Oct09

ASTRONOMY

TECHNOLOGY TODAY Your Complete Guide to Astronomical Equipment PORTABOWL PROJECT • EXPLORE SCIENTIFIC AR152 ACHROMATIC REFRACTOR ADM ACCESSORIES LOSMANDY “D” SERIES FORMAT ADAPTER FOR EQG-STYLE MOUNTS REDSHIFT 7 PREMIUM • IPI 262 MOUNT FROM IOTT PRECISION INSTRUMENTS SIMPLE PROJECT FOR IMPROVING GOTO ALIGNMENT • ATM DIMMER FOR A SURPLUS SHED LED

A Look at Two “Excellent Adventures” in Astronomy

Volume 3 • Issue 5 September/October 2009

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Contents Cover Story: Pages 35 - 43 If you are like us, you dream of traveling to remote dark sites and in this issue we offer two cover articles on just such places, the Atacama Lodge near san Pedro de Atacama in northern Chile and The Palms Resort Hotel in Saipan. Both of these destinations not only offer incredibly dark skies, but also uniquely enjoyable accommodations and numerous daytime adventures.

The cover image is a composite of The Palms Hotel taken by famed astroimager Jack Newton using his Hutech modified Canon 5D with full 35mm 13 meg chip, 19mm Tamron lens at f/4, six minute exposure.

And speaking of astronomy related travel, Jack offers his own unique travel opportunity at his world-class astronomy-themed Observatory Bed & Breakfast in Osoyoos, British Columbia in Canada. And for those looking for a more permanent getaway, you can do as Jack and his wife Alice do and acquire your own astronomy escape at Arizona Sky Village in southeastern Arizona.

12 Editor’s Note Is it Really Amateur Astronomy?

By Gary Parkerson

53 Explore Scientific AR152 Achromatic Refractor A Definite Winner

By Craig Bobchin

35 A Chilean Odyssey Field Testing the Astro Hutech Modified Canon 50D

By Klaus Brasch

57 Redshift 7 Premium Not Your Ordinary Planetarium Software

By Dave Snay

42 A Room With a View Tropical Resort + Dark Skies + Big Telescopes = Perfect Vacation

By Shawn Hendrix

64 An ATM Dimmer for a Surplus Shed LED A Simple-To-Build Circuit Design for Powering and Dimming this Versatile LED Assembly

By Rick Saunders

In This Issue

45 PortaBOWL Project An ATM 4 1/2-inch F/8 Ball-Scope Project Anyone can Build for Under $100!

By Jay Scheuerle 49 ADM Accessories Losmandy “D” Series Format Adapter for EQG-Style Mounts Updating the Orion Sirius Dovetail Base

By Dave Snay

67 The IPI 262 Mount from Iott Precision Instruments A Look at a New Premium, High-Capacity Mount

By Karl Zimmerman 72 Astro Tips, Tricks, & Novel Solutions A Simple Project for Improving GOTO Alignment

By Joe Campbell

Industry News 15 RTMC To Host PATS

16 HANDS ON OPTICS Now Exclusive Dealer for AstroTelescopes 16 QSI Now Shipping 583 Cameras 17 STARLIGHT XPRESS USB Filter Wheel Now Available 18 SHELYAK INSTRUMENTS Introduces Sentinel Cloud SensorComplete Weather Station to US Market 18 ASTRONOMICAL LEAGUE Honors Alan Traino with Astronomical League Award 19 OPTEC To Introduce Perseus 4-port Instrument Selector

20 MALCO PRECISION Develops Lower Clamp Block Set for Dobs 21 ASTRO-PHYSICS Announces New Production Run of 900GTO

Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

9

Contributing Writers

Contents New Products 22 CRITERION MACHINE COMPANY New Counterweight Shaft

Craig Bobchin first became interested in Astronomy back in the 1970’s in suburban New Jersey.

He is on his 5th term as vice president of the Orange County Astronomers and is an avid astroimager who is very involved in astronomy outreach. He is president of Astronomy4You which provides astronomy outreach for corporate events, weddings, and all forms of parties and events. He can be reached at Craig@Astronomy4You.com and his web site is http://www.Astronomy4You.com

Klaus Brasch, Ph.D., is a retired biology professor living in Arizona. Getting hooked on astronomy as a teenager through the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada and the A.L.P.O., he took his first grainy moon pictures in 1957 and has pursued astrophotography ever since. He has been widely published in books and magazines, and translated Urban Astronomy, Great Observatories of the World and New Atlas of the Moon from French into English. Klaus frequently lectures on topics ranging from astro-imaging to life in the universe to students, clubs and the public.

23 ASTROTRAC Portable Wedge and Pier System for TT320X Tracker 24 SOFTWARE BISQUE Releases TheSkyX Serious Astronomer Edition 25 CELESTRON New EdgeHD Optics

Joe Campbell works in the Information Technology field by day pushing bits and bytes around the world. However, on clear nights he can be found collecting photons from far off stars, while on cloudy ones he passes the time building things to do it better next time around

Shawn Hendrix lives in Santa Clarita, California, with wife, Ramona, and children, Trevor and Megan. Shawn is a regular at Mt. Pinos events and has been in love with God’s Creation, the Universe, since his first views through a Celestron 8 at age 13.

Rick Saunders is an amateur astronomer, inveterate tinkerer and member of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, London Centre. His passion is DSLR imaging and on cloudy nights he spends his time designing and building equipment to help further that passion.

26 ASTROSYSTEMS Short F/Ratio Telescope Specialty Products 27 GARRET OPTICAL Introduces 150mm F/5.5 Binocular Telescope

Jay Scheuerle works as a graphic designer, pushing pixels in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but his heart is into creating more tangible works. ATMing allows him to blend clean aesthetics with a healthy disregard for convention, preferring the challenge of learning “the hard way.” The need to escape inner-city light pollution not only keeps him in the shop, but drives him to focus on easily portable designs.

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.

Karl Zimmerman has a degree in physics and currently works as a manager at a high-tech firm.

He has been involved with amateur astronomy since his early teenage years, but only it is only recently that he has been able to enjoy higher-end equipment and pursuing large-format CCD imaging.

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Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

28 ORION TELESCOPES & BINOCULARS Introduces New Wave of Products 30 ORION TELESCOPES & BINOCULARS Releases V6.3 of Starry Night Software 31 MOONLITE TELESCOPE ACCESSORIES New 2-speed DRO Display Controller 32 DENKMEIER OPTICAL New Super System

The Supporting

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Lunatico Astronomia www.lunaticoastro.com page 59

ScopeStuff www.scopestuff.com page 16

Woodland Hills Telescopes www.telescopes.net page 20

Astro Hutech www.hutech.com page 26, 44 Astro Physics www.astro-physics.com page 13, 38 AstroSystems www.astrosystems.biz page 63 AstroTrac www.astrotrack.com page 54 Astrozap www.astrozap.com page 62 Bobs Knobs www.bobsknobs.com page 68 Camera Concepts www.cameraconcepts.com page 24 Catseye Collimation www.catseyecollimation.com page 56 CCD-LABS www.ccd-labs.com page 55 Celestron www.celestron.com page 34 Chronos www.chronosmount.com page 63

SkyShed Observatories www.skyshed.com page 70 Spike-A www.spike-a.com page 56 Starizona www.starizona.com page 3 Stark Labs www.stark-labs.com page 22 Stellar Technologies International www.stellar-international.com page 65 Surplus Shed www.surplusshed.com page 66 Tele Vue Optics www.televue.com page 8, 73 Teeter’s Telescopes www.teeterstelescope.com page 39 Unihedron www.unihedron.com page 71 Van Slyke Instruments www.observatory.org page 33, 60 Vixen Optics www.vixenoptics.com page 76

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ASTRONOMY

TECHNOLOGY TODAY

Volume 3 • Issue 5 Sept-Oct 2009 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 bi-monthly

by Parkerson Publishing, LLC. Bulk rate postage paid at Dallas, Texas, and additional mailing offices. ©2009 Parkerson Publishing, LLC, all rights reserved. No part of this publication or its Web site may be reproduced without written permission of Parkerson Publishing, LLC. Astronomy Technology Today assumes no responsibility for the content of the articles, advertisements, or messages reproduced therein, and makes no representation or warranty whatsoever as to the completeness, accuracy, currency, or adequacy of any facts, views, opinions, statements, and recommendations it reproduces. Reference to any product, process, publication, or service of any third party by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not constitute or imply the endorsement or recommendation of Astronomy Technology Today.

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

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Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

Editor’s

Note

Gary Parkerson, Managing Editor

IS IT REALLY AMATEUR ASTRONOMY? at your doors. Don't even get us started about the ATT was recently contacted by Wan Chi number of permits required for a building a Lau and Carolyn Donovan, editors of the home version of a high energy particle accelerator. web-based Rainy Day Magazine. It’s an interPeople get together for star parties because they esting site featuring coverage of cool gadgets, love seeing what is out there. Looking through a technology, and other things of interest to telescope at 3am will probably not lead to findfolks like us, and Wan and Carolyn wanted to ing a cure for cancer or help one predict the next let their readers know more about this publihot stock, but it will expand ones appreciation of cation. We returned print copies of several the vastness and beauty of the universe...all from back issues as well as online access to all ATT ones own backyard. And that is a worthy endeavissues and, after reviewing them, Wan and or at any price.”

Carolyn posted the following comments. We As you can see, their thoughtful approach were particularly impressed with their unique is succinct and speaks to the heart of amateur take on amateur astronomy – so much so that astronomy. We’ve found this to be true for we thought we should include part of those other content they offer as well and suggest comments here. you check it out for yourself at www.rainy“We took a look at a few back issues and the daymagazine.com. magazine is definitely perfect for those who are The last quoted paragraph particularly into the gear. It covers a wide range of astronomresonated here. While it may be true that no ically related topics. The focus of the articles is mere “amateur” can aspire to a home-brewed technical, but both novice and advanced readers genetics lab or high-energy particle accelerator, will get something out of them. There is a “DIY for the amateur astronomer, meaningful themes” of the articles. They not only show what “Scientific Pursuit” is well within reach. others have made, but how to build them yourWitness ATT's coverage earlier this year of self.

Caroline Moore’s discovery of Supernova The thing we really liked about Astronomy SN2008ha (working with The Puckett Technology Today is their heavy emphasis on the Observatory’s World Supernova Search). As GEAR. If you love reading about the latest telethe youngest supernova discoverer, Caroline scopes, a new digital imager, or how to get the proves that remarkable scientific discoveries most out of your setup, then this is the magazine can be achieved by any similarly dedicated, for you. This magazine is one of those which we focused and disciplined amateur astronomer, will save. The back issues are as much fun to read regardless of age. as the latest copy. While some of the articles What we didn’t mention in that earlier may be beyond our understanding now, as article was the more recent Harvardwe get more knowledgeable, we are sure Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics press we would want to go back and take another look. release declaring Caroline’s find as perhaps the We like astronomy because it is one of the “weakest supernova ever seen,” and the comlast purely scientific pursuits for which there is ment by famed Berkley astronomer, Alex minimal financial upside or government restricFilippenko, that “Coincidentally, the youngest tion. Try setting up a genetics or chemistry lab at person to ever discover a supernova found one home and see how long it would be before of the most peculiar and interesting superHomeland Security or the DEA come knocking

novae ever.” A paper theorizing the reason for the weakness for the supernova was subsequently co-authored by no less than 12 “professional” researchers.

True, Caroline’s discovery was derived from data obtained by some very sophisticated, robotic telescopes, but even those were established and operated by “amateurs” – very sophisticated amateurs, but what academia considers “amateurs” nonetheless.

Can significant discoveries be achieved with less sophisticated equipment? Seems so.

Consider the July 19 discovery by Australian amateur astronomer, Anthony Wesley, recognized as the first to “lay eyes” on one of the largest and most powerful impacts in our solar system. With what he calls a “Homebrew GEM mounted Newtonian using a 14.5-inch Royce conical mirror,” Anthony discovered an impact site on Jupiter. Included in his “homebrew” of equipment are names you see regularly in this magazine: JMI, Tele Vue, Losmandy, and Astrodon, just to name a few.

After his discovery (interestingly, almost exactly 15 years after impacts by comet fragments of Shoemaker-Levy 9), the professional astronomy world jumped in and images were taken from the Hubble Space Telescope, by NASA’s JPL using the Infrared Telescope Facility at the summit of Mauna Kea, Hawaii, and others. “We were extremely lucky to be seeing Jupiter at exactly the right time, the right hour, the right side of Jupiter to witness the event. We couldn’t have planned it better,” Glenn Orton, a JPL scientist, declared.

So a guy in Australia, using an ATM telescope, was the first to discover a major Jupiter impact. And because Wesley discovered it and JPL learned of the discovery, it was able to be “at exactly the right time, the right hour, the right side...”! Sounds like another pretty serious “Scientific Pursuit” to me.

We’ll cover more on this theme in our upcoming report on Robert K. Buchheim’s guide to advanced astronomy science for amateurs, The Sky Is Your Laboratory. Of course, amateur astronomy for most of us is not about scientific discovery – it’s about simply enjoying, as Wan and Carolyn put it, the “vastness and beauty of the universe.” Then again, maybe I should look into that particle accelerator...

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13

INDUSTRYNEWS

RTMC To Host the 2nd Annual Pacific Astronomy and Telescope Show Building on the success of its inaugural event last year, the Riverside Telescope Makers Conference (RTMC) will host the Pacific Astronomy and Telescope Show (PATS) on September 26-27, 2009 at the Pasadena Convention Center in Pasadena, California.

The event will feature displays from a broad spectrum of vendors including the largest, full line manufacturers in the world, to some of the most esoteric specialty companies. Each day will also feature presentations from industry luminaries as well as special guests including Apollo Astronaut Rusty Schweickart. There will also be a large solar display and demonstration outside the expo center as well as the second annual Riverside Astroimaging Workshop on Friday September 25.

Leading up to the event is a unique collaboration which features a public display of “The World At Night,” at the Paseo Colorado, a popular shopping mall immediately north of the exhibit hall. This display of amazing images featuring celestial objects and earthly landscapes is not to be missed and is a unique outreach to encourage newcomers to astronomy to come back and experience the incredible collection of technology represented at the show.

The organizers of the event place a strong emphasis on encouraging the involvement of astronomy clubs, which are the backbone of amateur astronomy, and encourage clubs and other astronomy organizations to participate in several ways. This includes providing inter-

ested clubs with a complimentary table to help promote the club and its activities. Secondly, clubs may purchase tickets at a reduced price for their members.

