rates, better guiding, new imaging CCD options, a new tracking CCD, dual-interface, and more. The STX provides users with internal and external self-guiding, simultaneous dual-CCD guiding, differential guiding (patent pending), continuous guiding during download, adaptive-optics control, and a focus mechanism for the tracking CCD. The internal and external guiders can be operated simultaneously for both fast and slow corrections to handle differential deflection. Guiding will continue during downloads and auto-grab sequences. The new 10100 color CCD can be binned 2x2 without losing color information, giving the camera 2.5 megapixels at 9.5 microns, or 10.1 megapixels at 4.75 microns. Additional features include: USB 2.0 and Ethernet Connections Both USB 2.0 and Ethernet will be available on each STX camera – the user will not have to choose the interface at the time or purchase. 12VDC Operation - The STX cameras will feature the same convenient 12C AUX port used on the ST and STL cameras for power and control of accessories and will operate from any unregulated 12vdc source. Full-Frame Image Buffer - The STX series cameras will feature a full-frame image buffer for storing image data during download. SBIG is

exploring using this buffer for pre-processing pixel defects based on a defect map provided by the CCD manufacturer, at the user’s direction. Improved Cooling – SBIG engineers have modeled an optimum cooling design for the STX series using a large custom pin grid array heat sink mated directly to the hot side of the two-stage TE cooler to achieve maximum heat dissipation with a single large fan. The STX is designed to achieve a minimum delta of -50C with air only. The series is also watercooling ready. Variable Speed Fan Control – If the user desires air cooling only, fan speed is controllable through software. Variable speed control allows the user to “tune” the fan to eliminate any resonance with the user’s telescope system, thus suppressing harmonic vibrations. Desiccant Plus Gas Purge Ports – To provide greatest flexibility in the field and to avoid return of the camera to purge the CCD chamber with inert gas, SBIG designed the chamber to accept both a rechargeable desiccant plug and an optional quick disconnect gas purge port for purging with Argon or other inert gas. Even-illumination Shutter – A new shutter design will be introduced with the STX series that reduces overall size and weight of the camera body, while maintaining even illumination on short exposures with large CCDs. For information on CCDs supported by the STX series and other developments in this new SBIG line, please visit www.sbig.com.

Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

NEWPRODUCTS

TAKAHASHI

TELE VUE OPTICS

Introduces the New FSQ-85ED Baby “Q”

Introduces a New 100° Ethos: the 8 mm

Takahashi has introduced the Takahashi FSQ-85ED, the newest and smallest member of the FSQ Series of flat-field astrographs. Designed from the ground up for digital imaging, the Takahashi Baby “Q” is a go anywhere, portable astrograph, easily airline transportable at 12.68 inches (322 mm) collapsed. The FSQ-85ED weighs less than 9 pounds, so a smaller, high-quality mounting will support it easily. The FSQ-85ED optics are the same premium, Takahashi double ED 4-element system used in the larger FSQ-106ED astrograph and produce the same flat-field color-free images. The image circle will accommodate a medium format CCD or DSLR camera, producing highquality images of deep-sky objects with a large, flat-field 60-mm, 5.6 degree image circle. The Takahashi FSQ-85ED also features a newly

Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

designed focuser with built-in fine focus. This 72-mm focuser is specifically designed to support CCD and DSLR cameras with great rigidity. A built-in camera rotator (camera angle adjuster) allows the camera to be rotated 360 degrees without loss of critical focus. Not only is the Baby “Q” a first rate astrograph, it is also designed to provide excellent visual images and, with over 200 mm of back focus, it can easily accommodate binoviewers. Color correction from the near UV to the near IR insures tight stellar images across the entire color range. A newly designed Extender-ED (1.5x) is available to increase focal length for high-power viewing. For more information on the new FSQ-85ED, please consult your favorite Takahashi dealer.

As many are already aware, Tele Vue unveiled a second member of the Ethos family at NEAF 2008: an 8-mm version. In addition to matching all key performance criteria of the 13-mm Ethos, the new 8mm is parfocal in 1.25-inch focusers with Tele Vue Radians, Plossls, Type 6 Naglers, and 1.25inch Panaoptics. Further, its lighter weight and smaller diameter than the 13-mm Ethos makes the 8-mm even more suitable for binoviewer applications. The 8-mm Ethos is also perfect for spotting scope application when matched with the Tele Vue 60 degree 1.25-inch diagonal. When compared to the Tele Vue 8- to 24-mm Zoom eyepiece, the 8-mm Ethos matches the power of the 8-mm Zoom setting while maintaining 83 percent of the true field of view of its 24-mm setting. An important benefit of the combination of ultra-large apparent field of view and shorter focal length is that, for a given field of sky, higher magnification results in a significantly darker sky background. Fainter stars become more readily visible and more detail is seen on all deep-sky objects. The 8-mm Ethos provides another big magnification/contrast jump, yielding exceptional views simply not previously possible in any telescope. And with the smaller exit pupil, eyesight limitations are minimized. The 8-mm Ethos delivers an apparent field of view that is 50 percent larger in area than 82° Naglers, distortion correction, high contrast and on-axis sharpness for planetary viewing, all while maintaining comfortable eye-relief. It also accepts the Tele Vue DIOPTRX eyesight astigmatism correctors. Anticipated availability of the new 8-mm Ethos is July 2008. For more information, please visit www.televue.com.

NEWPRODUCTS

ADIRONDACK ASTRONOMY Offers New ASTROVID FireballCam The new Adirondack Astronomy ASTROVID FireballCam is the first commercially offered imaging system for capturing transient luminous events. The FireballCam facilitates real-time video capture of flaming fireballs, meteors and new classes of atmospheric objects, such as sprites, elves and blue jets, collectively known as transient luminous events (TLE). These extraordinary events, first discovered in the 1990s, can now also be captured and studied using the ASTROVID FireballCam system. The FireballCam is weather-proofed for use outside the year round. All components are enclosed in a housing that is both heated and fan cooled, allowing imaging in extreme temperature conditions, from the coldest days of winter to the warmest days of summer. The fast auto-iris lens used in the FireballCam covers a sufficient area of the sky

to capture the maximum number of meteors and other phenomena. The FireballCam can also be used throughout the day as the lens constantly adjusts with the changing light conditions. Output can go to any camcorder, television, digital recorder or VCR. It is also possible with optional equipment to input the data into a computer and analyze the events. The ASTROVID FireballCam system includes a highly sensitive monchrome camera, sensitive low-light auto-iris lens, heated/cooled housing, integrated dome, a three-hole mounting bracket, integrated housing power

supply and wall transformer, and 25 feet of video cable (BNC to RCA) and connectors. Introductory pricing of the FireballCam is $1,095. Visit Adirondack Astronomy at www.astrovid.com for more information.

KENDRICK ASTRO INSTRUMENTS New FireLite Controller and FireLite Camera Cozy The FireLite Controller is the newest addition of controller lines representing a new family of controllers and heaters for Kendrick. It is designed for astronomers and astrophotographers who want the ultimate in lightweight, compact, grab-and-go gear, and is ideal for use with small scopes and DSLR cameras. Kendrick considers this a “new family” because the compact design of the FireLite Controller required the use of a totally new connector, necessitating a new line of heaters that Kendrick has designated FireLite Heaters. Its size restricts the FireLite Controller to a maximum load capacity of 1.5 amps with room for two FireLite Heaters only. The FireLite Controller features an incremental 20 percent duty cycle heater control, an LED power on indicator, low voltage cut-off control, 12VDC operation, the simplicity of one button control, and fuse and reverse polarity protection. The Controller, which weighs a mere 60 grams and measures 57 mm by 34 mm by 11 mm. Kendrick’s new FireLite Camera-Cozy is

an inexpensive, lightweight solution to dew prevention for anyone doing astrophotography with a DSLR Camera. It includes everything you need to keep your camera dry: the FireLite controller, a camera lens heater (for lenses up to 3 inches in diameter) and the DSLR Body Sock. The body sock, shown above, is not heated, but is constructed of cloth covered, waterproof neoprene. The sock also has two pockets, one to hold the controller and a second to hold the shutter remote control. The loose fitting sock, which is anchored over the camera lens, can be easily lifted over the camera body to give access to the LCD Display, buttons, plugs and camera controls. The Camera-Cozy Body Sock may also be purchased separately, without the heater and controller. For more information, please visit www.kendrickastro.com. Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

NEWPRODUCTS

ORION TELESCOPES AND BINOCULARS Announces the New EON Line of Premium Apos Orion Telescopes & Binoculars has announced a new family of ED Apos branded the “EON” line and initially available in apertures of 72 mm, 80 mm, and 120 mm. The EON 72ED Apochromatic Refractor (pictured) is designed to provide an ultra-portable, premium platform for visual use or imaging, day or night. Its 430-mm focal length and f/ 6 speed make it ideal for long-exposure astrophotography. The 72-mm doublet lens is made with FPL-51 “ED” glass that virtually eliminates chromatic aberration. The EON 72ED also features a 2-inch Crayford focuser with dual-speed 11:1 fine-focus ratio, removable 2-inch to 1.25-inch adapter, a retractable lens shade, standard dovetail mounting bar, aluminum objective lens cover, and a custom carrying case. At just 12.5 inches long

with lens shade fully retracted, this is truly a carry anywhere telescope. The EON 72ED weighs just 5 pounds 3 ounces and is priced at $499.95. The EON 80ED Apochromatic Refractor features fast f/6.25 (500-mm focal length) optics and all-machined, premium mechanics to produce an excellent imaging telescope. Like that of its smaller sibling, the 80-mm doublet lens is crafted with FPL-53 “ED” glass and the scope features a rotatable dual-speed 2-inch Crayford focuser. The EON 80ED provides 23 percent more light grasp than the EON 72ED, yet is still very portable at just 15.5 inches long. It also features a retractable lens shade, dovetail mounting bar, finder scope base, and custom carrying case. The EON 80ED weighs just 6 pounds 8 ounces and is priced at $649.95.

The largest member of the EON family is the EON 120ED Apochromatic Refractor with 120-mm doublet lens also crafted with FPL-53 “ED” and a focal length of 900 mm (f/7.5) which provides excellent magnification and resolving power. Its machined aluminum 2-inch Crayford focuser also features dual-speed focus knobs with 11:1 fine-focus ratio and retractable lens shade, tube rings and mounting plate, finder scope base, and a custom carrying case. The EON 120ED weighs 14 pounds 9 ounces and is priced at $1,995.95. For more information on each of the new Orion EON Apos, please visit www.telescope.com.

ASTRONOMY TECHNOLOGIES Introduces Two New R-Cs: Astro-Tech 8-inch f/9 and 6-inch f/9 Astronomy Technologies has announced two new true RitcheyChrétiens: a 6-inch f/9 priced at just $1,295 and an 8-inch f/9 price at $2,995. Astro-Tech is able to produce these truly affordable R-C options by combining the advances of modern computerized mirror grinding technology capable of making complex hyperbolic mirrors to the high surface accuracy needed, with the cost economies of scale of large quantities of quartz mirror blanks and carbon fiber optical tubes. The AT6RC Ritchey-Chrétien astrograph features a 6-inch, f/9, 1370-mm focal length, true R-C hyperbolic mirror optical design with 1/12th or better BK-7 mirrors, enhanced aluminum 96 percent reflectivity optical coatings, a 2-inch dualspeed, 10:1 reduction Crayford focuser, compression ring eyepiece holders and a Vixen-style dovetail plate. The optical tube is constructed of aluminum, with die-cast and machined aluminum front and rear cells, and sophisticated, contrast-

Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

enhancing baffles for truly dark image backgrounds. The AT8RC Ritchey-Chrétien astrograph features an 8-inch, f/9, 1928-mm focal length, true Ritchey-Chrétien hyperbolic mirror optical design with low thermal expansion quartz primary and secondary mirrors, 99 percent reflectivity non-tarnishing dielectric mirror coatings, a high strength/low thermal expansion carbon fiber optical tube, a genuine Feather Touch dualspeed Crayford focuser, and Vixen-style dovetail plate. The low thermal expansion quartz primary and secondary mirrors are

polished to 1/12th wave or better surface accuracy. Unlike designs that move the primary mirror fore and aft in the optical tube to focus (which can lead to image shift as the mirror position changes) the AT8RC primary mirror is fixed to eliminate image shift and focus changes. The secondary mirror is mounted in a four-vane spider and is fully collimatable using simple standard SchmidtCassegrain collimating techniques. Unlike more complicated R-C designs that use motors to move the secondary mirror fore and aft to focus, the AT8RC secondary mirror is fixed and focusing is done externally. For more information visit www.astronomics.com.

The Supporting

CAST

The Companies And Organizations That Have Made Our Magazine Possible!

20/20 Telescopes and Binoculars www.2020telescopes.com page 54

Durango Skies www.durangoskies.com page 24

Optec www.optecinc.com page 32

Starizona www.starizona.com page 22

Adirondack Astronomy www.astrovid.com page 51

Equatorial Platforms www.equatorialplatforms.com page 62

Optical Mechanics www.opticalmechanics.com page 41

Starlight Instruments www.starlightinstruments.com page 16

Alvin Huey Observing Guides www.faintfuzzies.com page 12

Amateur Astronomy Magazine www.amateurastronomy.com page 45 APM Telescopes www.apm-telescopes.de page 20

Farpoint Astronomical Research www.farpointastro.com page 56 Glatter Collimation www.collimator.com page 27 Great Red Spot Astronomy www.greatredspot.com page 55

Astro Domes www.astrodomes.com page 54

Half Hitch Telescopes www.halfhitchtelescopes.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, 64

Jack’s Astro Accessories www.waningmoonii.com page 13 JMI Telescopes www.jmitelescopes.com page 26 Kendrick Astro Instruments www.kendrickastro.com page 44

AstroSystems www.astrosystems.biz page 40

Khan Scope Centre www.khanscope.com page 65

Astrozap www.astrozap.com page 17 Backyard Observatories ww.backyardobservatories.com page 18, 19 Blue Planet Optics www.blueplanetoptics.com page 72

Lumicon www.lumicon.com page 48

ScopeBuggy www.scopebuggy.com page 40

Malco Precision www.malcoprecision.com page 41

Scope City www.scopecity.com page 14 ScopeGuard www.scopeguard.com page 32

Bobs Knobs www.bobsknobs.com page 44

Meade Instruments www.meade.com page 4, 69

Catseye Collimation www.catseyecollimation.com page 33

MoonLite Telescope Accessories www.focuser.com page 42

Celestron www.celestron.com page 30

Obsession Telescopes www.obsessiontelescopes.com page 46

Shrouds By Heather www.teeterstelescopes.com/shrouds page 23

DayStar Filters www.daystarfilters.com page 58

Oceanside Photo and Telescope www.optcorp.com page 28

SkyShed Observatories www.skyshed.com page 67

ScopeStuff www.scopestuff.com page 60

TO ADVERTISE CONTACT advertise@astronomytechnologytoday.com

UPCOMING EVENTS Now that summer and warmer weather is upon us, I’ll spend a moment talking about cold weather, a seemingly untimely topic that came to me after my brother described a summer motorcycle trip to Nevada and Arizona and how thankful he was that he had brought a jacket. Summers in the Midwest and Southern U.S. are usually hot and muggy long after the sun has set. But out in the desert southwest, where his trip occurred and I live, the summer humidity levels can be very low and when the sun sets the temperatures start dropping fast. Gene Hunter touched on this in the ATT Astro Tips column last month. To confirm perceptions, I checked weather data in selected cities. In the Eastern U.S., the difference between daily highs and lows was 5-20°F, but in the southwest were variations as wide as 30-40°F. So before leaving for your next stargazing event, check the local weather conditions and pack accordingly. Following are some selected upcoming events. Rocky Mountain Star Stare RMSS is a perfect example of the intro to this article – shorts and tee shirts during the day and long pants, jacket, gloves and hat at night. Held at 8,800 feet above sea level in the mountains west of Colorado Springs, Colorado, the cool nighttime temps will be a small price to pay for dark skies with amazing transparency. Scheduled for July 2-6, average attendance is 350 astronomers, so visit www.rmss.org today to reserve your spot. Green Bank Star Quest 5 There is going to be a lot of sleep deprived stargazers after this event is over. With daytime activities like learning to operate a 40-foot radio telescope, lectures on space missions and phenomena, imaging clinics, and radio telescope tours during the day, and of course stargazing at night, I'm not sure when people will sleep. This event takes place July 2-5 in Green Bank, West Virginia. For more information visit www.greenbankstarquest.org. And plan to leave your cell phones turned off while at the event - the site is a radio quiet zone! Julian Starfest The Julian Starfest runs August 1-3 in Julian, California, at the Menghini Winery. The event is the brainchild of three Julian astronomers: Scott Baker (Mountain High B&B), Michael Leigh (Observers Inn) and Chuck Kimball (Artist's Loft & The Cabins at Strawberry Hill). I’ve been to Julian several times, enjoyed wine at Menghini and stargazed at the

Observers Inn, and my personal recommendation is attend this event if you can. For more information, visit www.julianstarfest.com. Bryce Canyon Astronomy Festival The Bryce Canyon Astronomy Festival will take place June 25-28 at Bryce Canyon National Park. Hosted by the park’s “Dark Rangers” and the Salt Lake Astronomical Society, this event includes afternoon workshops on learning the night sky and demonstrations on making your home dark-sky friendly. I wanted to highlight this event because Bryce Canyon is home to the National Park Service Night Sky Team, which works with numerous parks to measure and evaluate the effects of light pollution and educates park visitors and communities on actions that individuals can take to protect and reclaim the night sky. For more information on this event, please visit www.nps.gov/brca/planyourvisit/ astronomyprograms.htm. Far Out Fridays This is not a “dark sky stargazing” event like the others I’ve mention – it takes place in Chicago! But, for those not inclined to drive many hours to dark sky sites, Far out Fridays offers educational activities for children and families, telescope viewing of the night sky, unlimited shows in the historic Sky Theater and lectures by leading space science specialists. The Adler Planetarium hosts the event the first Friday of each month from 4:30-10:00 p.m. Visit www.adlerplanetarium.org/fof/index.shtml for the current schedule and speaker list. Southern California Astronomy Expo OPT is hosting the SCAE Seminar Symposium & Star Party on Saturday, July 12, featuring free astronomy seminars and a visit from Arlene Martel, who played Spock's wife,

T'Pring, in the original Star Trek television series. That evening will feature a star party at Palomar Observatory where Seth Shostak, the Senior Astronomer of the SETI Institute, will discuss the intriguing question before the star party begins: “When Will We Discover the Extraterrestrials?”. The SCAE will continue the following Saturday, July 19, with the SCAE Telescope & Astronomy Demo featuring over 35 manufacturers and more than $25,000 in door prizes, including two Gold Sponsor prizes from Vixen and Meade worth over $3,000 each! For more information go to www.optcorp.com. EPOCH 2008 This is the second year of this weeklong star party just outside of the Chicago metro area in Beaver City, Indiana, hosted by 20/20 Telescopes from July 29 – August 3. In addition to terrific viewing conditions, the event features numerous daytime activities, including day trips to the Kentland Meteor impact site, astro-imaging seminars and guest speakers, including JMI’s Jim Burr. Visit www.starparty.info for more information. 2008 Midwest Astro-Imaging Conference The MAIC, hosted by AstroPhoto Insight Magazine, will take place on June 20-21, 2008, at the NIU Hoffman Estates Meeting Center, which is also in the Chicago metro area. The event will cover the latest in CCD and DSLR image acquisition and processing, and builds upon last year’s conference with a wide variety of speakers and seminars that offer something for the beginning novice to the most seasoned astrophotographer. For more information go to www.mwaic.com. 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.

The V Series Atlas/EQ6 Stability Special now until July 1st only $775.00 USD! • Stability TuneUp of your Atlas/EQ6 mounting. • Install complete bearing set including ceramic bearings on both worms. • Mainbolt TuneUp of your Atlas/EQ6 mounting. • Center your polar scope. • Install a V Series Saddle and an Atlas/EQ6 Adaptor - Specify Black or Bronze (Bronze matches color of Brass Hardware on Saddle). • Install 12" Stainless Steel Counterweight Shaft Toe Saver - 2 Stainless Steel collars. • 1 Side By Side V Series Dual Dovetail System with 2 V Series Saddles.

Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

INDUSTRYNEWS

OPTICAL WAVE LABORATORIES INTRODUCES CAST CELLULAR MIRROR BLANKS AT NEAF

Optical Wave Laboratories (OWL) of Gold River, California, is quickly distinguishing itself with its unique optics fabrication capabilities. In addition to more standard mirror fabrication equipment, the company has equipped itself with crucible kilns providing the ability to generate custom mirror blanks in a variety of materials. This capacity is of particular significance given the discontinuation of standard thickness sheet Pyrex that is destined to limit mirror blank options available to ATMs and manufacturers alike. To use its blank generation capabilities to full advantage, OWL has designed a series of cast cellular mirror blanks that it will soon offer in a variety of standard and custom sizes. Examples of the new cast cellular mirror were exhibited at NEAF and promise to not only offer significant weight advantages, but, perhaps more importantly, to greatly decrease cool-down times in all applications. OWL indicates that one of the initial standard sizes will be an 18-inch blank that is estimated to weigh in at a mere 15 pounds! For more information on this and other OWL products and services, please visit www.opticwavelabs.com.

"At The Eyepiece" Observing Guides by Alvin Huey Hickson Group Observer's Guide Abell Planetary Nebulae Observer's Guide Observing the Arp Peculiar Galaxies

www.faintfuzzies.com 12

Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

INDUSTRYNEWS

TELESCOPE STABILITY SYSTEMS New Source for Telescope Mounting Platforms ATT was introduced to Tim Ray, owner of Telescope Stability Systems (TSS), for the first time at NEAF 2008. Ray, an avid telescope builder who has fabricated more than 200 telescopes since 1975, established TSS in 2007 to produce a wide range of products and services designed to help astrophotographers and visual observers alike achieve maximum stability from their telescope mountings and tube assemblies. TSS’s current product and service lines include telescope mounting products, optical tube assembly support systems, and mount tune-up services. TSS offers high-quality, functional products ranging from its ultra-stable telescope tripods, to its non-marring dovetail saddles and dovetail systems and accessories. TSS also provides services to tune mounts for maximum performance. The TSS StableMax Tripod systems utilize the StableMax support system for superior high-frequency dampening and

rigid support. All models are rated at 400 pound payload capacity and manufactured from 6061 aluminum with 2.5-inch OD, 3/16-inch wall thickness legs with a 3-inch center support. All hardware is brass or stainless steel. TSS StableMax Tripods are available in three standard configurations: height adjustable from 36 to 60 inches, 36 inch fixed height, and a 60 inch fixed height. All TSS StableMax Tripods come standard with the TSS MountMate adapter system which allows a TSS StableMax Tripod to connect to a variety of telescope mountings via a unique mounting adapter. This allows TSS StableMax Tripods maximum versatility with existing and future telescope mountings. The TSS Dovetail System is designed to eliminate one of the greatest sources of flexure in an imaging system: the physical con-

nection between the optical tube assembly and the telescope mounting. The TSS Dovetail System is available in two standards: Losmandy “D,” and the Vixen “V” series. The TSS Dovetail System is also available in a Heavy Duty Vixen “HDV” series. The TSS Dovetail Saddles clamp the dovetail instead of utilizing thumbscrews that leave dents on the surface of your dovetail. The clamping of the TSS Dovetail Saddles increases surface area contact between the mounting Dovetail Saddle and the Dovetail resulting in an extremely rigid connection between the dovetail and the mounting. TSS also offers a number of other mounting products. Visit www.telescopestabilitysystems.com for more information.

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INDUSTRYNEWS

BOB’S KNOBS

DENKMEIER OPTICAL

Announces Custom Knobs

Announces a New Innovation Under Code Name “BIPH”

We’ve longed looked to Bob’s Knobs for replacement Schmidt Cassegrain and Newtonian collimation knobs and it still specializes in no-tools solutions to an ever growing list of telescopes. Shown are Bob’s Knobs Collimation Knobs in a Celestron C11. In addition, Bob’s Knobs now offers Custom Knobs available to fit many non-standard applications. Simply specify thread diameter, pitch and length and Bob’s Knobs will fabricate a Knob Screw to your specifications. The Bob’s Knobs website provides charts from which you can select screws of standard diameter, pitch and length, or simply contact them directly for more specialized sizes. For more information, please visit www.bobsknobs.com.

Russ Ledderman, owner of Denkmeier Optical, Inc., was on hand at NEAF 2008 to present its new offerings, including its new Power X Switch for Newtonians noted in the May issue of ATT. Ledderman also provided ATT a preview at NEAF of a product that promises to be a truly groundbreaking innovation. Referred to for now only as the “BIHP” (pronounced biff ), the patentpending device will retrofit to any Denkmeier Binoviewer and is designed to exponentially increase the light grasp of any telescope that it is used with. Ledderman reports that prototypes of the device have permitted real time, direct views of the Horsehead Nebula using only a Denkmeier Binoviewer/ BIHP equipped 80-mm refractor. BIPH features a 65-degree apparent field of view, dual-eye vision, selective filter

Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

switching with custom designed, highly-specialized filtration, is usable in any telescope, and is designed to “morph into a binocular unit for power-views of the Milky Way, satellites, galaxies, and nubulae.” Says Ledderman, “Globulars, galaxies, emission nebulae…will all be amazing sites rivaled only by photographic images!” Unfortunately, nighttime weather conditions at NEAF did not permit actual demonstration of the BIPH, so Denkmeier has delayed its physical debut until May 30 at the AOS StarFest near Roxbury, New York, and again on June 4 at the Texas Star Party. ATT will, of course, provide thorough featured coverage of the new Denkmeier BIHP as soon as possible. Meanwhile, please visit www.deepskybinoviewer.com for further details.