Also, clubs and other astro organizations are encouraged to publicize their own activities at PATS. If an organization would like to have a demonstration of an observing program, or conduct some other kind of activity, that can be arranged. It is an excellent way to expand an organization’s reach, and provide a common ground for a meeting. If everybody is coming to PATS anyway, why not put on a show and tell others what you do? Alex McConahay is managing the club activities for the event and can be contacted by email at clubs@rtmcastronomyexpo.org for more information.

Most vendors will be offering drawings and raffles at various times throughout the weekend. There is no central event for door prizes, instead many vendors will have their own door prize “events” which means that attendees could have a great chance at winning multiple prizes!

Presenting sponsors of PATS are Celestron, Woodland Hills Telescope, and Sky and Telescope. We at ATT encourage you to stop by and thank these sponsors, as well as all of the participating companies that incur a significant expense to ship products and travel, some across the country and even from

outside the U.S., to support the show.

A companion event, the Riverside Astroimaging Workshop, will take place on Friday, September 25, and requires a separate registration. The workshop is sponsored by the Riverside Astronomical Society and registration information is available at www.rivastro.org.

The workshop will feature two tracts: Affordable Astro-Imaging (for those just getting started) and Advanced AstroImaging (for those who want to push the limits). It will include presentations from Bryan Cogdell of Orion Telescopes and Binoculars, Kevin Nelson of QSI, Daniel “Dr. D.” Mounsey of Woodland Hills Telescope, and many others.

As can be seen from the included photo from 2008, the event is very well attended and interested participants are encouraged to sign up soon, if they have not already done so.

It is also important to recognize the volunteer board members and many other volunteers of the nonprofit RTMC who give considerable amounts of their time and effort to bringing astronomy to amateurs already in the hobby, and extending it to others not yet part of it. In addition to PATS, RTMC produces the RTMC Astronomy Expo which is held in late May in Big Bear, California, and has become one of the largest star parties in the country. They also host Nightfall, held in the fall in Borrego Springs, California, which offers a star party with a difference – a luxury hotel/RV Resort. In addition, RTMC funds Holmes grants to further outreach efforts among astronomical groups.

For more information on RTMC and PATS visit www.rtmcastronomyexpo.org.

Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

15

INDUSTRYNEWS

HANDS ON OPTICS Now Exclusive Dealer for AstroTelescopes Astronomy Show on October 31, 2009.

The event will feature some the largest and most exciting names from the telescope industry. Attendees will have the chance to personally meet with representatives from the top astronomy equipment and optical manufacturers, who will demonstrate their newest and innovative products.

Gary and Sherry will provide free food as well as free giveaway raffle prizes every half hour all day long.

For more information please visit www.handsonoptics.com

Hands On Optics has announced that it is now the exclusive dealer for the AstroTelescopes’ line of refractors.

This select line of telescopes has been introduced by owners Gary and Sherry Hand to provide an opportunity for astronomers to enjoy a high performance refractor at an affordable cost. Offerings include a 152mm f/5.9 Refractor, 80mm f/7 ED Refractor, 66mm f/6 ED Refractor and 102mm f/7 Refractor.

Hands On Optics has also announced that they will host the 6th Annual Eastern

QSI Now Shipping 583 Cameras QSI has announced that due to overwhelming demand for its new 583 camera, they have increased production capacity to adapt to the much higher sales volume following the introduction of the camera this spring.

This means that they will have the current 30 day backlog cleared out by the time this magazine reaches readers.

“We expected the 583 to become our most popular model and forecast a substantial increase in sales volume (and associated production),” said Kevin Nelson of QSI. “The actual sales volume was more then 3 times the high end of our forecast. The net result was that within 3 weeks of introducing the 583, our inventory of camera inventory was cleaned

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Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

out and after 2 more weeks, the next production run which was already underway was completely committed.”

He continued, “With help from our suppliers and a lot of overtime from our manufacturing crew, we have adjusted to the high demand for the camera and expect to now be able to deliver all orders for cameras in less than 2 weeks. We’re extremely excited to the response of our new camera line and appreciate the patience from our customers.”

QSI also announced that Tony Hallas’ extraordinary image of Abell 2151 in the Hercules Galaxy Cluster was selected as a NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day for July 16, 2009. The image was taken with Tony’s QSI 583ws camera through an AstroPhysics 8-inch APO at f/8 (~1600mm focal length). Total exposure time was 11 hours of luminance using 33 20-minute subexposures. The color exposure time was 140 minutes each through Astrodon E-Series Gen 2 red, green and blue filters using 20-minute subex-

posures. The image can be found on the QSI Image Gallery page.

QSI has also announced it has expanded its dealer base outside North America. New dealers include Optique et Vision in France, Valkanik in Spain, Intercon Spacetec in Germany, Aquarius Optics in The Netherlands, The Binocular & Telescope Shop in Australia, and Eridanus Optics in South Africa. A complete list of dealers is available on QSI s website at www.qsimaging.com.

INDUSTRYNEWS

STARLIGHT XPRESS USB Filter Wheel Now Shipping UK based Starlight Xpress’ new USB Filter Wheel introduced this spring is now shipping. The Starlight Xpress has introduced many innovative features to this functional imaging accessory.

The filter wheel does not require a separate power supply when used with USB control – the high performance DC gear motor runs entirely from the USB supply and consumes less than 100mA. It is also capable of operation from a serial input, or from a switched hand controller, both of which power the wheel from a small dry battery.

The wheel is light and slim, with an easy change system of thumbscrews to swap filter disks without tools. A variety of threaded adaptors is available – T thread, SCT thread and Takahashi 72mm thread. The adaptors can be swapped by using a small screwdriver to

release three stainless screws and lifting off the adaptor flange. Each flange can be rotated to any angle before locking down, so that users can orient the wheel and camera into the optimum position.

The wheel is quiet in operation and the Hall-Effect 3 bit encoded positioning gives absolute filter locations (not serially sequential) so that users can easily swap between any filters without accidentally losing the wheel position.

Shown is an internal view with the cover removed, showing the 5 x 48mm filter disk with one filter in place. The USB connector is visible at lower left and the Serial/Manual connector is at the lower right.

For more information or a list of dealers please visit www.starlightxpress.co.uk.

Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

17

INDUSTRYNEWS

SHELYAK INSTRUMENTS Introduces Sentinel Cloud Sensor-Complete Weather Station to US Market Shelyak Instruments is bringing its Sentinel Cloud Sensor-Complete Weather Station to the North American Market. The Sentinel system is a complete “turn-key” monitoring system of the sky and is designed to protect observatories and their valuable astronomical equipment when weather threatens.

The system measures not only cloud coverage but also temperature, humidity, wind (force, direction), sky luminosity day and night, and even detects rain and snow. The Sentinel measures these parameters and then records the data into a built-in memory module for both real time and later uses.

The complete system consists of the principal measurement module and a wind vane to be installed outside the observatory. A shielded 25m cable is provided to connect the wind vane to the module which in turn is connected to a 12 volt powered Boltier interface case which has a built-in RS232 interface that is then connected to the users’ computer.

The main Sentinel module remains permanently outside even in bad weather. Made of very solid construction, it is highly sealed from the elements and is designed not to be

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Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

interfered with by perching or nesting birds.

The Sentinel system has a terminal logic circuit that can be used to control an alarm or a system that will close a dome in the event of detection of rain or snow, the system has an integrated heating system in order to melt off snow and dry out the rain to give accurate clear night data if it is raining, very cold or if the ground is snow-covered.

The system includes windows based software which makes it possible to configure Sentinel for weather parameters for opening and closing a dome as well as frequency for recording data points (a measurement at the frequency rate of every 5 minutes allows a completely automated system that will run up to 25 days.) Data can also be automatically uploaded to any ftp site and software can transfer automatically updated information to a website.

The system can operate independent of a computer and its built-in memory records will record for 26 days with the data taken at five minute intervals (this frequency is adjustable).

It can also activate the emergency closing of an observatory automatically according to preset thresholds.

For more information or a list of dealers please visit www.shelyak.com

ASTRONOMICAL LEAGUE Honors Alan Traino with Astronomical League Award at ALCON EXPO 2009 The Astronomical League recognized Alan Traino with its most prestigious honor, the Astronomical League Award, during its Astronomical League Convention and Exposition held on August 7-8 at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York.

The award was announced during the closing ceremonies dinner event which featured David Levy as the keynote speaker. The award recognizes outstanding contributions to the science of astronomy on a national or international level.

Alan is well known for his leadership role and tireless efforts in support of the Northeast Astronomy Forum & Telescope Show (NEAF) which under his watchful eye has grown into the premier astronomy show attracting companies and attendees from across the world.

“We were pleased that the Astronomical League chose to honor Alan with this award,” said Stuart Parkerson, publisher of Astronomy Technology Today. “When we developed the magazine concept in 2006, Alan went out of his way to help us with advice and his unique insight in the astronomy products industry has been invaluable.”

INDUSTRYNEWS

OPTEC Soon to Introduce the Perseus 4-port Instrument Selector Optec continues to develop high end instruments for the serious astronomer.

They are currently developing the new Perseus 4-port Instrument Selector which allows the remote observatory user the ability to remotely select any of four instrument packages attached to their telescope.

The image shown provides a top view of the selector with two different CCD cameras, a single channel SSP photometer, and a separate TCF-S focuser and eyepiece.

Any variety of instrument packages can be configured and used. The instrument is designed for at least a C11 class telescope and its robust design is intended for permanent observatory instruments.

There are four instrument ports, three 2-inch ports and one 3-inch port, available with the Perseus. The embedded circuit has a single push button interface for use at the telescope and an RS232 DB9 interface for remote control. LED indicators

show the currently selected instrument.

The overall height is 7-inches (17.8cm), the main body diameter is 4.25-inches (10.8cm), and it weighs in at approximately 5 pounds (2.25 kg). It utilizes an Optec3600 Female Dovetail Mount telescope adapter.

For more information on upcoming availability and pricing please visit www.optecinc.com.

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SPECIFICATIONS • Overall Height: .....................................................................7" (17.8cm) • Main Body Diameter: .........................................................4.25" (10.8cm) • Weight:.................................................................approx. 5 lb. (2.25 kg) • Telescope Adapter:..................................OPTEC-3600 Female Dovetail Mount • Instrument Ports: ................................................Three 2-inch & One 3-inch Primary Port #1: • Mechanical Interface: .......................................OPTEC-3600 Male Dovetail • Clear Aperture: ...................................................................3" (76mm) • Back-focus usage:...........................................................4.5" (11.4 cm) Secondary Ports #2, #3, #4: • Primary Mechanical Interface: ............................OPTEC-2400 Male Dovetail • Clear Aperture: ................................................................2.1" (53mm) • Back-focus usage: ...........................................................4.3" (11.0cm) • Secondary Interface: ............Knurled Parfocal adjusting OPTEC-2300 Receiver • Clear Aperture: ................................................................1.9" (48mm) • Back-focus usage: .........................................5" to 5.5" (12.7cm to 14cm) • Total Parfocal Travel: ......................................................0.5" (12.7mm) • Mounting Options: ............................T-thread, SCT thread, C-mount, Pentax • Control Interface: .....................................................Push-button Selection • Communications Interface: ..........................RS-232 serial with DB9 connector • Software Interface: ....................Dedicated Applet and ASCOM-compliant driver Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

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INDUSTRYNEWS

MALCO PRECISION Develops Lower Clamp Block Set for Dobs

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Malco Precision has developed a lower clamp block set designed to provide a sturdy support system for Dobsonian telescopes as well as aiding in collimation of the telescopes.

The lower clamp blocks go inside or outside the rocker box of a truss style Dob. The clamps are made for 1 1/4-inch tubing and bolt from the inside or outside. The blocks are CNC machined from solid aircraft aluminum, then black anodized and UV protected. They are counterbored so that the tubes stop at the same depth to insure accurate alignment. A large wing nut is provided to lock the tubes in place.

The blocks are sold in sets of 8 (4 lefts and 4 rights) and the price per set is $175US plus shipping.

Malco Precision has been in the machining business for more than 30 years serving the aerospace and other commercial industries utilizing the latest PC based CNC equipment.

During this time they have also provided ATM solutions, an outgrowth of the business due to owner Mal Speer’s passion and involvement in amateur astronomy since 1979.

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Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

ASTRONOMY

TECHNOLOGY TODAY

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INDUSTRYNEWS

ASTRO-PHYSICS Announces New Production Run of 900GTO Fans of Astro-Physics know that its German equatorial mounts are the ultimate in stability, accuracy, and ease of setup. And their popularity with serious amateur astronomers means that as soon as a production run is announced, orders are quickly snapped up. Fortunately, Roland Christen, President of AstroPhysics, has announced that direct orders for the 900GTO are now being accepted and there will not be another production run until 2010.

Since its introduction in 1998, the 900GTO has gained a reputation for the tracking and pointing accuracy essential to visual observation as well as advanced imaging. A favorite of many advanced observers and imagers, these mounts are truly a marvel of engineering offering maximum strength and rigidity with minimum weight. Astro-Physics CNC lathes and mills carve out the excess material in both axes of the 900GTO while retaining a heavily ribbed structure for internal strength and rigidity.

A unique dovetail is machined into the mating surfaces of the R.A. and Dec axes. This feature allows quick and easy assembly in the field without any tools.

Over the years, a number of improvements have been incorporated into the design of the 900GTO, among these are smoother azimuth adjusters; increased height of the polar forks to allow more room for the users’ hand when making altitude adjustments; improved gear profiles in the motor gearbox for quieter operation and reduced backlash; motor bracket with built-in spring-action to keep the worms loaded at the proper setting; verifiable worm gear accuracy of 7 arc seconds (+-3.5 arc sec.) or less; internal changes to improve overall accuracy; additional pier adapter options; updated GTOCP3 control box with additional capability;

and updated keypad with larger memory capacity and LED fiber optic backlit panel.

Each time AstroPhysics begins a production run, they consider what improvements they can make to enhance the accuracy and functionality of the 900GTO. As a result, the mount has continued to evolve over the years to always meet the highest standards of the advanced imager or visual observer.

For more information on ordering a 900GTO please visit www.astrophysics.com.

Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

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NEWPRODUCTS

CRITERION MACHINE COMPANY New 20-inch Counterweight Shaft

Criterion Machine specializes in producing precision, close tolerance machining for the astronomy, optics, and laser industries. It recently introduced a new 20-inch counterweight shaft for CGEM, CG-5, LXD-75, LXD-55, EQ3, GP, and GP-DX mounts to its growing line of astronomy products.