INDUSTRYNEWS

OCEANSIDE PHOTO AND TELESCOPE Announces New ProPlanet Dobsonians Among the planned product announcements at NEAF 2008 was one that is sure to generate special interest among long-focus Newtonian enthusiasts. In answer to increasing demand for hard to find production Newtonians that are optimized for planetary and lunar viewing, OPT, in conjunction with Discovery Telescopes, announced its new ProPlanet line of planetary optimized truss-Dobsonians. These specialty Dobs will initially be available in configurations of 8-inch f/9 and 10-inch f/7.2. Each will feature a Pyrex primary mirror with enhanced coatings, a minimal minor-axis secondary on a curved spider vane for optimum contrast images without diffraction spikes, a quickassembly truss design for ease of breakdown and travel, a 2-speed, low-profile Crayford style focuser, Telrad, light shroud, a truss pole carry bag, and a sturdy Birch mount structure. A prototype of the new 8-inch ProPlanet was demonstrated at NEAF and is sure to please planetary devotees everywhere. Introductory pricing for the 8-inch ProPlanet is $995 and $1295 for the 10inch, with initial availability planned for this summer. Further details of the project will be available in coming weeks at www.optcorp.com.

DURANGO SKIES OBSERVATORY SOLUTIONS Now Offering Pier-Tech Domes Durango Skies has announced that it will carry the upcoming line of metal domes from Pier-Tech. The Pier-Tech domes are made from Galvalume, steel sheets coated with an aluminum-zinc material, and will be available in both free standing and dome-only models. Each model will be available in 12 sizes ranging from diameters of 8 feet to 30 feet 6 inches. All domes will ship with motors for shutter movement and azimuth rotation. In addition to the new Pier-Tech domes, Durango Skies will also carry the Pier-Tech Tele-Station roll-off roof

observatories and piers. As a full-service agent for Pier-Tech products, Durango Skies provides sales and complete onsite installation, including foundation and observatory construction, equipment setup and observatory automation. Durango Skies has been a fully authorized dealer for sales and installation of all Technical Innovations domes for the past three years and the Pier-Tech line of products will allow it to provide additional options to its customers. Please visit www.domeobservatory.com, Durango Skies new website devoted exclusively to dome and roll-off roof observatories.

TETON TELESCOPES Introduces the Intes-Micro 12.5-inch f/9 Ritchey-Chrétien Another premium telescope system first seen at NEAF 2008 was the Intes-Micro 12.5inch f/9 Ritchey-Chrétien introduced by Teton Telescopes of Rigby, Idaho. Teton specializes in telescopes that incorporate venerable Russian Optical systems including the growing lines from Intes Micro. The new Intes-Micro Model RC12.5f/9 offers a level of correction designed to compare favorably with all other production R-Cs, producing amazingly clean raw data for

imagers. The RC12.5f/9 features an AstroSital primary mirror fashioned to better than 1/7 wavefront optical quality, a dual-speed focuser, tube counterweights and Losmandy style dovetails on OTA mounting rings. The Intes-Micro 12.5-inch f/9 RitcheyChrétien is available from Teton Telescope for a limited time introductory price of just $13,400. For more information on this and other Teton products, please visit www.tetontelescope.com.

Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

INDUSTRYNEWS

TMB OPTICAL Charles Back, TMB Optical President, Announces Reintroduction of TMB One of our favorite moments from NEAF 2008 was meeting Charles Back, brother of Thomas M. Back, who was on hand to represent TMB Optical. In tribute to the legendary optical designer who passed away unexpectedly in late 2007, the Back family has completed efforts to continue the operations of the company he founded. TMB Optical, made its public reintroduction at NEAF 2008 through Charles Back, now company president. Said Back, “The company’s goal is to protect and maintain the good name and reputation of Thomas Back, while making some of his finest designs available on an ongoing basis to amateur astronomers worldwide. Some of Thomas’ designs have not yet been incorporated into telescopes and eyepieces, meaning that future products will add to Thomas’ legacy and continue to advance the art, even after his passing.” Current TMB Optical products include the TMB Signature Series telescopes, which are ED triplet apochromatic refractors in 80-mm, 92-mm, and 130-mm sizes. These telescopes

are available from Astronomics, of Norman, Oklahoma, and its dealers. Also currently available are the TMB Planetary, Stellar, and Paragon eyepieces, which are available from Burgess Optical, of Knoxville, Tennessee, and its dealers. Charles Back further committed, “Since 1990, TMB Optical has designed optical systems for the amateur and professional market, specializing in the finest true apochromatic refractor telescopes, eyepieces, and accessories for serious observers and dedicated imagers. Using the most advanced designs and glass formulations, these systems provide the ultimate in image quality.” The TMB Optical website, www.tmboptical.com, is now being updated with current information, and the process should be complete by the end of May. For more information, please contact Charles Back by email at tmboptical@aol.com. ATT is very pleased to be able to announce the continued availability of Thomas Back’s designs to astronomy enthusiasts everywhere.

EARTHWIN OPTICAL New Specialty Optical Systems Company Bill Dankmeyer, formerly of Denkmeier Optical, was on hand at NEAF 2008 to announce the creation of EarthWin Optical, a new source for specialty optical systems including binoviewers. EarthWin plans to specialize in offering unique, integrated binoviewer/power/filter systems appropriate for Newtonians, SCTs and refractors. EarthWin’s “All-in-one,” multi-function design allows the user to move through three magnification options and to change filter selections in seconds

Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

while using dual binoview eyepieces or a single eyepiece. Dankmeyer also announced several interesting marketing innovations, including a financing program that features no finance charges, a 50 percent down payment and 6 monthly installments for the remaining balance. EarthWin also offers an astronomy club loaner program to allow qualified club members to experience its systems under their own skies and using their own equipment for up to two months with no purchase obligation. For more information, please visit www.earthwinoptical.com.

INDUSTRYNEWS

DEEP SKY INSTRUMENTS To Produce the RC10, a 10-inch R-C for Under $5,000 That’s right, a 10-inch Ritchey-Chrétien Astrograph for just $4,995. The RitcheyChrétien design has long been known for its outstanding performance. Its use in most of today’s professional observatories is a testament to that – it is arguably the best performing optical design using only reflecting surfaces and the DSI RC10 and RC10C are true Ritcheys – their precision hyperbolic surfaces on both the primary and secondary mirrors produce true Ritchey performance. If you have always wanted to own a true RC, but didn’t think you could ever afford one, think again! The DSI RC10C starts with the RC10 and adds a corrector to remove off-axis widefield astigmatism and to flatten the field of curvature. The results are excellent star images across a two-inch diameter field at Cassegrain focus. The corrector is a two-element, fully multicoated design that is recessed into the scope to increase usable back focus. Correction is mild due to the already outstanding performance of the Ritchey-Chrétien design, eliminating any possibility of chromatic aberration. By starting with the best reflecting optical system, and then introducing mild correction close to the focal plane, excellent performance is achieved. Their model IC101A instrument controller is used to control the RC10 and RC10C's built-in electronic secondary

focuser. It provides ASCOM compliant PC control through a standard serial port compatible with programs like MaxIm DL and FocusMax. Manual focusing is always possible using the in/out push buttons on the controller. Dew heater and cooling fan controls are also PC controllable with manual over-

ride switches provided on the controller. Cabling to connect the controller to the astrograph and PC are included. The IC101A requires a nominal 12VDC for operation but voltages as high as 14VDC work just fine. A standard miniature power plug (McMaster Carr part number SC1051-ND) is required for connection to the controller. Both models feature a six-point flotation cell to support the primary mirror, eliminating astigmatism that may otherwise be induced due to poor support. Collimation is

pre-set at the factory, but may be adjusted as required using three traditional push/pull locking adjustment screw sets. The RC10 incorporates a precision, zero image shift electronic secondary focuser to allow the optical train to be firmly secured to the OTA – the focuser is therefore not required to support the weight of the camera, filter wheel, adaptive optics, off-axis guider, or other instrumentation. A secondary dew heater is incorporated with operation controlled manually or by PC. Three rear-mounted cooling fans provide fast cool-down and constant thermal equilibration. Like the secondary dew heater, on/off may be manually or PC controlled. High-performance phenolic tubes are used in the RC10 and RC10C astrographs. Phenolic tubes are strong, durable, light-weight and weather resistant. They also minimize thermal expansion and the need for continuous focus adjustments. And they look great too! Stainless steel and aluminum are used throughout the design for light weight and corrosion resistance. The large Astro-Physics 2.7" standard opening eliminates vignetting and provides for a solid, no flex imaging train. Extenders, adapters and other accessories are readily available from Astro-Physics and other manufacturers. For more information visit www.deepskyinstruments.com.

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The “Barbarella” 48-Inch Dobsonian How Optical Mechanics Built a Texas Size Dob! By James Mulherin

In June of 2007, Optical Mechanics, Inc. (OMI) started a project to design and build a 48-inch Dobsonian telescope for Jimi Lowrey of Ft. Davis, Texas. Having completed the telescope in April 2008, my wife Stasi and I embarked on the trip to install Jimi’s scope. We left Iowa City on Saturday morning, April 11, with a loaded 29-foot U-Haul, car in tow for the return trip. After something over 1,300 miles, we pulled in to Ft. Davis at 7 p.m. Sunday evening, just in time for dinner with Jimi and some of his friends at the Limpia Hotel. The drive down was very smooth, but Stasi and I were relieved to have safely arrived with the scope at its final destination. I first met Jimi Lowrey at the 2005 OkieTex Star Party. We hit it off right away and spent a good bit of time observing or shooting the breeze over morning coffee outside his motor home parked on “Obsession Row” (Jimi was there with his 25-inch Obsession, I with my 15-inch, and there were many other Obsession owners). Jimi retired a few years ago to the Ft. Davis, Texas, area just down the hill from MacDonald Observatory. The area is known for pristine skies that offer excellent transparency for deep sky observing. During one conversation, Jimi told me about his ongoing project to build a 48-inch telescope and observatory on his property there. The observatory site is on the side of a mountain with a south-facing view, yet very good access to the

northern sky. The project was in the works for about a year already, so I assumed OMI had missed the boat on this one. I met Jimi again at the May 2007 Texas Star Party. At that time, the primary mirror was coming along on schedule, but the telescope construction had not yet begun. It took me about two seconds to decide that OMI should offer to build the scope. At OMI, we have experience building telescopes around large, heavy mirrors, so this project was right up our alley. Our large telescope experience is primarily with complex observatory-class, equatorial fork-mounted Cassegrain scopes. The Dobsonian design, on the other hand, is just about as simple a telescope as you can build, so Jimi’s project would be refreshing departure from what we normally do. And, the thought of building such a large scope, primarily for visual observation, really appealed to the amateur astronomer in all of us at OMI. We had an opening in our production schedule and could start the project right away, so it didn’t take me long to talk Jimi into giving us the job. We started the design work in June 2007, with Dave Pasley at the helm of the design team. The design goals were set out as follows: This would be a purely visual telescope, a Dobsonian with modern amenities such as Argo Navis and ServoCAT for go-to and tracking. It would include other niceties like a Feather Touch focuser, Telrad, a Howie Glatter laser

pointer, Losmandy mounting rings for a 4-inch refractor, a Kendrick dew heater system and a light shroud. In essence, the scope was to be just like any other big Dob you might find on the observing field at a star party, except huge… and not portable. Despite its size, as equipped, most large-Dob users would feel right at home with the 48-inch scope. Finally, the telescope would be housed in a 32- x 32foot roll-off roof observatory on the side of the mountain above Jimi’s house. Designing and Constructing the Beast So, how does one go about designing such a beast? You start with the primary mirror and everything flows from there. The whole of the structure is there to gently, but securely, hold the primary and secondary mirror in alignment as the scope points and tracks. The primary mirror was supplied by Yuri Petrunin of Telescope Engineering Company in Golden Colorado. It was made from a solid disk of the ultra-low expansion glass ceramic, Astro-Sitall, by LOMO in Russia. The mirror is 48.9 inches in diameter, 4.8 inches thick and it has 28 light-weighting holes cored in its back, yet it still weighs in at a hefty 715 pounds. After some consultation with Yuri Petrunin, we settled on a 36-point system for back support and a cable sling for edge support. Image 1 (page 36) is a photo of the back of the mirror showAstronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

THE “BARBARELLA” 48-INCH DOBSONIAN ing the cores and 36 aluminum pucks bonded to the back of the mirror. Each of these pucks provides a hard contact point for a transfer bearing on each apex of the mirror support triangles. The transfer bearings allow for differential expansion between the metal of the cell structure and the zero expansion Astro-Sitall without stressing the mirror. The weight of the primary mirror along the optical axis is transferred to three defining points on the main cell structure that flow through to three primary mirror collimation bolts. The main cell consists of a W-shaped internal I-beam structure sandwiched between a top and bottom plate of 1/4-inch thick steel as depicted in Images 4-7 (pages 36-37). This structure also transfers the load of the cell and mirror into the telescopes side bearings, so it was designed to be very stiff. For primary mirror edge support, we used an adjustable dual sling consisting of 1/4-inch diameter Nyloncoated stainless steel cable. The attachment points for the sling are on the inside wall of each altitude bearing.