This finely ground & polished stainless steel counterweight shaft was developed for the CGEM and other mounts to provide the additional length to help balance heavy instrument loads and reduce the amount of counterweights

needed to achieve balance.

The shaft has a 20-mm diameter with a 20-inch overall length, of which 2-inches is threaded for M16x2. This shaft is compatible with any mount that requires a 20-mm diameter shaft with a M16x2 thread on the end and is priced at $100US plus shipping.

In addition to its line of astronomy products, Criterion Machine also offers custom machining ranging from one-off applications for individuals to large production runs. For more information please visit www.criterionmachine.com.

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Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

NEWPRODUCTS

ASTROTRAC New Portable Wedge and Pier System for TT320X Tracker Last year AstroTrac introduced its innovative TT320x, an ultra precise and compact equatorial tracking mount that makes it easy to capture great images with digital SLR cameras utilizing accurate unguided tracking in a quick to setup and easy to use package. The company has now introduced two new products, the TW3100 Wedge and the TP3065 Pier, to make the TT320X even more user friendly.

The TW3100 wedge is perfectly matched to the AstroTrac Pier and can also be used with any photo tripod equipped with a standard 3/8-inch photo thread. The unique patent pending design of the TW3100 wedge provides a rigid platform for imaging equipment while retaining true portability.

The AstroTrac TT320X is quickly and easily mounted to the TW3100 wedge with three 4 mm stainless steel mounting screws supplied with the wedge. Specially made stainless steel adjustment and locking knobs with fine pitch aerospace threads give smooth and precise altitude and azimuth adjustment even under large load. With a latitude range of more than 90 degrees, the TW3100 can be utilized from pole to equator. The easy-to-read latitude scale has 15 degree coarse increments and infinite fine adjustment via the conveniently located altitude adjustment knob at the rear. The wedge has a load capacity of 33 lb (15 kg) and weighs only 2.2 lb (1.0 kg). It has a base diameter of 4 inches (100 mm) and overall height of 5 inches (125 mm).

The new TP3065 Pier is the ultimate in portable piers created specifically for astrophotographers on the move.

Rigid yet lightweight, the TP3065 provides the ideal platform for the AstroTrac tracking mount and wedge. The patent pending TP3065 uniquely collapses

down and packs inside itself, making it easy to carry in the specially designed shoulder bag.

The TP3065 provides the solid platform needed for trail free images. The aerospace grade aluminum main column is held rigidly upright by three stainless steel tension cables. It takes just a few seconds to hand tighten the tension cables using the specially designed AstroTrac stainless steel tensioners. The top mounting plate comes pre-drilled and ready to attach the AstroTrac TW3100 Wedge, Manfrotto 410 Geared head, or other mount.

Conveniently located holes in the top and bottom plates allow USB data and 12-volt power cables to be passed through the pier preventing tangling.

Leveling the pier is made easy with individually adjustable feet.

A large thumbwheel makes it easy to adjust each foot in and out even when fully loaded. The pier offers a load capacity of 33 pounds (15 kg), weighs in at 14.3 pounds (6.5kg) and is 39.4 inches (1000 mm) in height.

The introduction of these new accessories allows the company to package them together in a complete travel system which

includes the TT320X tracking platform, TW3100 Wedge, TP3065 Pier, TT320X Polar Scope, and 8xAA Battery Holder & Lead.

For more information and pricing on these products please visit www.astrotrac.com.

Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

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NEWPRODUCTS

SOFTWARE BISQUE Releases TheSkyX Serious Astronomer Edition Software Bisque’s introduction of the TheSkyX Serious Astronomer Edition is a major update and is the most complete revision of the software program yet with nearly every feature redesigned to emphasize ease of use.

Highlights include improved planning of observing sessions and go to (or push to) telescope control. With the optional TPoint telescope pointing analysis add-on, amateur astronomers can improve their telescope’s pointing accuracy just like with professional observatories. Improved telescope control is provided with native telescope drivers with extensive driver support.

The multitude of enhancements are simply too vast to list here, however a snapshot of features include: TheSkyX runs natively under either Macintosh OS X (Universal) or Microsoft Windows (XP/Vista) operating systems; graphics are rendered using OpenGL graphics acceleration to produce stunning displays with

smooth animations; a redesigned user interface including stacking windows, customizable and user-definable toolbars; the size of all dialogs can be changed to accommodate your preferences; What’s Up? command to quickly locate and highlight interesting objects for naked eye, binocular, small telescope, or the ten most interesting objects that are visible when observing; and commonly used features (Tours, Find, Date and Time, Photos, Labels, Chart Elements, Chart Status windows) can appear as “stacked” windows, or floating windows, or docked individually on the left or right side of TheSkyX’s main window.

Other improvements include the ability to print/generate high-resolution charts in Portable Document Format (PDF), Postscript (PS) or Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) format; application-specific settings, including those in main window’s and all dialog window’s, and toolbar window’s size, position and visibility are saved and restored automatically

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– including window positions, date, time, chart position; the startup location is determined automatically from a computer’s IP address; and all photographs can be viewed from the Photo window, as thumbnails, or a separate Photo Viewer.

The optional TPoint add-on is a telescope analysis and pointing correction software that identifies, quantifies and automatically compensates for systematic errors in go-to telescopes. It can also quantify the polar alignment of the user’s equatorial mount, even when the celestial pole is not visible.

Also soon to be available is Software Bisque’s TheSkyX Professional Edition (version 10) which is the next major release of TheSky Professional Edition astronomy software. In addition to the Windows version, the new Mac version brings TheSky6 Professional Edition features and capabilities to the Mac OS. For much more information please visit www.bisque.com.

CCTS CAMERA CONCEPTS & TELESCOPE SOLUTIONS

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We’ll see you there! Or Visit us at 10 South Ocean Ave Patchogue, NY 11772 • 631-475-1118

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Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

Manfrotto Meade Nikon Optec Orion Pelican Pentax Peterson Engineering Rigel Systems SBIG Sirius Technologies Sky & Telescope Sky Engineering Software Bisque

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Arcturus Optics A CCTS Exclusive!

NEWPRODUCTS

CELESTRON New EdgeHD Optics It would be hard to top Celestron’s introduction of its much-anticipated CGE Pro Mount, however it has done just that with its new CGE PRO EdgeHD Series Computerized Telescopes which offer visibly sharper images, superior performance, enhanced mechanical features, and Fastar compatiblity.

Celestron’s EdgeHD offers an aplanatic Schmidt optics design which produces aberration-free images across a wide visual and photographic field of view. The optical system was designed to reduce more than just off-axis star coma, but also to give an astrograph quality flat focal plane all the way to the edge of the field of view.

EdgeHD optics produce a focal plane more than three-times flatter than a standard Schmidt Cassegrain telescope and is dramatically flatter than many other comafree designs. This guarantees visibly sharp stars across some of the largest CCD chips available today.

Superior edge performance not only creates rounder, more pleasing stars but actually improves the resolution and limiting magnitude when compared to telescopes of equal aperture. Starbright XLT Coatings coupled with Celestron’s StarBright XLT coating group on every surface, gives the EdgeHD optics maximum light throughput across the widest visual and photographic spectrum.

In addition to Celestron’s new optimized optical design, the EdgeHD tube has been redesigned to make sure owners get the most from their optics each night. It’s flexible tension clutches hold the mirror in place and reduce image shift when rotating the tube around the mount. The flexible rods allow the mirror to be held in place without putting any force or pressure on the mirror assembly, keeping the image centered in the eyepiece (or chip).

Cooling vents located on the rear cell allow hot air to be released from behind the

primary mirror. Each vent has an integrated 60 micron micro-mesh filter guaranteed to let warm air out without letting dust in.

The EdgeHD is one of the most versatile imaging scopes available today.

At its native f/10 imagers can achieve the image scale necessary to capture the smallest of deep sky objects.

With the optional reducer lens (coming soon) users can increase their field of view without sacrificing optical performance. A barlow gives added power for high resolution planetary, lunar and solar imaging. All EdgeHD optical tubes are Fastar compatible for ultra fast f/2

wide field imaging. Each tube has been fitted with a removable secondary mirror and are opto-mechanically aligned on a laser bench to ensure they are axially symmetric in any configuration.

For more information please go to www.celestron.com

Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

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NEWPRODUCTS

ASTROSYSTEMS Short F/Ratio Telescope Specialty Products AstroSystems is one of the largest supplier of secondary holders, spiders and other accessories to the astronomical community.

Realizing short focal length telescopes present several challenges, they have developed products specifically designed to meet the need to achieve greater relative accuracy of collimation, optical alignment, and mirror support.

With short focal length telescopes the entire support structure (telescope) must be more rigid to maintain the more demanding collimation as well as properly support the larger, thicker and heavier secondary mirrors necessary with a short f/ratio telescope. This requires new tools and techniques for collimating, optical support components that give easy, accurate alignment and hold it, and a support structure utilizing optimized materials and engineering to meet these demands.

AstroSystems’ Super Duty Secondary Holders are engineered to maintain greater

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Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

collimating accuracy. They incorporate a thicker, stiffer housing (bezel), a thicker, stiffer adjustment plate and a larger mount stud. Also supplied with heavier secondary mirrors (5-inch+) is a rigid foam insert to position the secondary mirror securely and accurately inside the secondary holder. The four screw adjustment also insures the fine adjustments needed for short f/ratio telescopes can be made easily. Two nuts with nylon washers position the holder laterally and also allow easy adjustment of the rotation.

Their Super Duty Spiders are engineered to accurately hold the larger, heavier secondary mirrors needed with shorter f/ratio telescopes.

The width at the center hub is 2.5-inch up to 26-inch spider size and 3-inch from 26-inch 41.5-inch. The Super Duty Spiders have 35% thicker vanes than standard AstroSystems Heavy Duty Spiders and two mounting nuts

on the end of each vane, giving a total of eight mounting screws. The 26-inch - 41.5-inch Super Duty Spiders also have a 1/2-inch mount hole to accommodate the larger Super Duty Secondary Holders with a 1/2-inch mount shaft.

Astrosystems Mirror Cell incorporates 35% finer collimation adjustment and a zero stretch sling to properly edge support the primary and insure it remains accurately centered.

For more information please visit www.astrosystems.biz.

NEWPRODUCTS

GARRET OPTICAL Introduces 150mm F/5.5 Binocular Telescope

While carrying a full line of binoculars and accessories, Garret Optical specializes in large-aperture binoculars, developing one of the largest and most innovative selections of big binoculars available.

Indicative of their commitment to large aperture binoculars, the new Garrett Optical 150mm F/5.5 Binocular Telescope is the biggest observation instrument the company has ever offered. In fact, according to Garrett Optical’s Zach Garrett, it’s the largest conventional binocular telescope currently in regular production.

The binocular features the light gathering power of two 150mm refractors - one for each eye - and the flexibility to interchange both 2-inch and 1.25inch eyepieces. The scope is really big, a massive 30-inches long and weighing in at 46-pounds. It is finished in attractive pearl grey finish which helps conceal fingerprints, and features a durable cast-aluminum binocular body.

The telescope offers standard 2-inch helical focusers, which accept the largest standard telescope eyepieces. This

unique feature allows the scope to achieve impressive wide fields of view, even with its 824mm focal length – up to a theoretical maximum of almost 3.4 degree in a 2-inch barrel.

The Garrett 150mm comes standard with a total of three pairs of long-eyerelief 2-inch eyepieces: a 25x (34mm, 65 degree AFOV, 2.6 degree TFOV), 30x (28mm, 72 degree AFOV, 2.4 degree TFOV), and 35x (24mm, 67 degree AFOV, 1.9 degree TFOV). Each of these eyepieces is threaded for standard 48mm telescope filters and features a design optimized to work with the 150mm F/5.5 objective lenses, which makes for an exceptionally flat field of view. The scope also performs well with virtually all 2-inch eyepieces, though the best performance will be seen with premium designs. With the optional 2-inch to 1.25-inch eyepiece adapters, the Garrett 150mm performs well with most 1.25inch eyepieces, down to 9mm focal length.

The 150mm F/5.5 doublet objectives are fully broadband multi-coated, as is every air-to-glass optical surface in the binocular, including the massive, highindex BaK4 prism clusters and the included eyepieces. Retractable dewshields are integrated into the design for maximum convenience.

Garret recommends their exclusive 15-inch Helix fork mount with the Manfrotto 161MK2B super duty tripod.

The smooth movements and adjustable tension of the Helix fork are the perfect complement to the convenience of the big Manfrotto tripod, which features a crank-adjustable center column for convenient height adjustment while panning around the sky or to compensate for height differences between users.

The Garrett 150mm binocular telescope is designed with an integrated

dovetail mount that fits the quick-release base on the Helix 15-inch fork. This makes mounting the big binocular as smooth as possible. The binocular comes with a solid aluminum/PVC carrying case, with holes in the foam lining for the binocular and all six included 2-inch eyepieces.

Like all of their binoculars, each Garrett 150mm binocular telescope is individually tested for collimation as part of their 14-point inspection, and any necessary adjustments are performed by one of their highly-experienced technicians. It is also covered by a two-year warranty and 30-day return policy.

Garrett Optical is now taking preorders for the 150mm Binocular Telescope which retails for $3,985US including the six eyepieces and case. For more information please visit www.garrettoptical.com.

Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

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NEWPRODUCTS

ORION TELESCOPES & BINOCULARS Introduces a New Wave of Products In anticipation of the holiday shopping season Orion has introduced a plethora of new products designed to appeal to beginning astronomers all the way to seasoned astroimagers.

For beginners or for those astronomers looking for a well built, easy to grab and go scope, Orion has introduced four new offerings to fit any budget.

Its new FunScope, priced at just $49.95US, features a 76mm polished spherical mirror, which offers more light than many typical beginner’s telescopes. It comes equipped with a “red dot” finder, rack-and-pinion focuser, and two 1.25-inch eyepieces: 20mm (15x) and 10mm (30x). Its table-top mount features a quick-release dovetail mechanism, so it can be easily detached and mounted on a tripod. Alternatively, the entire FunScope and mount itself can be mounted onto a tripod with a 3/8-inch screw. Adjustable tension clutches on both axes determine tube movement in both directions. Weighing just 4 lbs., the ultra-portable FunScope can go just about anywhere and makes a great gift for the holiday season.

The GoScope 80mm Refractor Telescope is an ultra-compact, entry-level “mini-Dob” that also makes a great quality first telescope for beginning stargazers, and is priced at less than $100US. But it’s not just for newbies – the GoScope 80’s convenient size also makes it a great “grab-and-go” telescope, perfect for the mobile interests of more experienced amateurs.