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The altitude bearings were machined from solid 2-inch thick aluminum plate on our CNC milling machine, which operation is shown in Image 8 (page 37). This machine can cut a 4-foot by 12-foot plate into parts and it was fairly well maxed out in the short dimension making the side bearings. The bearing arcs are machined on an 80-inch diameter center! The altitude bearings are lined with stainless steel straps that rest on four stainless steel rollers in the rocker box. The two front rollers are coupled by a stainless steel shaft that is driven by the altitude servo motor. Coupling the drive rollers together with the shaft applies drive torque evenly to both altitude bearings. We added hard stops to the altitude bearings that prevent pointing the telescope below the horizon or beyond the zenith. The hard stops are curved to match rollers on the rocker box when the stop is reached. The rocker box is a mild steel weldment for rigidity. The steel plate is one inch thick. In the center of the box is the top half of a tapered roller bearing that carries most of the load of

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32 Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

the telescope and rocker box. The load is transferred through this bearing into the round ground plate which contains the other half of the tapered roller bearing mounted to a steel stub. Near the outer edge, on the top side of the round ground plate there are three outrigger bearings positioned 120 degrees apart. These outriggers take up a small portion of the load of the telescope, but their primary purpose it to provide a large, stabile footprint for the rocker box to turn on. The outrigger bearings run on an annular track of flat stainless steel that is attached to the bottom of the rocker box. Image 12 (page 37) shows the electrical contact rings. Power comes in under the ground plate and is passed via the rings and contacts to a power bus bar on the top side of the rocker box. Pointing and tracking are provided by Gary Meyers at RXDesign. We used components from Gary’s standard ServoCAT system with some custom made components to interface the ServoCAT drives to our altitude rollers and azimuth friction drive system. Gary helped us choose larger servo motors and gear reducer sets to create a ServoCAT on steroids to provide incredibly accurate pointing and smooth tracking for the 5,000 pound telescope. Digital telescope control is provided by Wild Card Innovations’ Argo Navis which Jimi, with the help of Jim Chandler, has interfaced via wireless PC serial link to the Megastar V catalog. The 48.9-inch mirror is F/4, resulting in an optical tube assembly length of about 20 feet. Because of the length of the OTA, we chose a two-stage truss design as depicted in Image 18 (page 38). The truss consists of two 8-truss sections connected in the middle by a 4truss waist. The resulting truss assembly is very

THE “BARBARELLA” 48-INCH DOBSONIAN stiff - the scope holds collimation very well when slewing from horizon to the zenith. In fact, the stiffness of the telescope, combined with very smooth bearings, has resulted in a scope that is very smooth and easy to move. You can track an object at high power by pushing the scope manually, even near Dobson’s hole (near the zenith). The secondary cage is of fairly standard design with some features added to accommodate counter-weights and a 4-inch refractor. It is constructed from two aluminum rings connected by aluminum C-channel. The inside of the secondary cage is lined with Kydex. The secondary mirror is an 8-inch minor axis elliptical made for us by Howard Johnson Optical labs from a piece of fused quartz supplied by Yuri Petrunin. After completion of the first full assembly with the Argo and ServoCAT installed, we were ready to do some preliminary testing on the sky. The views from our shop in Iowa City aren’t much to brag about. On the night we tested we had only a short window of clear sky at the beginning of the night. During this time of year (March) in Iowa we can go for weeks with no clear skies and our delivery date was fast approaching, so we took advantage of what little clear sky we had. The optics performed very well through essentially horrible seeing conditions and even worse light pollution. The light pollution was compounded by the lack of a shroud at the time of testing. All we cared about for this test was pointing, tracking and what little we could tell about the optics. A more rigorous test of the mirrors would have to wait until after we installed the scope in Texas. Under less than

ideal conditions at our shop, fainter stars focused to nice pin-points, but brighter stars boiled quite a bit. Of course, the primary had very little time to cool, so mirror currents were a significant factor. Pointing and tracking were very good. Even on large slews, for example from Polaris to Rigel, the scope nailed it. We let the scope track on M42 (the Orion nebula) for 20 minutes and detected only a small drift. Pointing and tracking would only improve after careful set up in Texas. On the whole, the telescope performed very well. We had a little more cosmetic work to do (light shroud, some anodizing and powder coating, etc.), but were otherwise ready for delivery. We hired Dave Long Protective Products, a local canvas and awning specialty shop, to design and sew the light shroud. The material is a water proof, light-tight Nylon. The shroud, shown in Image 21 (page 38), is a complex, but impressively well tailored, bit of sewing. With the completion of the shroud and some other detail work, we were ready for delivery. We loaded the scope and left Iowa City on Saturday morning, April 11, arriving in Ft. Davis the following Sunday evening. After a good night’s rest we reported for work at Jimi’s place first thing Monday morning. The plan was to get started at 9 a.m., which we did. The scope was off-loaded from the U-haul onto a flatbed truck using a construction site forklift. While we unloaded the scope, Jimi and his crew drove a crane truck up to the observatory and positioned it to off-load the scope parts from the flatbed truck into the observatory. The observatory is located up the mountain from Jimi’s house. There are a couple of switch backs

on the road up to the house then one last switch back and a couple hundred yards up a 20% grade to the observatory. If you didn’t know better, you would have sworn there was no way either of the trucks would make it up that last dusty, rocky bit to the observatory, but, thanks to some skilled driving, the trucks went right up. At the top there was just enough room to position both the crane and flatbed truck to swing the crane boom over the pick points and the center of the observatory. I stood inside the observatory and directed Jimi, who stood in the open door and directed the crane operator. We flew each part into the observatory for assembly: first the ground plate, then the rocker box, side bearings and cell, primary mirror, and, finally, the upper cage and truss assembly. We completed this part of the installation by lunch time! By dinner we had completed the wiring and the rest of the fiddly bits. We had first light that evening. Before the installation trip, I told Jimi we’d have the scope on the sky the same day we did the installation. Jimi thought I was nuts. When you see the photos you’ll see why. But, I’ve done this before and it’s quite impressive what you can do with the right equipment. That night, as soon as we could see Polaris, we did a star alignment, looked at a few bright objects under a moon that was just a few days from full, then called it a night. It was a long day and I was worn out, but very pleased with the whole operation and everyone involved. It was a good day. The observatory turned out to be a beautiful piece of construction. The roof rolls off to Continued on page 40

Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

THE “BARBARELLA” 48-INCH DOBSONIAN

Design and Construction of the 48-Inch Dob

Image 1: The back of the primary showing the core holes. Image 4: Toney Mulherin shows off the internal structure of the primary mirror cell support.

Image 2: Diagram of the 36-point support structure.

Image 5: The main load-bearing cell structure and Altitude bearings.

Image 3: Primary mirror support triangles with transfer bearings.

Image 6: The 36 point cell attached to the cell support structure.

34 Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

THE â&#x20AC;&#x153;BARBARELLAâ&#x20AC;? 48-INCH DOBSONIAN

Image 10: The rocker box with roller bearings. Note the shaft that couples the two front bearings. Image 7: The primary mirror is its cell.

Image 8: Machining an Altitude bearing on the CNC mill.

Image 9: Altitude bearing lined with stainless steel strap, held in place by hard stops.

Image 11: The bottom of the rocker box showing the stainless steel track for the outrigger bearings.

Image 12: The ground plate with center bearing, outrigger bearings and electrical contact ring.

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THE â&#x20AC;&#x153;BARBARELLAâ&#x20AC;? 48-INCH DOBSONIAN

Image 13: The Azimuth drive assembly inside the rocker box.

Image 16: The Altitude encoders.

Image 17: The Azimuth encoders.

Image 14: The Azimuth drive assembly from below where the drive roller presses against the drive edge of the 48 inch diameter ground plate.

Image 15: The Altitude drive motor and gear box couples to the front drive roller and shaft assembly.

36 Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

Image 18: Dave Pasley standing next to his engineering creation.

THE “BARBARELLA” 48-INCH DOBSONIAN

Image 19: The business end of the telescope.

Image 22: The view up the hill to Jimi’s house and observatory (roof closed).

Image 15: The completed scope set up for preliminary tests in the parking lot at OMI headquarters.

Image 23: James Mulherin, reporting for work Monday morning

Image 21: Test fitting the shroud before delivery.

Image 24: Loading the flatbed.

Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

THE â&#x20AC;&#x153;BARBARELLAâ&#x20AC;? 48-INCH DOBSONIAN

Image 25: The entire telescope loaded on the flatbed truck.

Image 28: Setting the rocker box on the ground plate

Image 26: A very nervous drive up the 20% grade to the observatory.

Image 29: Lowering the Altitude and mirror cell onto the rocker box.

Image 27: Craning the ground plate into the observatory.

38 Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

Image 30: Lowering the primary mirror into its cell.

THE “BARBARELLA” 48-INCH DOBSONIAN

Image 31: Installing the primary mirror.

Image 32: Attaching the trusses and secondary cage.

Image 33: Preparing for first light.

Image 34: Van Robinson and Jimi Lowrey with a poster of the telescopes namesake: Barbarella

Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

THE “BARBARELLA” 48-INCH DOBSONIAN Following is a sampling from Jimi’s observing log from the new moon period 4/22/08 - Seeing: 6/10, Transparency: 8/10 M42 Orion Nebula (188X, 26-mm Nagler): Pink and green and a hint of light blue color all throughout the nebula, “E” and “F” stars easy! NGC 2392 Eskimo Nebula (390X, 12.5-mm TAK): Outer ring of pink, inner ring of green color. Filaments visible in outer ring of nebula. You can easily see the fur on his parka. 4/24/08 - Seeing: 7/10, Transparency: 9/10 NGC3242 Ghost of Jupiter (976X, 5-mm TMB Supermono): Unbelievably steady seeing at the moment. The ghost is unbelievable; pink ring on outer edge, blues and greens in the inner rings. Looks like a Hubble picture.

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Hickson 50 Compact Galaxy Group, 488X, TMB Supermono): This is the dimmest of all the Hickson group. They range from mag 19.5 to 20. There are 5 members in the group, all seen with direct vision (WOW!). The five galaxies also seen with direct vision by Van Robinson to confirm the observation. Shakbazian 1 Galaxy group (488X, TMB Supermono): There are 17 member galaxies in this group. Magnitude unknown (Believe you me, it’s dim.) Some members were direct vision. Others were popping in and out with the seeing. I cannot describe this effect in writing. It is beyond description. This observation was also confirmed by Van Robinson. Hoag’s Object (390X, 12.5-mm TAK): This is the famous ring galaxy in Serpens. I know of very few observations of the ring itself. On a night of not-so-good seeing (5/10) it was questionable if it would be visible. The core of the galaxy was easily visible with direct vision. I spent a lot of time looking in the eyepiece and at the first moment of good seeing the ring appeared. The size of it really startled me. I was not expecting it to be that big. The ring appeared 4 times at moments of good seeing. I can’t wait to try this object again at a night of good seeing. I think it will be visible with direct vision. This observation was confirmed by Jim Chandler who saw the ring appear one time.

THE “BARBARELLA” 48-INCH DOBSONIAN Continued from page 33

the north to expose the entire 32- x 32-foot interior of the building and allow access to the northern sky. The upper 4-foot section of the south wall of the building folds down to provide access all the way to the southern horizon. The roof and southern wall are actuated by electric motors. There is an isolated pier in the center of the observatory with its foundation in bed rock. In all, the observatory is a very well engineered and impressively stout structure. Jimi and his good friend, Van, went up to the observatory at 3 a.m. that morning and observed the moon and some other bright objects. According to Jimi, using 24-mm Naglers in the Denkmeier bino-viewers was like flying over the moon on an Apollo mission. I got a better look at the moon the next night and had to agree. The 48-inch mirror provides high resolution views of the moon in 3D thanks to the Denks. I logged this observation during my full moon views through the scope: “The double/double system, Castor, in Gemini, is split into four components and the brightest star is VIOLET! In the Cat’s Eye nebula you see pinks and greens.” Jimi’s assessment that, “This primary mirror is hittin’ on all cylinders,” sums up the optical performance very well. With the Paracorr in the focuser, stars are pin points with four crisp diffraction spikes on brighter stars. The color we saw under the full moon sky is a good indication of the light grasp and contrast that the optics would provide on a good, dark night. After hearing some of Jimi’s observing reports, I can’t wait to do some observing with Jimi when I get back to Teas in June for the Texas Star Party. In the meantime, Stasi and I would like to thank Jimi and his wife, Connie, as well as his friends and cohorts for their help during the installation, and for showing us a good time during our stay. Jim Chandler was a big help during the unloading, loading and craning operation, and he’s an Argo/ServoCAT expert. Gary Meyers of RXDesign, although not present physically, was on the spot with technical support the few times we needed his help. Van Robinson volunteered to run my camera while I was busy with the installation. Thanks to Van we have these pictures to post.