With an 80mm objective lens and 350mm focal length (f/4.3), the GoScope 80 performs impressively for its modest size, collecting over 30% more light than its 70mm counterpart, and over 170% more light than a 60mm refractor. Included are 25mm (14x) and 10mm (35x) 1.25-inch eyepieces and the tube assembly of the telescope is attached to a stable table-top swivel base, via a quick-release dovetail mount with adjustable altitude tension. The tube can easily be

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Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

removed from the base and mounted on an optional photo tripod. The small swivel base itself can also be mounted on a camera tripod with a 3/4-inch screw.

A red-dot view finder, internal focuser (which moves the primary lens back and forth) and included 45-degree correct image diagonal round out the features of the scope which weighs just 5.65 lbs. with diagonal, finder and eyepiece. Pricing is $99.95US. The StarMax 90mm TableTop Refractor Telescope is an ultra-compact Mak-Cass that gives surprisingly big views for an instrument of its modest size, making it an elegant first telescope or a great grab-andgo second telescope.

The long, 1250mm (f/13.8) focal length gives the telescope some serious power – the included 25mm and 10mm 1.25-inch eyepieces yield powers of 50x and 125x, respectively. The tube assembly of the StarMax 90mm TableTop Refractor Telescope is attached to a stable swivel base, via a quick-release dovetail mount with adjustable altitude tension. The tube can easily be removed from the base and mounted on an optional photo tripod. The small swivel base itself can also be mounted on a camera tripod with a 3/4-inch screw. A red-dot view finder, internal focuser (which moves the primary lens back and forth) and included 90degree star diagonal round out the features of this telescope. It weighs in at 6.4 lbs. including diagonal, eyepiece and finder and is priced at $199.95US. The StarBlast 6i IntelliScope Astro Telescope is a portable 6-inch f/5 reflector that comes ready for use with Orion’s exclusive computerized object location system, allowing night sky newbies to pinpoint hundreds, even thousands of astronomical objects with pushbutton ease.

With the addition of Orion’s IntelliScope

technology, the StarBlast 6i becomes one of the most compact and portable computerized 6inch reflector telescopes on the market. Even beginners can quickly locate any of 14,000+ celestial objects with the easy-to-use locator.

Featuring the same great optics and compact design as its non-computerized predecessor, the StarBlast 6i continues to be an excellent first telescope for beginning stargazers and a superb “grab-and-go” second telescope for more experienced amateurs. The StarBlast 6i’s 150mm parabolic mirror gathers plenty of light to reveal the planets and deep-sky gems in amazing detail.

Weighing nearly 40% less than Orion’s comparable SkyQuest XT6 IntelliScope, the StarBlast 6i ships with a fully assembled base and weighs just 23.5 lbs.

The small, lightweight form allows the telescope to be used on a sturdy table, the hood of car, the landing of an outdoor stairway, or any other suitable flat surface. Robust construction including Teflon bearings and adjustable altitude tension on the base ensures smooth maneuvering. Pricing is $399US. For astroimaging, Orion now offers the Orion StarShoot Planetary Imager & Autoguider and the StarShoot Deep Space Monochrome Imager III. The Orion StarShoot Planetary Imager & Autoguider is the first dual-purpose camera of its kind from Orion. Powered by a 1/3-inch format Aptina MT9V032 Color CMOS chip, with a 752x480 pixel layout, the “SSPIAG” offers a fast frame rate (up to 50 frames per second), allowing users to catch those split-second windows of atmospheric clarity during planetary imaging sessions. The imager’s progressive scan readout delivers every pixel of every exposure. Due to its speed, the SSPIAG is ideal for imaging time-sensitive celestial events such as Moon occultations, solar and lunar eclipses, Space Station flybys and more.

It comes with intuitive PHD Planetary Software, to give full control over image capture, stacking, basic processing, and file export.

NEWPRODUCTS In addition, the camera’s internal processing features allow users to boost dynamic range and gain, apply noise reduction and more. The camera’s 1.25-inch removable nosepiece has been threaded for use with Orion filters.

As the name implies, the SSPIAG is also an autoguider. It features an ST-4 compatible autoguide output jack right on the camera itself, eliminating the need for extra adapters and cables.

The camera also comes with PHD Guiding Software for optimum autoguiding control. Included is a software CD, 6-inch USB cable, and 7-inch autoguiding cable. Pricing is $349.95 US. The new StarShoot Deep Space Monochrome Imager III uses the same “tricolor” photo processing technique employed by serious astronomers the world over. It utilizes the highly-acclaimed 2/3-inch format Sony ICX285AL CCD with an impressive 1360x1024 pixel array. This imaging chip provides high sensitivity and resolution, and yields superior color rendition when used with LRGB filters. The monochrome camera also excels for narrow-band tri-color imaging with specialized filters such as Hydrogen-alpha, Sulfur-II, and Oxygen-III. Like all of Orion’s deep space imaging cameras, the DSMI III utilizes Thermoelectric Cooling (TEC) which dramatically reduces electronic noise for better-quality images. The TEC efficiency is further enhanced by an integrated cooling fan and aluminum heat sink camera body. Fan speed is adjustable and there’s an optional TEC shutoff for severe outdoor conditions. The included MaxIm DL Essentials v2.04 software provides an easy interface for focusing, capturing, dual camera control for imaging and autoguiding, batch processing, dark frame and flat field calibration, image stacking, and more.

Power for the camera, TEC and fan is supplied by a single 12-volt DC connection. A 10-foot power cable with cigarette lighter plug and a 10-foot USB cable are included. The DSMI III also comes with a custom hard carrying case for safe transport. Pricing is $1,495.95 US. Rounding out its recent introductions is Orion’s redesigned Premium 190mm F/5.3

Maksutov-Newtonian Astrograph which offers complete flat-field, coma-suppressed optics, that deliver stunningly crisp and colorful images of deep-sky phenomena to the eyepiece. An all-machined dual-speed 2inch Crayford-style focuser with 11:1 fine focus control provides smooth motion and secure support for cameras and other heavy visual accessories. The focuser includes 2-inch and 1.25-inch compression ring adapters, and is now compatible with the #7395 Orion AccuFocus Electronic Focuser when used with Orion’s #5049 Bracket. The included focuser extension adapter allows visual astronomers to enjoy sharp, high-contrast views.

The Mak-Newt optics provides tremendous resolution in a fast f/5.3 design. The 7.5inch aperture ensures plenty of light-gathering ability and the primary mirror is made of high-

grade, low-expansion optical glass with enhanced reflectivity coatings. This and the fully multi-coated BK7 meniscus lens combine to render truly spectacular images, with pinpoint stars across the entire field of view. The primary mirror and meniscus lens are held in place even more securely, by three radially positioned nylon-tip set screws, to prevent any possibility of slippage or shifting. The 37.5-inch long metal tube contains five knife-edge baffles for exceptional contrast.

The diameter of the secondary mirror has been enlarged from 58mm to 64mm, substantially increasing the field illumination to take full advantage of larger CCD chips. The 100% fully illuminated field diameter increases from 14mm to over 22mm, producing brighter images with less vignetting. Pricing is $1,395.95 US. For information about these and other Orion products please go to www.oriontelescopes.com.

Our new WeatherSentry Weather Monitor is fully configurable at order, and answers the need for observatory weather safety. ASCOM compliant interface integrates seamlessly with ACP and ACP Web interfaces, and implements one-line file interface for non-ASCOM software integration. The base unit comes with Rain Sensor, Skylight Sensor, USB controller, cable and power adapter and is upgradable for your needs including Sky Temperature Sensor option, Ambient Temperature, Humidity and Dew Point option, and Wind Speed Sensor option. Configure WeatherSentry to your needs. Spend the rest on optics!

Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

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NEWPRODUCTS

ORION TELESCOPES AND BINOCULARS Releases V6.3 of Starry Night Software Fans of the popular Starry Night astronomy software will be pleased to know that the new version builds upon the enjoyment of past versions.

Starry Night Enthusiast 6.3 is the most robust version yet. New features include: enhanced 3D Galaxy renderings based on galaxy type which translates to a better user experience exploring the universe; 3D umbra and penumbra shadow cones for planets and moons in the solar system, users can see shadows being projected into space; improved asteroid positions; additional photorealistic landscapes; additional 3D models of asteroids and space craft; and updated, improved and additional databases. It is priced at $79.95US. Starry Night Pro 6.3 takes things a step further with dozens of key features designed to control electronic telescopes, optimize the use of imaging equipment, and plan observing sessions. It is available at $149.95US. For the advanced amateur astronomer, Starry Night Pro Plus 6.3 is the flagship of the Starry Night application suite and is packed full of engaging features and functionality to help you get the most out of your astronomical exploration. It is available for $249.95US. For those new to astronomy or looking for the perfect gift for someone interested in the stars, the new edition of Starry Night Complete Space & Astronomy Pack has everything needed to get started enjoying the wonders of the heavens. With direct, easy-to-understand explanations and impressive visuals of all kinds of night sky phenomena, it is the perfect way to share the wonders of the universe with the entire family. Find out what it’s like to be an astronaut and travel to the edges of the known universe, in ‘spaceship mode.’ See the universe as it appeared thousands of years ago, and travel millenniums into the future to see what it will look like then. It is available at $49.95US. For more information please visit www.oriontelescopes.com.

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Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

NEWPRODUCTS

MOONLITE TELESCOPE ACCESSORIES New 2-speed DRO Display Controller Moonlite Telescope Accessories is well known for manufacturing exceptionally crafted, beautifully designed focusers. Its new 2-speed DRO Display Focus Controller works with any of its focusers, and is an option with each focuser model they sell.

The new focus controller is an ASCOM compliant stepper motor controller that works with all ASCOM based software packages available today such as Focus Max, CCDSoft, and MaximDL. The controller has built in temperature compensation and runs on a wide range of voltages – from 8-24 volts DC. Included is an AC adapter that has all the different plug configurations needed (US, Europe, UK, and Australia); however, most customers will simply use 12-volt power off their mount.

Both USB and RS-232 serial connections for a users’ PC are supported and the unit will auto sense the connection. Both USB and serial cables are included with the controller. The 2speed controller works well for manual operation of the focuser even without a PC with one set of buttons for fast settings while the other set is for slow settings. The DRO display shows the exact step count position on the controller’s display that matches the position count shown in all ASCOM imaging software packages. This makes the controller work just like a PC with the same exact accuracy, but in a stand-alone mode if needed. The controller has the electronics built in to support MoonLite’s rotating flange option that will soon be released. Moonlite also has included a socket in the controller to support

Blue Tooth Wireless connectivity which they also expect to release soon.

For more information please visit www.focuser.com.

Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

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NEWPRODUCTS

DENKMEIER OPTICAL Super System Expands Options for Telescope Owners Denkmeier Optical has announced its newest Denkmeier Binoviewer System, the Super System. What is a Denk Super System? As many amateur astronomers already know, Denk Binoviewers have been specifically designed to operate with many different telescope types. Russ Lederman of Denkmeier Optical has worked over the years to create highly specialized systems that operate with many varieties of refractors, SCTs, Newtonians, Dal Kirkhams, Maksutov Cassegrains and other designs that are used on observing fields all over the world.

In the past, it could be somewhat complicated for those trying to select the ideal binoviewer system for one telescope

or another. Denkmeier’s solution was to design a system optimized for any telescope. This provides for the flexibility of integration with any telescope no matter the optical design, and the new setup allow users who own two or more different telescopes to confidently select a master Denk Binoviewer System that will work ideally and have the ability to move from scope to scope without compromise.

The newly configured Denk Super System is available in both Standard, and Denk II Versions. Each Super System includes the Dual Arm Power x Switch and the 2-inch OCS System. The only difference between the Standard and Denk II Models is the Binoviewer.

The system features 3-way power x switching, a fully multi-coated 2-inch format Optical Corrector System (OCS) and options such as the Denk Filter Switch System can be added to both versions. Three power factors can be instantly called upon with any one pair of eyepieces allowing an observer to cover an extensive range of magnifications.

For more information please visit www.denkmeier.com.

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TECHNOLOGY TODAY

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Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

A Chilean Odyssey Field Testing the Astro Hutech Modified Canon 50D Image 1: Volcán Licancábur. Reaching more than 5,900 meters (19,000 ft) above sea level, this magnificent sight greeted us from our back patio every day. It is one of 15 Andean volcanoes running the length of Chile.

Image 2: A scene from Valle de la Luna near San Pedro, a popular park with spectacular lunar and Mars-like geologic features.

By Klaus Brasch

Editor’s Note: As is often the case, these newsprint, interior pages do not do the astrophotographs that accompany this article justice. Fortunately, your current subscription to ATT provides access to an online version of this article, as well as to all other past and current articles, where your computer monitor will better reveal the remarkable detail and fidelity of the images reproduced in these pages. You can also access our May-June 2009 issue which provides more information on the Astro Hutech DSLR enhancements.

After spending 12 consecutive clear days and nights near san Pedro de Atacama, I can safely attest that northern Chile is the finest astronomical location on the planet. Just think: no bugs, smog, wind or clouds, virtually no light pollution, and some of the most transparent, steady seeing conditions imaginable.

A few of months ago I joined a group of intrepid Canadian amateur astronomers on an odyssey to the Atacama Lodge (www.spaceobs.com) for almost two weeks of observing, imaging and enjoying the incredi-

ble natural, cultural and culinary treats of this unique corner of Chile. Not only is the Atacama Desert region one of the driest in the world, but its more than 300 clear nights per year make it a haven for many of the world’s most prominent astronomical facilities, including Cerro Paranal, site of the imposing European Southern Observatory (ESO), and the soon to be operational Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) at an elevation of 5,000 meters (over 16,000 feet) above sea level.

In addition to its ample astronomical at-

Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

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A CHILEAN ODYSSEY

Image 3: The central core of the Milky Way imaged with a Canon 18-55 mm EF-S lens at 18 mm. This is a cumulative exposure of 5 minutes at f/5.6 and ISO 1600.

tractions, the area boasts many of the most massive (some active) volcanoes in the Andean Cordillera (Image 1), as well as numerous anthropological sites, dry lakes and several na-

36 Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

tional parks and preserves. Among these are Laguna Chaxa, a remarkable salt lake sanctuary for flamingoes and other wild life, and the other-worldly Valle de Luna (Valley of the

Moon), with unforgettable lunar- and Marslike geologic features (Image 2).