Thanks also to Tom Hobby for taking more pics on the last night. Thanks to Bill Wright for the cover shot of Jimi and the scope. Thanks and congratulations to Yuri Petrunin of Telescope Engineering Company for providing an excellent primary mirror. The views through the 48-inch mirror are spectacular. And, finally, a huge “THANK YOU!” to Jimi and Connie for hiring OMI and our team to take on the project to build Jimi’s dream scope! Dave Pasley designed the scope and my brother, Toney Mulherin, manufactured the beast. We all thoroughly enjoyed the challenge and are very proud to have been a part of this project. Stasi and I will be back to Ft. Davis the first week of June for the Texas Star Party and some dark sky observing with the 48-inch scope. I’m really looking forward observing with the scope under dark skies and to seeing everyone again. More information on designing, building and installing the scope is available at www.opticalmechanics.com. Readers are also invited to write jcmulherin@opticalmechanics.com with any questions or comments.

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The LightWedge Night Vision The LightWedge and S&T’s Pocket Sky Atlas – a Heavenly Match By Penny Distasio

Sometimes little things can make a big difference. When heading out for an all night observing session in the mountains or desert, being without an Allen wrench, a pair of warm gloves, or a thermos of fresh, hot coffee can result in a less-thanperfect weekend, even if the seeing is spectacular and your telescope is operating flawlessly. When I began going out to star parties over twenty years ago, I spent a good deal of time in the pursuit of small observing accessories that would make my time at the telescope a more enjoyable and comfortable experience. I tried a plethora of portable heat-producing packs, tested a drawer full of socks that promised to keep my feet warm and dry, and went through several thermoses until I found one that was capable of keeping coffee hot until morning without wrapping it in aluminum foil and towels. However, finding the best thermos or pair of socks was a cakewalk compared to hunting down that most elusive of prey…the perfect red flashlight!

Finding a good red flashlight sounds like it would be a piece of cake (I must be hungry, I keep talking about pastry), but then again, taking a picture of Saturn sounds as easy as pie, but it’s not. Red flashlights can be too dim, or too bright…heck, they can even be too round! Some flashlights run through batteries faster than a hot knife through butter, especially when it is cold outside, and you also have to consider the density of the beam itself. Is it bright in the center but falls off quickly so that you can only see a very small portion of your star chart clearly, or does the light given off by the flashlight spread over too large an area, failing to illuminate anything well enough to read comfortably? Over the years, I purchased several flashlights that I thought had promise (some were pretty good and some were pretty bad), but I finally ended up with my favorite…the Starlite by Rigel Systems. I still use it today for walking dark paths or searching for something in the back of my

car, but I have discovered another product that is beyond compare when it comes to reading books or charts in the dark, and that is what I want to talk to you about. You see, there are some basic problems that are encountered when using a traditional flashlight to read a sky atlas or star chart at night. To use most flashlights, you need to hold them in your hand. This leaves one hand to turn the page, mark a location, or keep the charts in place if there is a breeze afoot, and, assuming you are a humanoid, exactly zero hands left to do anything else. Beam fall-off makes it hard to see beyond a relatively small, bright spot at the center. Glare - some flashlights bounce light off the page and back into your eyes, making it hard to see. Many flashlights gobble up battery power at an alarming rate and are only at their best when fresh batteries are installed. Enter the LightWedge Night Vision, a thin wedge-shaped 9.25 inch by 6.75 inch

Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

THE LIGHTWEDGE NIGHTVISION optical grade acrylic lens that uses high quality LEDs to evenly illuminate the surface below it. Unlike traditional red flashlights, you don’t need to hold the Lightwedge…it lays on top of whatever you are reading. At only 8.5 ounces, it is light enough to take on even the most remote observing trip, but it has enough weight to hold your chart or page in place, even in a light breeze. This leaves both hands free for other tasks, like drinking that hot coffee or putting on those warm gloves (assuming you didn’t leave them at home). If your book or star chart is similar in size to the LightWedge (like the Sky & Telescope Pocket Sky Atlas), you can attach the included PageRest, a small accessory that clips to the LightWedge and helps it sit on the top edge of the book. However, if you are using star charts with oversized pages, like the Sky Atlas 2000, just forego the PageRest and slide the LightWedge around to illuminate your area of interest. When you are finished, simply turn the LightWedge off and leave it in place as a bookmark…the pages on either side protect the lens, and the LightWedge is so thin it will not stress the binding. The most attractive and innovative feature of the LightWedge, however, is the way in which the LEDs evenly, yet fully, illuminate the entire inside of the wedge. The light does not shine up into your eyes, and very little seeps out at the edges. Instead, a soft red light is trapped inside the lens so that when you place it on a dif-

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fuse surface and look through it, you can easily decipher what is written or drawn on the page. While the LightWedge seems like magic, it actually runs on batteries like any other flashlight…four AAA batteries to be exact. The manufacturer claims they will last about 40 hours, which is pretty good, and the LEDs are guaranteed to last the life of the product, which is even better. I did not try to run down the batteries for review purposes, but I left a demo LightWedge on at the NEAF 2008 OPT booth for two days, and when I finally sold it at the end of the show, the batteries were still going strong and the light had not dimmed that I could see. One thing I would caution you about if you buy a LightWedge (and I highly recommend you do) is to remember that it is made of acrylic, and while it would be difficult to actually break, it can be scratched if you don’t take care to keep it clean. Treat the LightWedge like you would an eyepiece or your prescription glasses, and you’ll do okay. A form-fitted neoprene case is available as an accessory, and I consider it a good investment unless you plan to keep your LightWedge inside the pages of your star chart or sky atlas at all times. Speaking of Sky Atlases, let me tell you a bit about the book I consider a perfect fit for the LightWedge Night Vision…the Sky & Telescope Pocket Sky Atlas. I had the pleasure of speaking to many amateur astronomers at NEAF

THE LIGHTWEDGE NIGHTVISION TONY’S TAKE… As you can tell from Penny’s comments, she was impressed with the LightWedge, but wanted to know how the light stayed within the confines of the acrylic lens, and why it didn’t scatter up and out in all directions. In order to provide a clear answer, we did a few tests. These mini-experiments are fast and easy for anyone to do: First, turn the LightWedge on and hold it up so that you can look directly through the front of the acrylic sheet. Notice that you see very little (if any) evidence of light coming towards you. Instead, most of the light is emitting from the edges. This is good news, because it means that the part of the LightWedge that is used for reading (the entire center portion) does not show any light leakage towards the observer’s eye, and will provide him or her with high-contrast viewing as a result. Next, take the LightWedge into a semi-darkened room along with a white 3x5 index card. Take the white card and hold it perpendicular to the surface of the LightWedge…in other words, place the edge of the card against the face of the LightWedge, forming a T. Slowly drag the card from the far edge of the LightWedge towards the LED housing, and you’ll notice that only a narrow strip of the card is illuminated. This means that most of the light emitted by the LED’s is coming out at acute angles along the surface of the LightWedge. Finally, hold the LightWedge by the housing and look directly into the far edge of the acrylic sheet. What you will see initially is two bright points of light, but once you slowly tilt the pane down about an inch you will begin to see how clever the LightWedge is. When you look into the LightWedge at the appropriate angle, you’ll see approximately twenty reflections of each LED. This is why your index card was evenly illuminated as you moved it from one side of the LightWedge to the other, and why your page or chart will be evenly illuminated as well. The LightWedge, with its wedge-shaped piece of optical acrylic, is what I would call a “leaky light pipe.” In a perfect light pipe, we would be able to inject light into one end and have it emerge on the other end without any loss of light anywhere else along the pipe. Modern fiber optics as used in digital information equipment provide a good example of a perfect, or nearly perfect, light pipe. A perfect light pipe, however, would make a lousy LightWedge, because instead of illuminating a star chart across the entire surface of the “pipe,” all of the light would exit the far side! What the inventor of the LightWedge had to do, then, was come up with a skillfully designed, leaky light pipe that allowed multiple internal reflections (like you would find in a regular light pipe), but still permitted a percentage of the energy to come out in regular intervals across the wedge. These criteria were met successfully with the LightWedge, and certain assumptions made regarding its use helped the concept along. Since the light will be illuminating the chart or book at grazing incidence, the whole concept relies on the fact that most reading materials have a diffuse surface. The diffusion inherent in paper means the illumination will appear very uniform across the surface, making whatever is printed on it easy to decipher. about this inexpensive book ($19.95), and either they already had one and loved it, or glanced through its pages while we chatted and then bought it. The pages are spiral bound so that they lay flat, and are water resistant. While there aren’t many pockets this sky atlas could stash in comfortably, the compact size of 8 inches x 6.25 inches makes it easy to carry around. Each of the 80 charts has

boundary markings, constellation stick figures and is labeled with the most popular celestial destinations of modern amateur astronomers. In the back of the book, you’ll find blown-up charts of favorite regions of the sky, like the Orion sword and belt, the Pleiades, the Virgo Galaxy Cluster, and the Large Megallanic Cloud. The Pocket Sky Atlas may not take the place of the beloved Sky Atlas 2000 or the Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

THE LIGHTWEDGE NIGHTVISION

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Uranometria, but it travels better, and, when combined with the LightWedge, forms a dynamic duo that’s hard to beat. Here is what Chris Hendren, a member of the OPT telescope sales staff as well as an avid observer and imager, said about the Pocket Sky Atlas and LightWedge: “I’ve owned several atlases, some more detailed and some less, but the Pocket Sky Atlas is my exclusive choice in most situations. The depth of the objects matches up well to what I can see in my 12-inch Astro Sky truss Dobsonian, and the small physical size of the book makes it easy to stuff in my eyepiece case along with my Light Wedge. I especially like the weighted lines marking the constellation figures and the Thomas Guide-like arrows at the edges making it easy to jump to the page I want over a long observing night. As for the LightWedge, it is a perfect match for the Pocket Sky Atlas. The lighted portion almost exactly fits a single page on the atlas, and works as a great book-

mark on windy nights or when I’m ending a viewing session, but want to start in the same area of the sky the next time I bring my scope out. If I’m hunting in a large region, like the galaxies in and around the constellation Leo, I find that I can turn the LightWedge sideways and illuminate most of two pages in the atlas so that I don’t have to move it around as much.All in all, the Pocket Sky Atlas and the LightWedge are a great combination for any astronomer’s observing arsenal.” Finally, I asked my husband Tony to explain how the LightWedge worked and you’ll find his explanation in the insert that accompanies this article. Much to my disappointment, I learned that it is not magic at all, but just a nice bit of clever physics. Now quantum physics…that’s magic! The Lightwedge Night Vision ($39.95), its case ($8.95), and the Pocket Sky Atlas ($19.95) are available at OPT and other fine astronomy stores near you.

JMI 14.5-inch f/4 Reverse Binoculars What happens when you view through twin telescopes - one for each eye!

Tony stands behind the JMI 14.5-inch RBs

By Tony Hallas

Some years ago I gave up doing deep sky visual observing – the 25-inch and 17.5inch Dobsonians proved to be too difficult to easily transport and I was tired of looking through eyepieces with only one eye. Although on small objects and the planets a large Dobsonian with a binocular ocular is impressive, the field of view was too narrow to affect a true “binocular” experience. Then, two years ago, Jim Burr brought his binocular telescopes to RTMC - specifically his 16-inch and 10-inch versions. I was walking by at night, convinced that nothing would ever entice me to become more than a casual observer again, when I took a look at M13 in the 16-inch binoculars. I was stunned! M13 looked like a 3D ball of stars, not something flat ... and the view was “alive” ... there is no other way to describe this. It’s what happens when you view with both eyes through dedicated telescopes –

one for each eye. My first JMI Reverse Binocular was a 10-inch. I modified it by adding larger secondary mirrors to prevent vignetting of the primaries and enhanced coatings everywhere. This was a good “starter” binocular – it provided some amazing views and I learned how to quickly merge the images and collimate the optics. It was so light that Daphne and I could lift it into the back of the truck. Our new 14.5-inch binoculars roll up a ramp, but, like the much smaller 10inch binoculars, these benefit from no setup or tear-down ... you arrive, they roll out, you're ready! All JMI Reverse Binocular telescopes have one thing in common: everything is accomplished at the push of a button. The individual telescope tubes are mounted via a bearing that allows each to move either “up and down” or “left to right.” Unlike some

binocular telescopes where merging is accomplished by tweaking the collimation, each set of telescope optics of the JMI Reverse Binoculars is first perfectly collimated, then each tube is moved via electric motors to merge the images. With this technique, the collimation of each tube always remains perfect. The ability to merge the images via electric motors cannot be overstated. With any telescope system, major swings in scope orientation can produce minor flexures that have the potential of splitting the images apart. With the JMI binocular telescopes, a few seconds of tweaking alignment using the push button controls is all that’s necessary to remerge them. This becomes especially important when viewing at very high magnifications. Focus for each eye is also electronically controlled, as is interocular distance adjustment. System electronics also Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

JMI 14.5-INCH F/4 REVERSE BINOCULARS

All functions of the 14.5-inch RBs from tube alignment to focus are electronic, push-button motor controlled.

feature optional digital encoders that were installed at our request together with a computer for quick location of objects in the night sky. Once we had the 10-inch binoculars, it wasn't long before old habits resurfaced and aperture fever set in. So, I got in touch with Jim and asked whether it would be possible

48 Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

Close-up of the "x" and "y" tube alignment motors.

to build a pair of 14.5-inch f/4 binoculars? These would have exactly twice the light gathering power of the 10-inch binos, but would still be remarkably compact and portable. Jim decided that the 14.5-inch size would make a nice alternative to the larger 16-inch binoculars that JMI already offered and, about a year later, they were finished.

We returned the 10-inch binoculars and took delivery of the 14.5-inch. These new 14.5-inch binoculars are prototypes, although much was borrowed from the 16-inch design. I ended up making a few minor adjustments to balance them more perfectly and to tighten up the reduction gears in the drive motors a bit. Once

JMI 14.5-INCH F/4 REVERSE BINOCULARS

Close-up of the eyepiece diagonals and interocular distance motors.

these adjustments were made, the new binoculars were everything that I had hoped for. The collimation is adjusted via a “pushpull” set of bolts. Once it is perfect and everything tightened down, it does not change, because the mirrors are glued to the supports in the mirror cell. The mirror cells, and a small portion of the mirrors themselves, hang out the back of the telescope tubes – a great feature, because this allows the optics to equilibrate to ambient temperature very quickly. Each telescope tube of the binoculars is equipped with a back cover that is, in turn, equipped with fans to force cooling if there is no breeze, but I prefer to leave the mirror backs exposed to the night air whenever possible. A word about eyepieces: when I first got the 10-inch binoculars, the included “standard” eyepieces were designed to provide a 50 degree apparent field of view. While adequate, these did not provide the “space walk” feeling that you want to experience with binoculars. So, I bought a set of Televue Panoptics and the improvement was immediate and significant. Edge correction improved and the 68-degree apparent field of view was terrific! In all, I equipped the 10inch binoculars with sets of 24-mm, 19mm, and the now discontinued 15-mm Panoptics. These served us well with that binocular. The f/4 optics of the 14.5-inch binoc-

Each 14.5-inch primary mirror is supported by an 18-point cell

ular proved to be a little fast for the Panoptics so I contacted David Nagler and asked if we could borrow a couple of sets of 1.25inch Naglers to try out – specifically the 16mm Type 5 and the 11-mm Type 6. When they arrived it was cloudy – I had to wait a few days until we had a clear night – but, when we finally got to enjoy the view

through the Naglers, it was as if someone had turned on the lights! The edge correction was almost perfect, despite the fast optics, and, with the 82-degree apparent field of view, it was truly like floating in space! More important, the 16-mm Type 5 Naglers provided the same actual field of view as the 19-mm Panoptics - over 1/2 a

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JMI 14.5-INCH F/4 REVERSE BINOCULARS

Motorcycle-style handlebars provide truly intuitive aiming control of the JMI 14.5-inch RBs.

STANDARD SPECIFICATIONS: • OTA Type: Dual Newtonian reflectors. • Mount: Alt-azimuth mount attached to a pier mount. • Mirrors: 14.5-inch f/4.0 primary mirrors, 3.5-inch diagonal secondary mirrors. • Diagonals: Erect image or standard at purchaser’s option. • Clearance Between Light Paths: 8 inches. • Eyepiece Spacing: Variable from 2 inches to 3.25 inches. • Alignment: Motorized “x” and “y” axis for optical tube alignment. • Power: 6vDC operation with 4.5 amp-hour rechargeable battery with 110vAC/60Hz or 220vAC/50Hz charger • Binocular Weight: Approximately 155 pounds. • Pier Weight: Approximately 27 pounds. • Binocular Height: 61 inches at Zenith (measured from top of binocular to bottom of tripod with binocular in vertical position). • Binocular Length: 52 inches. • Binocular Width: 45 inches. • Binocular Depth: 22 inches. STANDARD EQUIPMENT: • Two 2-inch RCF-1 Focusers with motors for motorized focusing. • Two 30-mm Wide Angle Eyepieces. • Star Pointer Finder Scope. • 6vDC battery (includes AC charger). • Built-In Handle Bars permit easy movement of the scope. STANDARD FEATURES: • Ease of use - no bulky, complicated or expensive mount. Just look down into the binocular to see the sky behind you. • Six motors for adjusting inter-ocular (eye) spacing, focusing and optical tube alignment with the touch of a button. • Modified Reverse Crayford focusers. • Fold-away motorcycle-type handle bars for pointing the instrument. • Tow-bar and wheels for easy movement of the instrument. • Compatible with MAX computers. • Battery operation. • JMI’s celebrated quality construction.

Close-up of the azimuth bearings.

50 Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

BASE PRICE: $11,500.00

JMI 14.5-INCH F/4 REVERSE BINOCULARS

A look into the business end of one of the twin optical tubes.

degree! Satisfied that the 1.25-inch Naglers are ideal for the 14.5-inch, f/4 optics, we acquired a set that is now dedicated to that scope. All the optics were made and coated by Discovery Telescopes. The matching mirrors are superb and the enhanced coatings brilliant. Once again, I have chosen oversized secondaries to make sure that 100

Transportation of the 14.5-inch RBs is made easy by the quick release tow-bar and large all-terrain wheels.

percent of the light provided by the primaries gets to the eyepiece. In this case, the secondaries measure 4 inches in minor axis to better accommodate the steep, f/4 light cone. The custom optics and coatings cost a little bit more, but are worth every penny! The ease of transport, the beautiful and inspiring views, and the compact size make

these binoculars special. They are not for someone who wants a turnkey, no-brainer telescope – these have to be studied and understood. But, it only requires a few nights to master what does what – after that, it’s almost reflex. I anticipate some lines at star parties – you simply cannot look at these and not want to look through them.

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Astronomik LRGB Type IIc Filters "A superior choice for your astronomical imaging requirements"

By David Snay

Introduction I have been using an Astronomik H-a filter for narrowband imaging in my Meade DSI-Pro cameras for over a year and recently added their O-III filter for bicolor, narrowband imaging. I have been very impressed with the quality of the data I have been able to acquire using those filters. The images are always smoother and cleaner than the ones I make using standard equipment LRGB (luminance, red, green and blue) filters. I have seen many wonderful images made by my peers using high-end filters from other manufacturers, but never with the Astronomik LRGB set. Therefore, when the opportunity to evaluate their latest LRGB filters presented itself, I jumped at the chance. It turns out that Astronomik is not a company per se. Rather, it is a brand name reserved for filters produced through a joint venture between the Astro-Shop (www.astro-shop.de) and Gerd Neumann,

Jr. (www.gerd.neumann.net). Gerd is a mechanical engineer specializing in astronomy accessories and the Astro-Shop is owned and operated by a long-time friend of Gerd. A visit to Gerdâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s website reveals the breadth of accessories he produces. You will find Astronomik filters (obviously), adapters for various Webcams and cameras, telescope making materials, and imaging accessories. Make sure you see â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Elephantâ&#x20AC;? tripod that Gerd produces. It is a remarkable sight. Shipping and Packaging My set came directly from Gerd, so my packaging was probably a little different from what is typical for third party vendors. The filters come in one wellpadded plastic case. That case was, in turn, enclosed in a well-padded, envelope-like box. The outer box was a little roughed up during the journey from Germany to my home in New England, but the contents

were completely undamaged. Since my set came directly from Gerd, all markings are in German. I have family in Germany, so I took a special liking to them immediately. Installation I used these filters in both my Meade DSI-Pro II and an Orion StarShoot Deep Space Monochrome Imager II that I have recently been testing. I wanted to compare the filters in both of the imagers since they use the same chip to see if there was a similar effect on the image quality in both. I installed the filters in the filter bar for the Meade imager with almost no effort. The threads on the filters match the filter bar smoothly and the filters seated at the same level with little effort. I am not a fan of the design of the filter bar, but at least the filters went in with no trouble. When it came time to install the filters in the filter wheel that came with the Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

ASTRONOMIK LRGB TYPE IIC FILTERS Orion imager, I found that the threads did not match quite as easily. However, the filters did install completely and, with careful effort, I was able to seat them all to the same level in the wheel. When I had finished using the Astronomik filters in the wheel, I tested the Orion filters in the Meade filter bar and found that they did not match there as well as the Astronomik filters. I was hoping that would be the case as, otherwise, it would have meant I had damaged the threads in the Astronomik filters when using them in the filter bar. Thankfully, the Astronomik filters still matched easily and smoothly with the filter bar, so there was no damage. That would have been very disappointing.

Image 1

M65 and M66 with the Meade RGB filters.

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First Light My first light with these filters was a quick trip to two of Leoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Trio of galaxies, M65 and M66. I chose this target because I had just started working on it using the

ASTRONOMIK LRGB TYPE IIC FILTERS filters that came with my Meade DSI-Pro II. Image 1 shows the results with my standard filter set. It is poorly framed, but it was the first attempt and I was just experimenting to determine appropriate exposures, so I did not really care about the framing. The day after I took Image 1 the Astronomik filters arrived, complete with as many clouds as Gerd could fit in the package. Thankfully, it was a small package and I only had clouds for three nights. I unpacked the filters, removed my standard filters from the filter bar and installed the Astronomik filters. When the clouds cleared, I took a set of images of the same subject using the exact same exposures and settings. Image 2 shows the results and I was amazed at the difference. The detail in the galaxies was significantly improved when using the Astronomik filters â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the stars are much tighter and crisper and the color balance is extraordinary. The data from the Astronomik filters required less processing to produce a far superior image. Bear in mind that both of these images are the result of only 28 minutes in each channel and there is no luminance data in either of them. Unfortunately, that first night was followed by many nights of rain, clouds, high winds and generally awful weather for astronomy â&#x20AC;&#x201C; great reading weather, but lousy for astronomy. A cursory examination of the first image shows that the color balance is a little off, as expected. I used the same number of two-minute exposures with each filter. The camera is not as responsive to green and blue, so I had to work harder to balance the colors in post-processing than I would have liked. To address that issue, I did some research on how to determine the appropriate method for calculating the proper ratios for each channel. I found many references to the G2V star calibration method, which basically comes down to picking a star that is similar to our own Sun in color and then

Image 2

M65 and M66 with the Astronomik RGB filters.

Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

ASTRONOMIK LRGB TYPE IIC FILTERS

Image 3

M3 through the Orion Starshoot.

Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

adjusting your color ratios to make it look white. It sounds simple enough in theory, but I found it nearly impossible to identify appropriate stars without purchasing some additional software. Fortunately, I found another method that is quite simple. It requires an 18 percent grey card, available at most camera shops, and a full or nearly full moon. You make images of the card of equal exposure through each filter using the moon for illumination. You then import each of these images into Photoshop, or whatever post processing software you use, and merge them to form an RGB image. It should look pretty much like the grey card, although it might be a little lighter or darker. Then, you measure the values of each channel in one spot. The Color Sampler tool in Photoshop is great for this. A little simple math with those values will determine the correct ratios for each filter in a given camera. I did this for an Orion StarShoot DSMI-II and calculated a ratio

ASTRONOMIK LRGB TYPE IIC FILTERS 1:1.5:1.6 for the Orion. So, now I just use the red filter as the base and multiply the number of exposures there by the calculated value for the green and blue filters and off I go. Using those results, I installed the filters in the Orion camera and pointed it at M3, a globular cluster. Image 3 shows the results of 40’, 26’, 40’, and 42’ of LRGB data respectively. Image 4 is of a smaller globular and shows the results of 60’ each of LRGB taken through my Meade DSI-Pro II. I have not performed the calibration test on my Meade imager yet, so I just used equal amounts of data in all channels and adjusted the balance in Photoshop. Both imagers use the same imaging chip, so the field of view and sensitivity of the chips are nearly identical. Overall Impressions These filters are very well made. Astronomik filters are dichriotic interference filters made to extremely precise tolerances. The attention to quality is clear at first glance. The surfaces are smooth and hard. Gerd Neumann tells me that you would need something like sand paper to damage them. I do not know that I would go that far, but they do seem pretty tough. I cleaned them a few times while using them in the Meade filter bar and they show no ill effects. The quality of these filters becomes apparent at first use. The backgrounds of images produced are much smoother and easier to process than has been the case with other filters I have used. Gradients are a fraction of the problem they were and are relatively easy to deal with. Perhaps the most striking improvement provided by these filters is that the stars are the same size in all color channels. Until now, I have had to deal with the stars in my blue data being significantly larger than the other channels. Correcting that is an exercise in compromise, where I have had to balance the processing such that there is little or no blue halo, while

Image 4

NGC 5024 through the Meade DSI-Pro II.

maintaining enough blue in other areas to reveal accurate detail. One more detail of these filters that I find very helpful is that they are par focal. I cannot tell you how many hours I have spent adjusting focus when changing from one filter to the next. The most I have had to do with these is a minor adjustment to the focus. Once I seated the filters properly in whichever holder I was using (filter bar or wheel), I no longer needed to adjust between filter changes. I still check, but I

have not had to adjust when using it in my refractor and only a little bit when using a Newtonian. I suspect that is due more to the nature of the optics in the telescopes than the filters. I feel these filters are among the best available on the market. However, they come at a surprisingly low price: currently $280 for the 1.25-inch LRGB set. In my opinion, that makes these filters an excellent choice for your astronomical imaging requirements.

Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

Confessions of a Christmas Trash Scope The bane of amateur astronomers world-wide! By Richard S. Wright, Jr.

Christmas comes and goes and in its wake lay thousands of Christmas telescopes, adorning closets and garages all across America. Telescopes are popular gifts and children of all ages dream of the sights each will bring of the cosmos. For every such child there is a corresponding adult fretting over which telescope to buy, and afterwards how to use it! Astronomy magazines publish annual telescope buyer’s guides and articles warning gift givers about cheap telescopes and misleading advertising… I remember well my first telescope. I was only in the second grade, but having marveled at the Apollo missions and being spellbound by a school trip to the planetarium the year before, I knew somehow space was my destiny. I recall begging my parents for it and being told that I was too little for such a big toy. Constant nagging, always an effective childhood technique, finally won out and my parents surprised me Christmas morning with my first “real” telescope. I was disappointed to see that it was so small and had no stand like the bigger models I had seen in the store. But the numbers on it read “7x35.” Wow!

That must mean 35 power times 7! Surely I could see the flag left on the moon by the astronauts with such a powerful instrument. I quickly discovered that the telescope excelled at looking at my friend’s house down the street, but not at looking at the stars. The sky was a total wash - occasionally I would see a star or two briefly zip through my field of view, but the wonders of the night sky eluded me. I tried looking at the moon - when it was full, naturally and found that it looked a little bigger, but, alas, no flag or footprints of astronauts. Just keeping the moon in view was too much of a challenge for a seven-yearold’s patience. I don’t know how long it was before I finally turned my small scope towards the moon again, but this time while it was only half full. I recall steadying it on a low hanging branch of the tree in our front yard. I don’t know the date, or even the year, but it was a moment that changed my life forever. Suddenly, I saw craters on the moon. Real craters, in glorious, astounding 3D relief! Why, oh why didn’t someone tell me that the best time to look

at the moon was NOT when it was full? For the first time ever I really saw the moon – with my own eyes. No, this was not a picture, this really was the moon, and closer than I had ever seen it. From that moment forward, the sole purpose of my life would be to acquire one of those bigger telescopes, with a stand to hold it steady, and with eyepieces that let you zoom in real close. I imagined myself as an adult with a small dome in my back yard, my glorious telescope tucked away inside – the mysteries of the universe awaited! Always, I have loved the sky. I’d lie in my yard staring up at twilight, watching the stars come out one by one. I’d lie on my back and watch the moon in the daytime, dreaming of the moon bases that would be there by 1999. I’d be in my 30’s by then - probably too old to survive a ride on a rocket. As so often happens, life has its own priorities and my dreams of a mighty telescope remained only that for many years. Middle school, high school, the death of my father, my first “job,” and working my way through college left little time or money for an expensive telescope. Soon

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CONFESSIONS OF A CHRISTMAS TRASH SCOPE

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marriage and a career lay close on the horizon and I dared finally dream of splurging to acquire my lifetime dream. After all, what good is it to be an adult if you can’t buy the bigger toys! My fiancé at the time took note of my unhealthy obsession with space (thankfully, she married me anyway) and would patiently allow me to drool over the telescopes at the department stores we’d visit. These were usually in the camera department and she had a camera after all. It was Christmas 1985, when my soon-to-be wife presented me with a gift box that was heavy, long and slender. Tearing away the paper revealed the dream of my dreams. It was red and shiny! It had its own stand with precision slow motion controls! It had its own little “finder scope” attached and, best of all, it was marked “450X”! I knew by this time that no telescope would show me the flag on the moon or the footprints of the astronauts, but 450 power was definitely going to bring me the universe! It even had a special filter for the eyepiece that would allow me to look at the sun! Yes friends, what I have just described is the dreaded “Christmas Trash Scope,” the bane of amateur astronomers worldwide each and every Christmas. Astronomy magazines and books are full of articles warning you about this dreaded monstrosity. The mounts are wobbly and useless. The optics are cheap and produce “rainbow” star images. The solar filters are DANGEROUS (lucky I’m not blind!) and the maximum useful magnification is actually more like 40 power, not 450. “Do not purchase such a scope,” the commentators lament. “They will lose interest in astronomy and get frustrated,” they say. “The filters can crack and blind them!” they warn. “Buy them binoculars instead,” they recommend. Binoculars? It is my most unqualified opinion that most of the people who offer such advice have 20-inch reflectors and the roofs of their garage slide off at night. Sure, to them such an instrument is

unworthy of anyone’s closet and is incapable of fostering any real interest in astronomy or of being any use at all. A piece of advice here: any child (regardless of age) who asks for a telescope and receives binoculars instead is going to be sorely disappointed (you might as well have bought them a sweater). No amount of coaxing will get them to appreciate the practical utility of a pair of binoculars. Every child knows that you need a telescope to look at the stars, not binoculars! It doesn’t matter how many books or magazine articles you show them, nor that it is actually possible to hold binoculars somewhat steady. We - um, they - want to see the moon and planets, through a real telescope! Don’t try to pawn off a pair of binoculars on me mister - I want the real thing! There is something magical about actually having a telescope that suddenly elevates astronomy from an academic interest into a bona-fide obsession – which means that now I would start reading about telescopes and how to use them. For some strange reason, very few of us do that first. It took me less than a week to discover that my bride-to-be had just “thrown her money away” on a useless instrument that would bring me frustration and inadequate views of anything I aimed it at. Images would be color distorted, stars would glare, high-power views would be impossible, and I would never be able to hold the scope on any target with the poorly constructed stand supplied. In the interest of her remaining my bride-to-be, I decided against the “Thanks honey for the effort, but you really should have gotten me binoculars!” approach and decided to make the best of it. No choice really. Even the price of a Christmas trash scope was a lot of money to us back then and hopes of a better scope would be years away. My first night out, I was determined to get a look at Jupiter’s Great Red Spot. Jupiter was high in the sky at sunset and

CONFESSIONS OF A CHRISTMAS TRASH SCOPE very bright. It was much later that night and January-in-Kentucky cold before I finally took my new scope outside. At midnight I looked to where Jupiter had been before and I saw a bright “star” in roughly the same place (so I thought). I’m embarrassed to admit this now, but I was a semi-college educated young man on his way to being an engineer, who knew the earth rotated, but didn’t have enough of a grasp on the scale of things to realize that Jupiter had long set by the time I tried to aim my new scope at it. Instead, I was actually looking at the star Sirius. It was 5 degrees Fahrenheit and I’d found a dark place behind my mom’s garage to set up. I had big thick gloves on, which made it difficult to work the “slow motion controls,” but I persevered. I immediately selected the highest-power eyepiece and paired it with the included 2X Barlow lens. Then I began trying to center the scope on what I thought was Jupiter. I finally figured out that I should start with the lower-power eyepiece and then, once centered, switch to the higherpowered eyepieces. The problem was that, even with the lower-powered eyepiece, I could not get Jupiter (Sirius) in my field of view. Occasionally, I’d get some faint smudge of brightness, but it was out of focus. I wheeled the focus knob all the way out and back in, but never saw anything. I finally decided to focus on a neighbor’s porch light and discovered that even that could not be found - only darkness greeted my gaze. I removed the eyepiece and was going to quit in despair when I noticed that screwed into the eyepiece was the darkgreen solar filter I had been playing with earlier when I unboxed the scope. Revitalized, I again attempted what I thought was Jupiter. I did in fact manage to get Sirius centered in the low power view, but it looked more like an airplane from a distance, with multi-colored lights on it, than a single star. The view never really appeared in focus, or so I thought. I looked at the objective and discovered

that my misadventures thus far had taken so long that the front lens had frost on it and was mostly blocked by it. Perhaps my breath, which I could see colliding with the lens in the cold air, wasn’t helping. Over the years that followed, I learned how to get the most from my trash scope. I never did see the Great Red Spot on Jupiter with it and I learned that stars, by themselves, were on the whole fairly uninteresting, and that the brighter they were the worse they looked. But, I also found that some of the dimmer stars were actually double stars and that my lowly trash scope could actually split many doubles very well. I found that some star charts had double stars marked, and that finding them and seeing the two components was actually quite challenging and fun in itself. With the aide of my poor scope, I was learning to use a star chart and learning my way around the night sky like I never had before (recall, I didn’t recognize Sirius when I saw it!). I still remember the first time I found the Great Orion Nebula (exploded star guts as I described them to my cousins). I couldn’t believe my eyes! It was like finding a microscopic universe in the middle of the sky. It had been hanging over my head all my life and I had never known it was there. I marveled at Saturn’s rings. Jupiter showed me two brown bands and orbiting moons that changed nightly. I began to keep a journal and sketch in the positions of the Galilean moons and any background stars I thought I detected near Jupiter. Once, under ideal conditions during the apparition of 1988, I even saw a polar cap on Mars’ otherwise featureless disk. M13 in Hercules took repeated tries from a lighted apartment complex parking lot, but, once I found it, I felt like a “deep sky pro.” But the moon remained my favorite quarry. It is different each and every night and you can wander its surface endlessly. I found that my “flawed” optics actually did a fair job on the lunar surface, as long as I didn’t push the magnification too much, Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

CONFESSIONS OF A CHRISTMAS TRASH SCOPE and even then, I could still see enough detail to identify features in a lunar atlas. I discovered by accident that you could project the moon’s image on a white T-shirt through the back of the telescope with no eyepiece in place. Soon I was using an index card behind the telescope to trace the lunar disk. I even used this projection technique during a couple of partial solar eclipses to show friends the “dragon biting into the sun.” Finding and tracking an object was quite a challenge. To keep the scope steady, I occasionally tied an old tennis shoe to the tube to weigh it down to reduce vibration. I became keenly aware of light pollution and found that neighbors’ porch lights were often the worse culprits. I would often sit in an outside closet to keep stray light from interfering and would put a jacket over my head and the scope. Even with such a poor, trashy instru-

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ment, I discovered the tricks of averted vision, that dark adaptation was important, and that the longer you looked at something, the more detail would appear over time. I took my small telescope everywhere: to darker skies near Fort Knox, Kentucky, and to my wife’s aunt’s house in Tennessee when we were on vacation, where she thoughtfully “surprised” me by turning on the outside flood lights, because she felt sorry for me “out there in the dark.” I don’t see as many trash scopes at the department stores anymore. Now when I visit the department stores, I see brand names that grace my shed and back room today. I see reasonably advertised powers of 40x and 50x, with pictures on the box in black and white, not from the Hubble spacecraft, but more representative of what might actually be seen. This is a good thing I think. Still, I occasionally come across the 700X telescope that can see for a hundred thousand trillion

miles. I wonder how many other budding science enthusiasts they have ruined? I did eventually move on from my poor trash scope. Some years later, my family was growing, my career taking off, and we moved from Kentucky to Florida. A trip to the beach ruined a camera and a trip to a camera repair shop introduced me to my third telescope. There in a corner with “used” equipment stood a white 4.5-inch Edmund Scientific reflector. It was on consignment, with no eyepieces and a primary mirror that looked like somebody had to scrape the leaves off it before bringing it in out of the rain. A burned out clock drive completed the ensemble. For $50 I took it home. I found that if I wrapped enough electrical tape around the eyepieces from my old red trash scope, I could make them fit in the 1.25-inch focusing tube of my new reflector. Oh what joy and further discovery lay ahead…

Baader Hyperion Eyepieces I love wide-field eyepieces! By Erik Wilcox

The perfect travel package!

I love wide-field eyepieces. The ability to use a higher magnification while maintaining a wide true field of view, and to be able to frame multiple objects, makes wide-fields my eyepieces of choice in most situations. I also enjoy the immersive effect that wide-field eyepieces provide. However, there is always a price to be paid. Many inexpensive wide-field eyepieces suffer from edge aberrations, especially in telescopes with fast focal ratios. My 16-inch f/4.5 Dobsonian eats most inexpensive wide-fields for lunch! Some are simply unusable in this scope. So when Baader introduced its Hyperion line of wide-field eyepieces, I was curious to see whether these would perform well, or just be “more of the same.” What piqued my curiosity was the fact that many of the Hyperions use an 8-element lens configuration, and like some more

expensive lines, they employ a positive/negative design that features an internal Barlow lens. This seemed to suggest that the edge correction could be better than others in their price range. First, a few specifics on these eyepieces: in addition to the 5-group/8element design, the 1.25-inch Hyperions offer a generous 20 mm of eye relief, a 68degree apparent field of view, German designed “Phantom Group” multi-coatings, camera threads, and the ability to change focal length by using an optional and inexpensive “Finetuning Ring.” These rings change the distance between the main lens assembly and the Barlow lens (which easily unscrews from the barrel so the tuning ring can be installed). The new 24-mm Hyperion is the only exception in the 1.25-inch line, as it does not use a Barlow lens in its design.