Though established as a pre-Columbian gathering site, San Pedro traces its Spanish origins to the mid 1,500s and while retaining strong historic roots, has become a haven for tourists, mountaineers, adventurers and researchers. Among many other attractions, this town of about 5,000 inhabitants boasts some of the finest indigenous arts and crafts, some firstrate hotels and many superb restaurants. The locals are gracious, very hospitable, and justifiably proud of their history and culture.

Knowing that a number of telescopes would be available for use and rental at the Atacama Lodge, I decided to travel “light� in terms of imaging equipment, bringing only a point and shoot camera for day use and my two dedicated astro-cameras, a Hutech modified Canon 20D and 50D, along with assorted lenses for piggy-back and tripod shooting. I was particularly anxious to test the brand new 15mega pixel 50D on the many spectacular southern sky objects not accessible in the northern hemisphere. Between us, my long-time

A CHILEAN ODYSSEY friend and noted author, Terence Dickinson and I secured some 300 wide-angle and closeup images of as many objects as we could cram in on any given night.

In addition to an array of lenses, ranging from ultra-wide-angle to medium-telephoto, we imaged with an on site HyperStar-equipped Celestron 14 and a superb Takahashi 102 apochromatic refractor. Both instruments were permanently mounted and tracked well enough for unguided exposures ranging from a few seconds to several minutes. For some imaging situations, notably the Magellanic Clouds, which were relatively low on the horizon at that time of year, IDAS light pollution filters were also used to enhance contrast.

While critical focusing for astrophotography is always a challenge, it is considerably easier with the Canon 50D thanks to its Live View feature which permits direct focusing on a bright star or distant lights on the horizon.

With the Canon 20D a 1.25-2x right-angle focuser is essential for accurate focus, although both cameras can of course also be focused via designated software and a computer. I shot all

Image 4: The Eta Carina Nebula and surrounding region imaged with a Canon 135-mm lens at f/2.8 and a cumulative exposure of 3 minutes at ISO 1600.

images in JPEG and/or RAW formats. The 8mega pixel 20D was used at ISO 800, followed by an equal length exposure with the noise reduction on, while the 50D was used at ISO

1600 with the long exposure noise reduction set to Auto. All astronomical images shown here were multiple exposures stacked in RegiStar from Auriga Imaging and processed in Pho-

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37

A CHILEAN ODYSSEY toshop CS3.

I am happy to report that the Hutech modified Canon 50D is an outstanding astro-imaging camera.

While the venerable 20D convinced many of us raised on film-based astrophotography that the 35-mm camera was at last obsolete, the 50D represents another quantum leap in rapid, convenient and affordable imaging. In addition to having nearly double the mega pixel resolution of the 20D, the 50D yields much smoother, homogeneous looking images, even without use of the optional noise reduction feature. This also permits use of ISO 1600 and correspondingly shorter exposures without appreciable evidence of sensor noise. The 20D, in contrast, was effectively capped at ISO 800 and an equal length noise reducImage 5: Close up of the Eta Carina Nebula showing tion exposure was essential to avoid exdetails of NGC 3373 the Homunculus region. This is cessive image graininess. Moreover, with the 50D, when two or more ima cumulative exposure of 5 minutes at ISO 1600 with a Takahashi 102-mm APO refractor at f/8. ages are stacked for processing, the sig-

nal to noise ratio is markedly enhanced.

One important consideration with the Hutech modification is that images can appear excessively yellow-orange since the camera now has enhanced sensitivity in that region of the spectrum. While that is of course desirable for emission nebulae, the result is an apparent attenuation of the blue end of the spectrum. Use of light pollution filters like the IDAS LPS series helps in this regard by enhancing contrast and removing background orange yellow hues, but we also found that lowering the camera’s color temperature to 3400-3600 Ko greatly improved overall color balance.

Any astro enthusiast fortunate enough to have traveled to the southern hemisphere is well aware that its celestial panorama is without equal. As one Aussie amateur put it to us when we last visited down under, “When God created heavens and earth, he put all the astronomers in the north and all the good stuff in the south!” It’s hard to argue with that sentiment. The Atacama region has the added advantages of over 8000 feet elevation, extremely low humidity and essentially no light pollution.

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A CHILEAN ODYSSEY In fact, the skies were so dark on many nights that the Zodiacal light seemed like light pollution and when overhead around 2am local time, the full arch of the Milky Way cast a distinct shadow!

The core of the Milky Way (Image 3) is particularly impressive from southern latitudes at this time of year since it clearly shows the full extent of our galaxy and makes it obvious that we reside in its plane and look toward its center. Probably no star forming region in the Milky Way is more imposing, both visually and photographically, than the Eta Carina Nebula and surrounding areas (Image 4). I imaged it with several different lenses, including a remarkably detailed image of NGC 3372, the “homunculus� region, with the Takahashi 102 (Image 5).

Although the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds were not optimally placed in late March, being relatively low on the southern horizon, they still made for beautiful objects thanks to the remarkably transparent Atacama skies (Image 6). The Tarantula Nebula (Image 7) is perhaps the signature feature of the LMC,

Image 6: The Large Magellanic Cloud imaged with a Canon 135-mm lens at f/2.8 and a cumulative exposure of 8 minutes at ISO 1600.

both visually and photographically. As the largest star forming region we know, it reveals an extraordinary amount of detail in any good quality telescope.

Perhaps due to the immense richness of the southern skies, including such imposing objects as the Coal Sack, Omega Centauri, 47 Tucanae, as well as many of our favorite north-

Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

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A CHILEAN ODYSSEY

Image 7: Enlarged image of the Tarantula Nebula in the LMC imaged with a C14 Hyper Star and a cumulative exposure of 3 minutes at f/1.9.

40 Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

A CHILEAN ODYSSEY

Image 8: IC 2944/48, the Running Chicken Nebula and cluster, imaged with a C14 Hyper Star and a cumulative exposure of 3 minutes at f/1.9.

ern objects in the Sagittarius-Scorpius region, all of which appear straight overhead, as well as M83 and Centaurus A, some southern jewels may not be appreciated as much as they should.

A case in point is the remarkably detailed IC2944/48 complex, which includes an open cluster and the Running Chicken Nebula in

Centaurus (Image 8). This active star forming region contains emission nebulosity, dust lanes, dark globules and a cluster of bright, energetic stars.

The foregoing are but a few of the many splendid astronomical objects we imaged during this trip to Chile, and the many more we merely looked at.

Unlike previous southern odysseys when we were still using film with all attendant uncertainties, imaging with the Hutech modified Canon 50D was sheer joy. The camera proved reliable, easy to use, and produced images way beyond our fondest expectations. I look forward to my next pilgrimage to this remarkable part of the world.

Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

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A Room With a View Tropical Resort + Dark Skies + Big Telescopes = Perfect Vacation

By Shawn Hendrix

Imagine a place where you could spend your hard earned vacation with your family. A place that has white sand contrasted by 80 degree turquoise water and when you dive below offers some of the best snorkeling in the world. A place where the closest metropolitan area is 1,500 miles away! A place where you can explore the night using some of the best consumer telescopes available provided by the resort. We need not imagine a place like this as I recently returned from this place and it was one of the greatest experiences of my life.

I was hired by the Palms Resort Hotel in Saipan to help set up a new astronomy attraction they wanted to offer. Now if you were like me you probably have only read about Saipan in a history book for its significance in World War II. I thought I should learn a little more about Saipan before I flew to the middle of the South Pacific. I found that Saipan is the largest

42 Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

island and capital of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), a chain of 15 tropical islands belonging to the Marianas archipelago in the western Pacific Ocean (15°10’51”N, 145°45’21”E). This tiny island (12 miles long by 5.5 miles wide) is surrounded on one side by an offshore reef which creates a lagoon that is crystal clear without waves and is full of tropical fish. Well, the scuba diving side is satisfied and so I decided why not!

Needing only a passport and a plane ticket I was set.

I arrived on Saipan at 1:20 am and walking out of the airport I was greeted by a sky many times darker than at home in suburban California, which I know is not saying much, but remember I was standing at the airport on the most populated side of the island! My sky gazing was interrupted by the nice woman that the hotel had sent to pick me up. I quickly

loaded up and began my journey to the hotel to settle in for the night.

When I awoke I walked over to the balcony and was treated to a view that took my breath away. A gorgeous world class resort nestled on the white sand beaches of a cove that was well away from the bulk of the island population. The pool area was huge and then trailed off onto the white beaches that welcomed the lapping warm water of a lagoon that was as blue as I had ever seen, beyond that was the offshore reef I had read about with dark blue waves crashing upon it rhythmically. I was definitely on vacation regardless of it being a “Business Trip!”

Checking my watch it was finally time to take a look at what the hotel was offering its guests of the star gazing variety. I made my way down to a new patio area that was for built for storing and using the resort’s new telescopes. The first thing I noticed was that you have a com-

manding view of the western and northern sky with nothing on the horizon but ocean. I knew this was going to be good but I had no clue until the door to the storage room was opened. There sat two huge wooden crates and a plethora of brown boxes all stamped with the words “Vixen Optics” and carefully packaged by the staff at Woodland Hills Telescope. I grabbed my box cutter and began to undo their careful work.

Over the next two days I spent long hard hours on the beach building this massive inventory of telescopes and when it was all said and done, I was standing proudly in front of over 1410mm of combined aperture. The resort had bought two gorgeous Vixen ES115S mounted on the Sphinx SXD, two VMC260L mounted on the sturdy Atlux, and two of the mammoth VMC330L mounted on the observatory quality Gaiax. Not to forget they also had invested a full complement of the new Vixen LVW Eyepieces.

As I took in the majesty of the telescopes standing against the back drop of the ocean, the second phase of the project arrived. The resort also wanted to reach out in the spirit of the International Year of Astronomy and make sure to have a big portion of its effort focused on outreach to its non astronomer guests and the local community and school. They had bought for this reason two Stella Cam III’s and a couple of 58-inch LCDs. That would definitely do it!

The first night we brought out the gear for its test run, the skies were clear and the weather was a perfect 75 degrees.

We aligned the telescopes, set up the Stella Cams and started broadcasting Orion’s Nebula in all its glory on the 58-inch LCD. It took all of five seconds for the crowd to start forming and tonight was a mix of tour groups from China, Japan, and Korea. They all stood in wonder of what they were witnessing. We had the ES115S and the VMC330L set up for visual observing and we began to invite the people to look through the eyepieces one

by one. Then I was given a lesson in language I will never forget. There is one word no matter if they were from China, Japan, or Korea that was uttered when looking at Orion’s Nebula for the first time…WOW. We had many people tell us that they had never looked through a telescope and wanted to come back the next night and learn more. We even had to pose with the telescopes for photos!

The next night and many nights after that were spent looking for a island dark sky spots where guests could check out the ES115S or VMC260L and head off for some true dark sky observing. I drove around the back side of the island looking for the perfect spot and found it. A cliff that overlooks the backside of the island is one of the highest spots on the island as it overlooks Northwest to East with the North Star in the center of the view. The ocean was 1,500 feet below with no hotels, no businesses, no streetlights for more

1,500 miles out over the ocean.

The scopes quickly went up and the hours passed even faster. I jump from cluster to cluster, nebula to galaxies, double stars back to clusters, everything looked amazing. I waited for Saturn to make its early morning appearance and I was rewarded by a rock solid view of Saturn through the amazing optics of the ES115S Refractor. This was a night that would go down as the best night of observing I had ever had.

The perfect mix of island vacation by day and star party by night. A place the whole family will beg to come. A place you will never forget. So instead of a star party in the middle of a muddy field somewhere in the Midwest, try a star party in the middle of South Pacific!

For more information on the Palms Resort Hotel in Saipan you can visit them on the web at www.palmsobservatorysaipan.com.

Shawn and two locals enjoy the view.

Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

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PortaBOWL Project

By Jay Scheuerle

An ATM 4 1/2-inch F/8 Ball-Scope Project Anyone can Build for Under $100!

We all remember our first telescope.

Unfortunately, many of our memories are tarnished by the reality that most inexpensive scopes, usually 60mm refractors, are toys with views that lack detail, depict colored edges, and dance all over the sky in the slightest breeze. I gave my nephew a scope like this for Christmas, and it may have contributed to his waning interest in the skies… I’ve been kicking myself ever since.

ATMing is great fun and a wonderful way to discover how telescopes work. As with any new venture, mistakes are part of the process. In the end, we’ve probably spent far more time and money than we planned to, and resorted to some unconventional building techniques to get everything to work together.

Rewarding instruments can be created this way, but they’re not always easy to reproduce.

With a few scopes under my belt, I decided to see what I could do to put a decent reflector, mount, and eyepiece into a nonskilled person’s hands – for under $100.

Nothing could be made from leftover ATM or surplus store parts; it was essential that anybody could build it.

I organized a sub-$100 contest at an astronomy website, and great ideas, along with great scopes, flew in. Unfortunately, construction diagrams did not. Writing a clear build manual is not only hard work, but compared to tinkering in the shop, it’s not much fun, either!

First, we learned that approximately half

of our money goes toward the optics and an inexpensive EP. In my case, I used a 4.5-inch f/8 spherical primary for my effort(s). That’s right– plural. It takes at least one try to learn how to spread out that remaining $50 and still end up with a worthy instrument. We must also devise a focuser, finder, spider, mirror cell, and collimation controls, not to mention places to attach them, and a mount on which it all sits. Virgin Teflon and Ebony Star Laminate? Forget about it!

My first attempt was a standard alt/az “beam” scope. It looked pretty cool, but its usage left me cold. The horizontal focuser made for impossible viewing angles. The secondary alignment mechanism was clunky.

The homemade finder was too delicate and

Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

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PORTABOWL PROJECT

awkward to use. And of course, the mount wasn’t buttery smooth.

Every penny was wisely spent, or so I thought, and I stared at my scope and wondered how I could remove $5 from here and add it to there. What if I needed $10? How could I make it easier to build and still fix all

of these problems? Doubts crept in. Was there another direction? I’d always believed that a beam-scope was the simplest of solutions...

The answer was literally right in front of me. Over the past two years, I’ve built and continually refined a 6-inch f/5 ball-scope called the Eero2 (yes, there was a learning

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Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

curve there as well!). I knew that the mount for a ball-scope was as cheap and simple as they get, so BOOM – $20 more to play with right there! Of course, these types of scopes bring their own expenditures, namely the ball itself, and the counterweight, which all ballscopes need because of their low center of gravity.