Additionally, the Hyperions can be used in either 1.25-inch or 2-inch mode, and are even said to accept the popular Tele Vue Dioptrx astigmatism correcting lenses. All come with lens caps and a leatherette bag. There’s also an 8- to 24-mm widefield click stop zoom Hyperion eyepiece, which boasts an apparent field of view of 50 to 68 degrees, depending on the focal length chosen (68 degrees in the 8-mm setting, 50 degrees in the 24-mm setting). Additionally, the focus shift is minimal throughout its magnification range. The build quality on the entire line is very nice indeed. As a line, I found that the eyeguards can be a bit cumbersome, as they had a tendency to come off the eyepiece entirely whenever I tried to unfold them. For this reason, I usually viewed with them folded Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

BAADER HYPERION EYEPIECES down, except when eye placement or stray light from ambient sources necessitated them being folded up. Perhaps, over time, they’d “loosen up,” and unfold easier. Of course, the reason that the eyeguards come off more easily than those of typical designs is that the Hyperion eyeguards are designed to be removed – they conceal the M43 and SP54 threads that permit the eyepieces to be attached directly for photography as high-quality projection optics or tele-extenders. Indeed, each of the Hyperions is supplied with two dust covers for the eye lens end – one that fits the eyeguard when it is folded down and one that fits it in its unfolded configuration. So, once you decide which eyeguard position you prefer, you can simply leave it in that position and cover it with the dust cover that fits that position when you’ve finished using it. For my reviews, I used the following telescopes: a 16-inch f/4.5 Dobsonian with a Tele Vue Paracorr coma corrector, an 80-mm f/5 refractor, a Stellarvue

64 Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

Nighthawk NG 80ED f/7 refractor, and a 4.5-inch f/8 Newtonian, all of which have 2-inch focusers. I used the eyepieces over several nights and for reference compared their performance with some of my own wide-field eyepieces of similar focal lengths. Because of the sheer number of eyepieces I evaluated for this article, I thought it might be most useful to list my thoughts on each one separately. Let’s begin! 5-mm Hyperion 1.25-inch In the big Dob, this eyepiece provides 420x, which was a bit too much on the nights of average seeing, when I used it. For that reason, I mainly tested it in the smaller scopes. At f/5, the edge correction was nearly perfect, with only about the outer 5 percent showing any sign of astigmatism, and I really had to look for it, in order to see it. There was a bit of blackout at times, and eye placement seemed a little touchy compared to some of the other focal lengths. The apparent field of

view also seemed just a bit narrower than that of the 13-mm and 17-mm Hyperions. 8-mm Hyperion 1.25-inch At 263x, this eyepiece provided nice views of the moon and Saturn in the 16-inch Dob, as well as brighter showpiece deep space objects, such as M13 a nd M57. At f/4.5, objects stayed crisp right out to the field stop, and even on stars it was difficult to see any edge aberration at all. Eye placement wasn’t quite as touchy as it was with the 5 mm, and the apparent field of view was similar. In the f/7 Stellarvue Nighthawk at 70x, it was also very nice. Attempting to Barlow this eyepiece made the eye placement more critical, though it was still very usable. For the 5-mm and 8-mm, instead of using a traditional Barlow lens, I’d prefer pairing each with something like the Tele Vue Powermate or Meade 5000 Tele-extender. This would eliminate any eye placement issues.

BAADER HYPERION EYEPIECES 13-mm Hyperion 1.25-inch This is one of my favorite eyepieces in the line. It provides 162x in my big Dob and this was a nice all around magnification for many different objects. Edge correction is nearly perfect, and there were no eye placement issues. In darker skies, I did notice a faint bluish ring around the edges of the field stop, but it didn’t detract from the views. The apparent field of view appeared to be a bit wider than that of the 5 mm and 8 mm, and the 13 mm Barlows well. 17-mm Hyperion 1.25-inch This is another gem of an eyepiece. It performed very well in all my scopes, but was really nice in the small refractors. At 33x, it provided a stunning wide-field view in the f/7 Stellarvue Nighthawk and gave me that immersive feeling that only a great wide-field eyepiece can! Once again, edge correction was nearly perfect at every focal ratio. The bluish ring that was just visible at the field stop of the 13 mm is also visible in the 17 mm, but once again, it doesn’t detract from the views in the least. 21-mm Hyperion 1.25-inch I was prepared to be a bit critical of this eyepiece, because I had tried a similar eyepiece a while back and had noticed that the apparent field of view was substantially less than some of the others in the line, and because of that, the true field of view in that 21-mm wide-field was actually closer to that of the 17-mm! But, strangely enough, that wasn’t the case with the 21-mm Hyperion. I believe the reason is eye placement. I noticed that if I put my eye right up to the glass, the apparent field of view seemed to get narrower, like something near the field lens was “stopping it down.” However, with the eyeguard in the “up” position, this wasn’t an issue. The edge correction in the 21 mm is very good, but just a small step below that of the 17-mm and 13-mm Hyperions. Only the outer 5 percent showed any sign of astigmatism and I detected just a bit of

focal ratios. Eye relief is nice, light throughput is good, and it’s lightweight. But for a fast scope, I’d choose the 21 mm instead.

barrel distortion across the field of view. This is only noticeable when panning across the sky, or on large objects like the moon. The 21-mm Hyperion turned out to be the eyepiece I most enjoyed using in the big Dob, because of its wide true field of view in the 1.25-inch format. An added bonus is that by using the 21-mm eyepiece in the 2-inch mode without the Barlow attachment, it turns into a surprisingly capable 2-inch eyepiece in the 32-mm focal length range. While the edge correction isn’t as good without the Barlow attachment, the eyepiece is still very usable in this mode. Two eyepieces for the price of one!

8- to 24-mm Click-Stop Zoom I’ve tried a few different zoom eyepieces in the past, and to be honest, I’ve never been much of a fan. I’ve found that in most cases, an eyepiece with a fixed focal length usually performs better. But the Hyperion Click Stop Zoom (seen left) is different. It offers a nearly perfect level of edge correction at any focal ratio, and I didn’t see any ghosting, lateral color, or other aberrations that I’ve noticed with other inexpensive zoom eyepieces. This zoom eyepiece has an interesting locking ring that unscrews, which, by screwing on the included 2-inch barrel, allows the eyepiece to be used in 2-inch mode instead of the standard 1.25-inch configuration. I preferred the 2-inch mode, as it fit into the focuser a bit more securely. Each focal length “stop” clicks nicely into place, and

24-mm Hyperion 1.25-inch Offering close to the widest true field of view possible in a 1.25-inch barrel, I was hoping this eyepiece would be a good performer. It worked well enough at slower focal ratios, but at f/4.5, the outer third of the field of view showed astigmatism, which got progressively more noticeable towards the edge. This focal length doesn’t share the internal Barlow design of the other eyepieces in the Hyperion 1.25-inch eyepiece line and the edge correction, therefore, isn’t on par with the others. On axis, it’s a good performer, and it would be a very good choice for SCTs or other scopes with long

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BAADER HYPERION EYEPIECES

the user can choose from 5 different focal lengths: 8, 12, 16, 20, and 24 mm. The Hyperion Click Stop Zoom eyepiece would be a great “one size fits all” choice for a grab-and-go scope, or for an airline portable setup. I really liked this eyepiece, and it’s by far the best zoom that I’ve ever used that is priced at less than $250. 14-mm and 28-mm Hyperion Finetuning Rings These are great (seen above), because they allow the user to choose a specific focal length. This means that the perfect magnification/true field of view for a

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given scope can be easily had. When shopping for eyepieces in the past, I’ve often had to choose an eyepiece that wasn’t my first choice, because the one I really wanted wasn’t offered in the exact focal length that I needed. These fine tuning rings allow much more versatility (and the finish matches the eyepiece, so they don’t look odd when they’re installed). For example, with the 21-mm Hyperion, installing the 14-mm ring effectively turns in into a 17.6-mm eyepiece. Use the 28-mm ring, and suddenly, it’s a 15.5-mm eyepiece. Screw both rings together and install them on the 21-mm Hyperion, and now it’s a 14-mm eyepiece. Using a 2-inch Baader filter between the main lens elements and the screw-on Barlow is another way to achieve different magnifications, but with a milder effect. I’d also add that the ability to use 2-inch filters with 1.25inch eyepieces is a nice benefit for those

who own a scope that doesn’t have a 2inch focuser. I preferred to install the rings before going outside under the stars, as it can be slightly difficult to do in the dark, at least the first few times I tried it. The rings work flawlessly, and I had a lot of fun experimenting with different magnifications. There’s almost an endless array of combinations. According to Baader’s chart, the following focal lengths can be achieved using the rings in a combination of the eyepieces, 14-mm ring, 28-mm ring, and/or a 2-inch Baader filter: 1.8, 2.1, 2.5, 2.6, 2.9, 3.2, 3.5, 4, 4.3, 4.5, 5, 6, 8, 8.1, 9.2, 10.8, 11.7, 13, 13.1, 14.6, 15.5, 17, 17.6, 18.5, and 21 mm. So, with just six eyepieces, two Finetuning Rings and a single 2-inch filter, there are at least 25 different focal length possibilities! Additionally, as I mentioned earlier, the 21-mm Hyperion converts to a very decent 32-mm 2-inch eyepiece by simply removing the Barlow attachment.

BAADER HYPERION EYEPIECES Conclusion The Baader Hyperion eyepieces are a very capable and versatile line. The 21mm, 17-mm, and 13-mm Hyperions are truly excellent in every regard, and their very reasonable price makes them an incredible value. Without even considering price, these three focal lengths are wonderful wide-field eyepieces. The 5-mm and 8-mm Hyperion eyepieces are also very good performers, and for the price, they’re hard to beat. And the Click Stop Zoom is a great value as well. While the Hyperions are very competent for lunar and planetary work, in my opinion, they really excel on deep sky. Despite the number of lens elements, I couldn’t see much difference in light throughput compared to other high-quality eyepieces with fewer elements. With the Finetuning Rings, additional barrels, and camera threads, the Baader Hyperions are some of the some of the most versatile eyepieces on the market today, and an incredible bargain!

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ASTRO TIPS tips, tricks and novel solutions Wilcox Rings – Not Just for Newtonians Anymore! The inaugural April 2007 issue of ATT featured Erik Wilcox’s Wilcox Rings, a very popular and practical, budget solution to tube rotation for small- to medium-aperture, equatorially-mounted Newtonians. The most common complaint of users of equatoriallymounted Newtonians is that the eyepiece can be very difficult to comfortably reach as orientation of the scope changes to various regions of the sky. The ability to quickly and easily rotate the scope tube allows placement of the eyepiece in an easy to reach position, regardless of scope orientation. Indeed, for many, easy tube rotation makes equatorially-mounted Newtonians the most comfortable scope type for many users. The online version of Erik’s original article, complete with instructions for constructing your own Wilcox Rings, is available to all current ATT subscribers – just visit www.astronomytechnologytoday.com to login to your online account and access to the article. We have adapted Erik’s rings to a number of scopes and that now includes an equatorially mounted refractor as well! Here’s why. The advent of reflex finders, such as the Rigel Systems QuickFinder and the Telrad, have made the use of right-angle finder scopes much more practical. Point your telescope at the general vicinity of your intended target using the reflex finder and then, comfortably, use the right-angle finder scope to “find” and center that target. Before using a right-angle finder scope with the refractor, we’d

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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simply rotate the refractor’s diagonal to return the eyepiece to a comfortable position, regardless of where in the sky the refractor was aimed. But, the addition of a right-angle finder scope complicated this process. Rotating the main telescope diagonal alone often left the telescope eyepiece and right-angle finder scope eyepiece pointed in two very different directions, only one of which was reachable. Having to contort to reach the eyepiece of the right-angle finder scope defeated its purpose. The solution was to add Wilcox Rings to the refractor. Now we simply rotate the entire scope tube until the main eyepiece and rightangle finder scope eyepiece are both rotated to a comfortably reached position. As demonstrated in these photos, the refractor tube is easily rotated to keep both eyepieces within easy reach as the aiming orientation of the scope varies. Problem solved!

SUBSCRIBERS can now renew their subscription online! For more information go to our website. www.AstronomyTechnologyToday.com

Introducing the New Constellation View 2340 Binoculars! These new high quality 2.3x40 binoculars are light weight (10.4 oz) and feature eye relief of 7 mm and an amazingly wide FOV of 1370 ft@1000 yards! Each CV 2340 ships complete with lens caps and a leather case, all at an introductory price of only $99!

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