The key to making a great-looking scope when you have neither the tools nor the skills to create your masterpiece can be summed up with one term – prefab. The big-box hardware and department stores are great, but my ace-in-the-hole is IKEA, where I found my bowl – an 11-inch wide, stainless steel serving bowl. So, I was technically diving into a “bowl” scope instead of a ball, which offered a few new restrictions, but I knew right away that something good would come from this new direction.

Because this is my first bowl-scope, there’s one thing you can count on – it took me at least two tries. The first version proved the concept, but formulating the second version allowed me to consider simpler ways to do things. You can’t ask a 13-year old to pull out a router or an arc-welder. KISS (keep it simple, stupid!) is the rule. Also, by getting the first version out of the way – kinks, mis-cuts, and all – you have the opportunity to tightly plan your final version and document it.

Pictures are important, as they help clarify your words. Some directions, like how to tie a shoe, would be nearly impossible without pictures. It’s no different here!

You’ll find as you scroll through the materials list that this is an easy build. You may need to gather some stuff from around the house. The base I mentioned before? Free!

It’s a rock-filled coffee can with a half-inch of the plastic lid left to act as a bearing.

The big question is, of course, how does it work? This is where the grin creeps in. I love using this scope! I take it out more than my 12-inch Lightbridge or the 6-inch ball-scope.

One hand on the main pole, the other on the base, and I’m out the door. Collimation is a snap, and it holds between usages. Light management is more than sufficient. The focuser is smooth, and the slower focal ratio is very forgiving. The 4.5-inch primary gives good

PORTABOWL PROJECT detail on the moon and planets, while remaining free of extraneous colors.

The best part? The mount is rock solid!

Even in strong wind, its narrow profile allows the wind to fly by. Its motion, stiction-wise, was 7/10 until I sprayed a little Sailkote (a dry lubricant) on the bowl. Now I give it a solid 9/10! I’m betting that simple car wax works just as well. You might even find that the original motion is perfectly acceptable.

Lest you think my enthusiasm has warped my senses, the PortaBowl is not my best scope. When off to darker skies or on a road trip, I’ll take my 12-inch every time.

Give me 90 minutes in front of the house, and the Eero2 will rule. But if I want to sneak in 20 good minutes of Saturn, Jupiter or the Moon, split some nice double-stars, or entice some neighbors, the PortaBowl is the perfect weapon. No worries when the kids are using it because it’s not only solid and difficult to break, but it’s also cheaper than many of my EPs. On top of that, I print out four or five copies of the build manual for those who show interest.

I didn’t build the PortaBowl for me. It’s for kids and hobbyists, ATMers, schools, clubs, etc. It’s belatedly for my nephew. The project is only successful if it’s actively circulating in the public domain, so please, pass the link below on to anybody and everybody you know. And if you build one, by all means, send me pictures!

A link to the PDF of detailed step by step instructions on building the PortaBowl including a complete materials list can be accessed at www.astronomytechnologytoday.com

PARTIAL MATERIALS LIST 1 - 11” IKEA BLANDA BLANK stainless steel serving bowl (www.ikea.com) ...........$7 1 - 10 lb. Walmart barbell weight .............................................................$8 1 - 3’ x 7/8” oak dowel ......................................................................$3.75 1 - 4’ x 3/8” dowel (any kind) ..............................................................$2.50 1 – 3 /4” ID PVC coupler ......................................................................$.75 2 - #4 x 1 /2” round slotted screws for brace bottoms 2 - #4 x 3 /4” round slotted screws for brace tops 1 - #8 x 1” flat-head screw for attaching oak dowel epoxy flat black spray paint Tools: drill, small length of pipe, hammer, punch, screwdrivers, sandpaper, saw

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47

ADM Accessories Losmandy “D” Series Format Adapter for EQG-Style Mounts Updating the Orion Sirius Dovetail Base

By Dave Snay

So I’m talking to Gary Parkerson at NEAF about how much I like my Orion Sirius mount when he asks me if I’ve considered replacing its Vixen-style dovetail with a larger Losmandy-style version.

Although I haven’t noticed any significant issues with the original system as shown in Image 1, I’m always interested in an upgrade.

The fact is, I have often wondered about the strength of the contact points holding the Vixen-style rail to the dovetail. So when Gary told me that Anthony Davoli, of ADM Accessories, offered an adapter that would allow me to exchange the entire stock dovetail saddle assembly of the mount for a Losmandy-style dovetail saddle, I figured it would be worth trying. Here’s my description of how the upgrade went and the results of the change.

First let’s see what the new dovetail looks like and compare it to the original.

Image 2 shows the original Vixen-style dovetail saddle as shipped from Orion and

Image 3 shows Anthony’s upgrade. Notice the two points of contact between the original dovetail and the rail as shown in Image 2. Now compare that to the fulllength contact provided by the ADM dovetail saddle. I should point out that these two images are roughly the same scale as you can see by the relative size of the control panel on the mount head shown in each of these images. The ADM dovetail saddle is simply much larger than the original.

So how do you make the Image 1 – Original Setup change? Well it’s actually pretRemove them all, being careful not to ty simple. All you have to do is to remove drop any – they are very small and black three set screws from the mount. They are and will disappear quicker than you can located just below the dovetail as shown in blink. Then you just have to lift out the Image 4. stock dovetail saddle, insert the new The three set screws are arranged at ADM saddle, and reinstall the set screws.

120 degree intervals around the head.

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ADM ACCESSORIES

Image 2 – Original Orion Dovetail

Image 3 – ADM Dovetail

Take care to insert the new dovetail with the same alignment as the original. It doesn’t make any difference with my mount, but some require proper alignment for go-to functionality to be accurate.

Image 5 shows the underside of both

SkyWatcher Telescopes

the original and ADM bases. The ADM “hockey puck” adapter has the exact same dimensions as the stock unit and fits perfectly, but look how much bigger the rail is in all directions. Doesn’t it just exude stability?

To better appreciate the new setup,

using the new ADM dovetail saddle, rail and rings to match, you need to see the original setup (Image 6). It’s not like this wasn't going to hold things in place – in fact, it has done a great job from the start. But when I compare the two setups, the upgrade just looks more solid and reliable; like maybe I could mount that big RC scope on there after all.

Notice that short rail holding everything in place in Image 6? I didn’t really think it was an issue until I got my hands on a nice big 11-inch dovetail rail to go in the new ADM saddle. As shown in Image 7, there just isn’t any comparison.

Of course I had to replace those original itty-bitty rings. What good is a big,

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ADM ACCESSORIES

Image 4 – Set screw location

beefy dovetail plate if you only use a single connection point for the rings?

Anthony didn’t have any that fit my scope on hand at NEAF, but the folks at AstroTech had sets that attach onto the rail with multiple screws and that are built every bit as well as the rail and dovetail, so now I have no reason to suspect flexure if

Image 5 – Underside of Original and New Rails Image 6 – The Original Setup

I see things going squirrelly in my images.

These new rings fit my refractor perfectly and are nicely lined so as not to add more scratches to my OTA. I used to piggyback this scope on another and the rings I was using for that configuration had put a few marks in the paint.

Have you noticed the piece of wood

in my original setup in Image 6? That’s there to prevent the piggyback rail from riding on top of the dew shield of the lower scope. Not only would it scratch the shield, it would misalign the two scopes.

So I built a riser out of oak that has worked very nicely, but has been the source of constant abuse when I’ve used

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ADM ACCESSORIES

Image 7 – The New Setup

Image 8 – The New Rig Ready to Rumble

the setup in the field with friends – they all know it works, but still tease me about it. I tried switching the long and short rails, but there just wasn’t a good way to get everything to align without drilling multiple holes in the rails and I was afraid that doing so would weaken them too much.

Well, the new setup allows me to use the original short rail as the piggyback rail, eliminating the need for the riser. Now it’s all metal, all the time!

The rest of the installation is just as straightforward as the dovetail. Just mount the rings on the plate in whichever threaded holes works best for your

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Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

scope. Then attach the upper rings to the piggyback rail and attach that rail to the top of the main rings. I had to drill one hole in the upper rail to match them up, but that rail is only holding about 2 pounds of gear so I wasn’t worried about weakening it, especially since I removed the extra leverage of the riser. If I’m really concerned about it, I might just get a short rail from Anthony to put up there and be done with it.

Image 8 shows the end result. Doesn’t it look a whole lot more ready to rumble?

Of course, the real test is in operation.

So I waited for the New England weather to cooperate and ran the system through a few tests. I performed a quick polar alignment followed by my usual 2-star alignment. The mount performed with the same accuracy as before the installation – a good sign. Then I verified I hadn’t introduced any cone error by executing a few go-tos, all of which were well within my expectations. Which is my way of saying I didn’t botch the installation.

The next tests involved imaging experiments with increasing exposure lengths. I started with unguided and found the same 2-minute limit I had prior to this upgrade. When I engaged auto guiding I was able to use my normal 5minute exposures with no error, but stars were even more round than they had previously been. I cranked the exposure up to 10 minutes and still had nice round stars.

Consider that this took place in 10-20 mile per hour winds and I say this upgrade is an unmitigated success. I can’t wait to see how this impacts my future imaging results.

If you’re in the market for a mounting upgrade, you can’t go wrong with Anthony Davoli’s ADM Accessories.

Anthony is easy to work with and more than willing to take the time to make sure you end up with exactly the system you need.

Explore Scientific AR152 Achromatic Refractor A Definite Winner

By Craig M. Bobchin

In the interest of full disclosure, I’ll note that I’ve known Scott Roberts of Explore Scientific for nearly a decade and consider him a friend. But, as Scott would be the first to tell you, our friendship is such that I have no problems giving complete, honest, and occasionally negative feedback on products that he is associated with, a practice that goes back to when we first met when he was with Meade Instruments. So I will not let my friendship get in the way of providing an honest report on Explore Scientific’s new 152-mm Achromatic Refractor.

When I first heard that Scott Roberts and Russ Tanton, former co-workers at Meade, were starting up a new astro-products company, I was excited to say the least.

I knew that both were very particular about optical and mechanical quality and was anxious to see what they would come up with.

I was particularly excited to learn that Explore Scientific was introducing a large refractor because I’ve always loved refrac-

tors, a fondness that dates back to my first telescope at age 9 or 10, the ubiquitous Tasco 60-mm on that flimsy alt-azimuth mount that barely let you get to zenith. I operate Astronomy4You.com, a service that is dedicated to bringing astronomy outreach to corporate events, weddings, parties and such, and wanted to feature a large, impressive telescope that fit the general public’s preconceived notion of what a telescope should look like, while having enough light grasp to punch through the light pollution of Southern California. A secondary consideration was my desire to acquire a largeaperture refractor for astrophotography. I had been using a 10-inch SchmidtCassegrain Telescope (SCT) and an 80-mm ED refractor for imaging, but wanted a single scope that combined larger aperture than the little ED and a faster focal ratio than that of the SCT. I could not justify the cost of a large Apo, but at the introductory price of the Explore Scientific's 152-mm refractor, a large refractor was still well within reach. I

knew I could mitigate the achro’s chromatic aberration (color fringing) through the use of filters and/or post processing in Photoshop, and that, given that very few DSOs feature bright enough stars to cause meaningful chromatic aberration, it would be of only minor concern in any case.

Now a year later the Explore Scientific 152-mm Achromats are ready and I arranged to get a tester from Explore Scientific prior to my purchase of one.

First Impressions The scope came in a nice metal Scope Guard-style case with three handles, and, let me tell you, this scope is big! It barely fit in the trunk of my Volvo S60R and it has a pretty large trunk. Unfortunately, my joy at having a new toy to play with was short lived. As new-scope tradition dictates, Southern California was then under an unusually intense period of cloudiness and I left to admire the new telescope, but could not use it. To make matters worse, I had also upgraded my imaging camera from a

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EXPLORE SCIENTIFIC AR152 ACHROMATIC REFRACTOR

Image 1

Canon 20D to an Orion StarShoot Pro Deep Space Color CCD Imager at the same time. So here I was with two new pieces of

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equipment and no way to use them as intended.

In unpacking the telescope, I noticed

that it shipped with a well-executed and substantial hinged cradle that featured a carry handle on its top and a Vixen-style dovetail mounting rail on its bottom. For me, it was necessary to replace the Vixenstyle dovetail with a Losmandy-format plate so I could use the scope with my Losmandy G-11. Luckily, I was able to pick up a used one at RTMC. All I needed to do was unbolt the Vixen plate and use the same 1/420 bolts for the Losmandy plate. That took less than five minutes and most of that was spent figuring out where exactly to place the new plate.

Protective tissue paper was inserted between the cradle and the telescope tube and the cradle was lined with felt to protect the scope when the cradle is closed. This will help keep the scope looking nice, but there were a few places where the user might want to remove the felt in order to provide access to fasteners for accessories such as guidescope rings, camera mount base, etc. The handle mounted on top of the cradle is slotted and can be used for this purpose, but

EXPLORE SCIENTIFIC AR152 ACHROMATIC REFRACTOR

Image 2

Image 3

there may not be enough separation for rings for a longer guide scope.

The AR152 has a nice looking, glossywhite finish and black focuser and lens-cell assemblies. The lens cell is collimatable, but the scope shipped without instructions for collimation – something experienced users won’t miss, but that would be of use to lessexperienced amateurs. It should be noted, however, that all Explore Scientific are precision collimated prior to shipping, so user collimation procedures may never be an issue. Plus, the company offers cleaning and collimation services for telescopes of all brands, including its own products, should the owner prefer professional collimation at some future point.

The focuser of the 152-mm aperture, 988-mm focal length, f/6.5 refractor is a non-rotatable 2-inch Crayford-style version that features both a 10-1 dual-speed knob and a graduated-scale draw tube. The focus travel is approximately 5 inches. There is a compression ring to hold your diagonal, but here is where I encountered my first minor issue with the scope. The thumbscrew for the compression ring is short. In fact with the supplied 2-inch diagonal (which has a

short straight insertion tube) in place, I found it difficult to tighten the compression ring. Now, I’ll admit I have relatively fat fingers, but I’ve never run into this issue with any other scope and have owned quite a few.

The other problem I had with the compression ring system is that it did not hold the diagonal as securely as I would like.

When using a heavy eyepiece such as the ES 30-mm 82 degree, or its 14-mm 100 degree marvel, I suffered concern about the security of the setup. Granted, these are two unusually heavy eyepieces, but there are some cameras that weigh as much if not more.

So, I would have preferred a two-thumbscrew compression-ring visual back with longer thumbscrews, something Explore Scientific should consider in future versions of the new scope.

The AR152 also ships with an 8x50 straight-thru finder scope, which features a thin non-illuminated reticle. I was very happy to see a fairly thin cross hair, but had some difficulty seeing the cross hairs at night as is typical of non-illuminated designs. The finder scope uses the two-adjustment-screw, spring-loaded-tensioner mount that is currently popular, and it made align-

Image 4

ing the finder very easy.

Along with the included 2-inch diagonal, the AR152 shipped with a quality 20mm, 70-degree 1.25-inch eyepiece that was a big step up from the standard Plossls that accompany most new scopes. It combined with the scope to produce a very useful 50X and an expansive 1.4-degree apparent field of view.

Performance So enough about the details, how did this scope perform? When the clouds finally cleared I was anxious to see how the AR152 and my new camera worked together. To be honest, I’m in a real funny place when it comes to astronomy these days – I still enjoy visual astronomy, but am leaning more and more towards the imaging side of our hobby. So, instead of my usual habit of putting an eyepiece in a new scope and enjoying the visual images it produces, I went straight to imaging and attached the Orion StarShoot Pro instead. My first target was M57 and, being unfamiliar with the included Maxim DL Essentials software, my first images did not turn out well. My target for the next night was M13 and I used

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EXPLORE SCIENTIFIC AR152 ACHROMATIC REFRACTOR the more familiar Nebulosity imaging software after downloading the correct ASCOM drivers. My first effort produced the image shown in Image 1, a stack of fifteen 1-minute exposures.

I also decided to take some images of Deneb to evaluate collimation, focus accuracy, and chromatic aberration levels. The intra-focus image is shown as Image 2 and the extra-focus as Image 3. I was pleased to see just how little chromatic aberration this scope exhibits, even when imaging challenging bright Deneb. And, as the images reveal, collimation was also very good – no more than a minor tweak was necessary to ready the scope for the unforgiving tolerances demanded by astrophotography. The in-focus image shows a nicely-tight star with only minor purple fringing. Image 4 presents the monochrome version of the in-focus image and displays an equally tight airy disk. Images 2-4 are each 1/2-second exposures.

I continued to use the AR152 in my

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backyard observatory with a variety of eyepieces, but also arranged to borrow a subset of the eyepieces that are currently sold

by Explore Scientific. These were the 30mm, 6.7-mm, and 4.7-mm that share an 82-degree apparent field of view (AFOV), as well as a prototype of Explore Scientific’s new 14-mm 100-degree AFOV wonder.

From my light-polluted back yard, the eyepieces produced wonderful images, but I really needed to take the scope to dark skies to test its full potential. I was finally able to do so at the Orange County Astronomers (OCA) July Star Party (its June event was clouded out – more of the “new toy” curse!). This gave me a chance to gauge not just my reactions, but those of many other amateurs, from novice to the most impressively experienced.

Everyone who viewed through the new telescope and eyepieces were impressed with both. We had a chance to view a variety of objects including M13, and the Lagoon and Trifid nebulas (with an OIII filter), both of which were nicely framed

within the field produced by the 30-mm eyepiece. Best of all, the Double Cluster provided the classic impression of fine diamonds on velvet and the view was admirably flat across the entire field.

Conclusion As previously mentioned, I had a few minor quibbles with the scope: I’d like to see the inclusion of collimation instructions, and would prefer a more capable dual-setscrew compression-ring assembly, and a longer insertion tube with safety undercut on the included 2-inch diagonal.

But, my overall verdict on the Explore Scientific's new AR152 is that the 6-inch achromatic refractor is a definite winner. As one observer noted while viewing Jupiter, the more you concentrate on that object, the more immersive the remarkable fidelity of the view becomes, and the less color fringing you notice. And at the modest price of $799, the AR152 is a great buy for anyone desiring a large, fast refractor with minimal color fringing.

Redshift 7 Premium Not Your Ordinary Planetarium Software

By Dave Snay

The Redshift planetarium software has been around for quite a while, but has somehow managed to stay below my radar until recently. I first saw it a NEAF 2009 and, to be honest, didn’t really pay much attention to it while there. I’m an admitted hardware hog, so it’s no surprise that this nifty software package escaped my notice until it was pointed out to me after NEAF that it’s really quite powerful. So I decided to give it a try.

My first experience was installation.

It went very smoothly and took only a few minutes. Once installed and registered, the package has run reliably every time. It does take a little longer to fire up than I expected, but after that it runs quickly and predictably. The first view presented

by Redshift is shown in Image 1.

The center of the screen is dominated by the Start panel and presents you with several sections of information in tabbed format. The Introduction is a pretty-slick video showing some of the features of Redshift 7, while the Assistant section provides some basic setup instructions such as setting date/time/location values. The Sky Diary tab reveals my favorite section because of its usefulness in planning, but we’ll dig into that a little later.

The Downloads tab allows you to download the latest information on many transient objects like comets, asteroids and spacecraft.

It also provides access to the Sloan and DSS1 Digitized Sky Surveys as well as Google Earth and orbital elements for asteroids and comets. In case you’re Image 1 not familiar with the Sloan and DSSI information (what rock have you been living under?) these catalogs provide ever changing data as it is release for public consumption.

If you close the Start panel, you’re presented with the view shown in Image 2 (I shrunk the navigation panel on the left between these two views). It looks like a fish-eye view of the world to me, but that could be my photographer background influencing my perception.

Set the date, time and location values Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

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REDSHIFT 7 PREMIUM

Image 2

and you’ll be presented with the night sky as it should appear from your yard. In Image 3, I’ve closed the Navigation panel and opened the Filters panel using the tool bar at the top of the screen. The Filters panel is extremely powerful and provides access to pretty much all of the

58 Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

screen interface adjustments you’ll need during any session. It allows you to filter the amount of data presented on the screen in a variety of ways, including: (1) The brightness of stars, nebulae and clusters shown, (2) the brightness of stars, nebulae and clusters labeled, and (3) the

type of display for each type of object as (a) an icon, (b) an approximation of the object, (d) a simple shaded circle over the object’s area, or (e) none.

The values are set via sliders which you access by expanding the Filters panel.

As you move the sliders, the display is adjusted accordingly. If the image shown here isn’t large enough to show it, you expand the panel by selecting the “More>>” button at the bottom of the panel. It’s really very nicely done. However, be careful how you set the sliders as the display can get very crowded very quickly!

Once you have the filters set up the way you want them, wandering around the universe is both simple and intuitive.

Just left click on any point in the window and drag the sky around to the view you want. You can also use the directional arrows on your keyboard to make fine adjustments. I haven’t found that necessary, but that could be because I’m a “mouser.”

Want to zoom in? You can use the

REDSHIFT 7 PREMIUM scroll wheel on your mouse to enlarge or reduce the current center of the screen.

You can also zoom in and out using the View sub-panel of the Navigation panel, but I think the scroll wheel is much cooler and way more fun. If you don’t have a scroll wheel, what are you waiting for?

They’re very useful in most applications, not just Redshift 7. Of course, if you’re using a Mac you’re out of luck on the scroll-wheel option.

Once you’ve got all that stuff configured (it really doesn’t take long and can be adjusted at any time), it’s time to play.

Click on any object in the sky and you are presented with a little pop-up that tells you what type of object it is and its designation. If you then click on that pop-up, you get an “Information” panel which tells you more about what it is and where you can find it. If you expand that panel you get more detail about the object’s location and a 3-D display of the object in space that you can rotate and zoom in and out. Totally cool!

Image 3

There is a wealth of scientific information in this panel as well, most of which I don’t understand. I’ve included three quick screen shots (Images 4-6) of the data provided when centered on Albireo (there's more data here than I’ve encountered in any other planetarium package). You could burn an awful lot of

cloudy nights playing around with this option.

The “Sky Diary” tab reveals all sorts of planning tools. You can learn about upcoming events like solar and lunar eclipses, conjunctions and meteor showers. In this section, you can also search both forward and backward in time. I

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REDSHIFT 7 PREMIUM

Image 4

Image 5

went as far forward as 2029 and was able to find out that there isn’t anything interesting happening in the sky on my birthday that year. I guess I’ll be staying in and pestering my wife and kids that night. A really nice feature of this section is that, once you’ve executed a search, you can

double click on any item in the list and Redshift 7 will bring you to that event.

My favorite areas within the Sky Diary are the Observation Planner sections. There are two of them based on visibility and rise/set time – both present basically the same information, just based

on differing criteria. I preferred the visibility version because it uses a visual representation, while the rise/set version uses a table that makes me actually read something. It took me a little bit of experimentation to figure out how the planner works, but it turns out that, once you’ve

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Image 6

decided what you’d like to observe, you just enter the object in the menu and then it will display a graph showing you when each object is visible. For example, I chose several objects that I thought I’d like to either view or image and Redshift 7 provided the table shown in Image 7. Take note of the sliders just above the table.

They alter the data shown and are a common tool throughout the user interface for Redshift 7.

Red areas indicate zero visibility, yellow means moderately visible, and green means prime viewing time – pretty straightforward, isn’t it? I’m definitely a visual learner, so this version of the planner works best for me, while the rise/set time may very well work best for you. Give it a try and see how you like it. Once you’ve entered the data, it is shared by both of these interfaces so you can switch back and forth easily.

Now let’s suppose you know that you want to examine something, but you don’t know where it is. Finding things in Redshift 7 is only a right click away. Right click anywhere in the main window and an options window pops up with “Find” as the first option. Select that and you can then choose any object you’d like to view and then tell Redshift 7 to center on the object, do a 3D flyover of the object, or

simply give you the Object Information panel we just examined. If you double click on anything in the window, it is automatically centered for you. You can also enable/disable night vision (turns the screen red) with one of the options from the right click. This will keep your neighbors at imaging star parties from taking shots at your monitor.

The catalogs of objects available to you are many and extensive. All the popular and well known catalogs are there.

While the Sharpless and Van den Bergh catalogs are not available as searchable groups, you will find some of the VdB objects as you move around the universe.

You’ll also find spacecraft, radio and X-ray sources as objects you can target. Many of the spacecraft objects have completed their tour of duty, so you are asked if you want to reset your system date and time accordingly, but it is fun to see what they accomplished.

The Guided Tours section holds a wealth of tours, including categories like Planets and their Moons, Messier objects, 3D Flight and Star Hopping. Each of the tours I viewed is a relatively short, narrated video describing the chosen subject.

You could use these tours to learn about subjects new to you, to help in planning, or just to kill some time on cloudy nights.

You’ll need the DVD to use these though because the guided tours use the sky simulation engine and their behavior can be modified by your primary control settings. There are over 25 tours available within this section, so I’ll leave their exploration to you.

The Lectures section contains many vignettes about various topics, primarily

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REDSHIFT 7 PREMIUM

Image 7

consisting of visuals and music, with some text for your reading pleasure. Some of the visuals are truly amazing! You absolutely must check out the one on Stars, Clusters and Gas Clouds – the rotation of the Pleiades is fabulous!

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in the fourth group of icons from the left in the tool bar – you’ll be presented with a pop-up where you can choose the appropriate class of mount. Then you select the Properties button and you’ll get another pop-up that lets you specify the rest of the parameters for controlling your mount. You can choose any mount currently supported by the ASCOM drivers.

I’ve found the GoTo performance of my mount to be exactly the same using Redshift 7 as it is when I use the hand controller. That really shouldn’t be a surprise since it is essentially sending the same commands to the mount as the hand controller. You can configure Redshift 7 to have your telescope follow the selections made within it, and vice versa. (One note: If you have your telescope follow Redshift 7, take care to disable that during imaging sessions or you might find yourself making some pretty strange star trail images as you capture the movement across the sky when you use the software to examine some other interesting tidbit while you’ve got an imaging session underway.)

Most of my future use of Redshift 7 will be for astrophotography. I’ll use it to help plan the next few imaging sessions and then I’ll take it out there to control the telescope when I decide to target objects not known by my mount’s hand controller. So this feature should prove very useful to me.

Conclusions Redshift 7 Premium displays the extensive research and development behind this product at nearly every mouse click.

As a retired software engineer with over 20 years of experience, I recognize well designed and implemented code. In my opinion, Redshift 7 Premier demonstrates very good user interface design and software implementation. While there is always more to do, there are very few areas for improvement regarding implementation and design in this product’s current incarnation.

I’d give Redshift 7 very high marks if it

62 Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

REDSHIFT 7 PREMIUM were my job to grade this product. Oh wait, it is my job to grade astronomy products! Okay, I’ll give it a “Very-Very Good,” almost “Exceptional” grade (the later being my very best grade, and I can’t say that I’ve seen much that would warrant such praise other than NASA’s performances). The opportunity to learn while using Redshift 7 is outstanding. Presentation of information is straightforward and easy to understand, notwithstanding my inability to fathom some of the more scientific data, and navigation is quite intuitive. Two reasons my evaluation might be just below “Exceptional” are the need to provide my time zone even after providing location, which should be pretty easy to calculate, and my inability to elicit a response from the producers regarding the use of the product. Fortunately the product works extremely well and I was able to work through any questions I had using the extensive Help documentation provided with the software. It would be nice to be able to add to the library of objects so that I could “teach” Redshift 7 about things like Van den Berg and Sharpless objects, but this is not common to most planetarium packages, so I won’t hold that against this one either.

So, in the end, I say Redshift 7 Premium is well worth every penny, which is only $79US on Amazon.com. It works as expected and provides much more than I anticipated. Give it a go and you’ll also be pleasantly surprised by the research and effort that clearly went into producing this fine product.

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An ATM Dimmer for a Surplus Shed LED A Simple-To-Build Circuit Design for Powering and Dimming this Versatile LED Assembly

By Rick Saunders

Editor’s Note Some years ago I bought a number of Surplus Shed’s Item Number R3052 Red LEDs with 8-inch cable and mini plug...just because they were inexpensive and looked like they might be useful someday. Soon after they arrived, I discovered that the LED housing fit the illuminator ports of two cherished vintage 12.5-mm Ortho reticle eyepieces I’d collected along the way. They’ll fit many other reticle-eyepiece standardilluminator ports as well.

A relatively easy ATM project is to diagram a simple dimmer for an LED such as the one shown in Image 1 from the Surplus Shed (http://www.surplusshed.com/ pages/item/r3052.html). This is a red LED mounted on a pigtail with a mini phone plug on one end and would be a great little part for illuminating a finder or polar scope.

Surplus Shed’s online description of the LED assembly suggests that it can be used with a single 1.5-volt battery and I was told that it can indeed be hooked up

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I’ve also used a couple for dark-adapted-vision-friendly lighting of the analog setting circles of my favorite old-school mount. I fashioned a crude dimmer for some of my applications, but, knowing that design to be unreliable, eventually remembered to ask Rick Saunders to design and diagram something better. Surplus Shed must have a relatively inexhaustible supply of the LEDs – despite seeing them in lots of others’ collections since buying my first handful, our favorite source of surplus goodies still has more on hand.

directly. With a phone plug on the end, I went with a battery larger than a coin cell and included a current limiting resistor.

Not knowing exactly what I’m dealing with since I’m working strictly from a hearsay description of the LED, instead of a more complex dimming method, I’ll stick to a very simple dimmer that just alters the resistance in the circuit to vary the brightness of the LED. This has the advantage of being cheap and simple – and it does work.

For this project use a 3-volt source

Image 1

such as two AAA cells. Any Radio Shack will sell you a battery carrier with leads and probably will have the potentiometer and resistors as well. Two diagrams are

Image 2

shown in Image 2: one using a 500-ohm potentiometer and the other a 1000-ohm part. Either will work and the batteries will more than likely last the best part of a year under normal operation.

The circuits are very simple. A resistor and a potentiometer (used as a variable resistor) are connected in series. The value of the resistor sets the maximum current (brightness) when the resistance of the potentiometer is set at 0. Increasing the resistance of the potentiometer decreases the brightness of the LED. Two resistors are shown in the lower circuit. Use this arrangement if you can’t find a 500 ohm potentiometer, but can find a 1-K ohm part (which appear to be more common in the hobby stores here). The second resistor (R3) is connected in parallel with R1 and R2.

There is a switch shown on both diagrams. It’s always nice to be able to turn off a unit without unplugging it. A po-

Image 3

tentiometer with a built-in switch is perfect for this project and they are generally available. If the LED doesn’t light, then reverse the connections on the plug or the battery.

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The IPI 262 Mount from Iott Precision Instruments A Quick Look at a New Premium, High-Capacity Mount Option

By Karl Zimmerman

The purchase of a new mount is always a challenging one – given the extreme variety of applications there is no truly “one size fits all” mount on the market, so a number of factors must be weighed during the decision process, such as payload capacity, primary use (visual or imaging), portability, go-to capability, compatibility of electronics with desired software applications, third-party software support, and the like. Plus, of course, all this must be considered within the context of the user’s available budget.

I had made the decision to upgrade from a William Optics GT-ONE (an excellent mount), primarily to get an equatorial mount capable of carrying a significantly larger payload since I planned to mount a large Apo refractor and had a desire to get into imaging. My research eventually lead me to Kevin Iott who

was in the process of starting a new company, Iott Precision Instruments, to produce highend German Equatorial Mounts, the first of which was to be the IPI 262. On paper, this was a most impressive mount featuring precision machined components, quality materials, proven electronics, and an extremely attractive price for a complete (including pier and stainless-steel counter-weights) system.

Deciding to pull the trigger on one of Kevin’s mounts was the most difficult part for me – I liked everything I learned about the IPI 262 mount, but wasn’t talking about an insignificant amount of money, and would be risking that on a relatively unknown and untested company, product, and craftsman. So, I spent more time checking things on the Web, speaking with Kevin on the phone, and exchanging lots of email (Kevin would often in-

clude CAD design updates as attachments, to show aspects of the proposed mount that were difficult for me to visualize) before achieving the necessary comfort level. In the end, I decided to take a chance on Kevin and his mount, and, as you will learn, haven’t regretted doing so in the least.

One of the things that was particularly reassuring was Kevin’s availability. He either immediately answered his phone or promptly returned my calls, and he was always reachable via email. Kevin was also receptive of my suggestions, and would either patiently (and never condescendingly) explain why my idea probably wasn’t the ideal solution, or he’d say “sounds good, I’ll do it…” Keep in mind that some of my suggestions could be incorporated only because Kevin was literally finalizing the design and machining the parts during our correAstronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY

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THE IPI 262 MOUNT FROM IOTT PRECISION INTRUMENTS

Image 1

spondence – one of the advantages of being in on the ground floor, so to speak.

Packaging The finished mount was delivered in an extremely sturdy, custom-built wooden case (see Image 1) – there is no conceivable way that the massive mount could have been damaged during shipping, as packing was superb! However, apartment dwellers might want to workout an alternative shipping arrangement of multiple, smaller crates.

First Impressions and Assembly There were no written instructions provided for the mount assembly, but as I soon found, none were needed – assembly is straightforward and will present no challenge to anyone familiar with German equatorial style mounts. In short, there were no surprises and everything went together without any dif-

ficulties.

The first thing that may strike you about this mount during the unpacking and assembly process is its esthetics – simply put, it is a work of art! All aspects of the construction are beautifully finished and little details such as the finish on the metal parts and the way they fit together so perfectly are very impressive – in fact, execution of fit and finish is among the best I’ve seen, bar none.

The second thing that that struck me was that this mount is simply massive! The equatorial head disassembles into individual RA and DEC components, each of which weigh in at roughly 45 pounds, so the full assembly pushes 95 pounds, and that’s without the counterweight shaft,which adds another 13 pounds.

Kevin rates the mount’s load capacity at 100 pounds, but in my opinion, that’s almost laughably conservative – I estimate the mount as capable of a load rating of closer to 140 pounds.

All the aluminum parts are either anodized a rich gold or a classic solid black, and all fasteners and other components are stainless steel.

Refining the Mount After I had assembled the mount and had a chance to check it out a bit, there were a few areas that I felt needed some attention: the

worm bearings had a little “slop” in their movement (there was no way to control the mesh of the worm in the drive gear – spring loaded “yes,” but still in need of a limit stop), and the saddle was a slide-in versus a tip-in design.

There were a couple of other really minor issues as well, but Kevin made good on every single item, even changing the design or part specification as necessary to ensure that every preference was resolved to my satisfaction.

Using the IPI-262 One of the items that I am still on the fence about is the optional FS2 drive electronics. There is nothing wrong with the system, but it did take me a bit of getting used to in that it has a menu selection structure which is navigated by just four buttons, similar to the systems used with Losmandy mounts. Another down-side from my perspective is that it doesn’t support permanent Periodic Error Control (PEC) – the user must re-enter the PEC data after every power-cycle. However, the PEC issue is mitigated largely by one of the lowest Periodic Error profiles that I’ve ever seen on a production mount: less than plus or minus 2 arc-seconds peak-to-peak, right out-of-the-box!

Periodic Error Analysis.

I should also note that the mount is available with Sidereal Technology’s ASCOM compatible advanced telescope control software (see Image 2) that facilitates incorporation of such tried-and-true positioning systems as Argo Navis, NGC, Sky Commander, and ScopeII. Because I am still awaiting the large Apo refractor I plan to match to the mount, I

Parabolic & Spherical optics Elliptical Diagonal Flats Complete interferometric data 27 years (full-time) experience

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THE IPI 262 MOUNT FROM IOTT PRECISION INTRUMENTS

Image 2

haven’t had the opportunity to test it in that intended and more demanding imaging role, but can report that it is simply stunning for visual use when carrying my Celestron C8 and small 80-mm refractor (I needed both to properly balance everything…did I mention that this is a big mount? Admittedly, it makes the C8 look like at toy telescope on this mount).

Setting Up The mount was relatively easy to set up and polar alignment was a snap using the included polar scope in the RA axis. Once up and

running go-to positioning was spot-on and tracking was flawless. My only minor complaint is that the max slewing speed (gearing limited) is around 400X, but that works out to be about 1.6 degrees per second, which is more than reasonable for a mount this size.

I chose a tall pier because, as I’ve already reported, I planned to mount a longish Apo refractor and hate lying on the ground to observe objects near the zenith. However, the height does pose a bit of an obstacle when using relatively short telescopes like

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THE IPI 262 MOUNT FROM IOTT PRECISION INTRUMENTS the C8 and 80-mm refractor, or those with a Newtonian eyepiece arrangement. In the accompanying image, the saddle height is approximately six feet – hence the need for a tip-in saddle arrangement. Ask can be seen in Image 3 the IPI 262 dwarfs the stacked Celestron C8 and 80-mm refractor.

Final Conclusions I purchased the mount as a complete system, which is to say that the mount, as delivered, included all drive electronics, a saddle plate, pier, high-resolution encoders,

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two stainless-steel counter weights (10 and 15 pounds), and, of course, all necessary cables.

As for my final impressions of that system, on the “pro” side the most significant aspects are: (1) the impressively massive, stable platform the mount/pier assembly provides for both imaging and visual use, (2) its excellent build quality, (3) superlative go-to and tracking performance, (4) ease of assembly, disassembly and transport, and (5) the exceptional customer service provided

by Kevin Iott.

As for the obligatory list of “cons,” I can manage only that: (1) the mount is at the upper extreme of what most would consider portable (but that is to be assumed with any mount of the IPI 262’s payload capacity), (2) the FS2 drive controller is very popular in Europe, but not as well known or received in the U.S. (I’ve since opted to substitute the optional Sidereal Technology servo-drive system with permanent PEC and faster slew rates), and (3) at $7990US, the mount/pier system is not inexpensive (but very reasonable considering that it ships as a complete

THE IPI 262 MOUNT FROM IOTT PRECISION INTRUMENTS system and is competitively priced with regard to mounts of similar payload capacity and performance).

In summary, if you’re in the market for a high-end mount with a load capacity that will handle just about anything that you can throw at it, you should definitely include the IPI 262 on your “short list.” In fact, the only reason I would consider parting with IPI 262 is if Kevin were to produce something a bit smaller mount – say in the 60-70 pound imaging payload class (and I hope he’s listening).

Image 3

IOTT PRECISION INSTRUMENTS MOUNT SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES:

Iott Precision Instruments now produces two standard mounting options: the IPI 262, featured in the accompanying article, and the larger IPI 393.

IPI 262 Payload Capacity: .........................................Conservatively rated at 100 pounds Gear Sets: ..................................6.6-inch, 180-tooth 6061 aluminum worm gears with stainless matched and lapped worms RA and Dec Axes: .................................................................2-inch diameter Drive Systems: ...........................................Sidereal Technology Servo Go-To or FS2 Stepper Go-To for $500 more Encoders: ................................................................Built-in, high-resolution Dovetail Saddle: ......................................................Included with mount head Counterweight Shaft: ....................................1.875-inch diameter, 18-inch length Counterweights: ...................................Includes one 10-pound and one 15-pound solid-stainless counterweights with bronze bushings, custom-machined 4-vane knobs and non-marring brass pins Current Pricing: .............................Equatorial head only-$6995, polar scope-$170, portable pier-$1000, complete package $7995 IPI 393 Payload Capacity: ......................................................................200 pounds Gear Sets: .................................11.5-inch, 360-tooth 6061 aluminum worm gears with stainless matched and lapped worms RA and Dec Axes: .................................................................3-inch diameter Drive Systems: ...........................................Sidereal Technology Servo Go-To or FS2 Stepper Go-To for $500 more Encoders: ................................................................Built-in, high-resolution Dovetail Saddle: ......................................................Included with mount head Counterweight Shaft: ....................................1.875-inch diameter, 24-inch length Counterweights: .....................................................Includes two 15-pound and one 10-pound solid-stainless counterweights with bronze bushings, custom-machined 4-vane knobs and non-marring brass pins Current Pricing: .............................Equatorial head only-$8800, polar scope-$170, portable pier-$1000, complete package-$9800

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ASTRO TIPS tips, tricks and novel solutions

A Simple Project for Improving GOTO Alignment

By Joe Campbell In Michigan, starry nights are few and far between which means every minute under a clear night sky is a valuable commodity. This translates into the fact that a poor initial GOTO alignment ends up taking away valuable time from the main goal of collecting as many fleeting photons as possible. To improve upon this, a quest was set upon to find the holy grail of initial alignment, or at least a way to improve it.

The first step was to ensure that the base of the mount is solidly level, however while performing this task one evening, it came to my attention that the casting marks on the GEM didn’t line up in right ascension.

The error was significant enough to require a substantial adjustment on the first alignment star each time the scope was set up.

While technically this correction should solve for this difference, logic seem to point to the concept of once off, always off. So the reasonable thing seemed to be to construct a widget, if you will, to allow for a quick and easy way to achieve this leveling in the field.

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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Several ideas came to mind; however, the simplest appeared to be to attach a level to the bottom of the counter weight bar. To achieve this, a trip was made to the local hardware store, which resulted in the purchase of a small bubble level along with a length of one-inch by one-inch section of aluminum stock to act as the mounting surface. The next step was to cut the angle stock with a hacksaw to the length of the level and clean up the edges using a fine metal file. Please note, safety first and wear those safety glasses when using tools as debris can and will be come airborne.

Now with the angle stock cut to length and edges cleaned, measure the size of the retaining bolt at the end of your counter weight shaft and drill a centered hole into the aluminum stock, which will allow the bolt to pass though. In some cases where the mount may have a large thumb knob, you may need to replace it with a regular bolt and washer as I had to on one of my mounts.

The next step is to attach the level to the angle stock and to do this would suggest using a quick dry epoxy, as this will allow for a bit of time to get everything lined up while not forcing you to wait all day for it to dry. It is also important to note the level needs to be attached squarely to the angle stock in order to work correctly. To achieve this, set the angle stock on a piece of wax paper, then apply the epoxy to the back of the level in accordance with its instructions. Now press the level to the bottom of the angle stock also resting it against the wax paper, which should be sitting on a flat table. Use of the wax paper will prevent the excess epoxy

from sticking to table surface during the drying process. Now allow the assembly to set for the epoxy’s recommended drying time to ensure it cures properly and provides a solid hold.

Once dry, the assembly can be mounted to the bottom of the counter weight shaft by passing the retaining bolt though the drilled hole.

The next step of the project will be to align the level vertically. To do this we will level the base of the mount then attach a level to the side of the mount body and rotate the right ascension until the bubble shows level in the window. Now we loosen the retaining bolt slightly and tilt the assembly until the bubble shows level and the retaining bolt is retightened.

This piece is again an important part as the level assembly is only held in place at one point which means it can be a finicky to get just right.

This is especially true when tightening the retaining bolt against the assembly addition resulting in a fair measure of hair pulling. In the end, to assist in ridding this problem, you can do as I did and add a plastic washer between the bolt and the assembly. This will allow the bolt head to tighten with less friction allowing tightening with less movement in the assembly.

Now with everything aligned and the scope afield, its time to reap the value of our work with a quicker alignment out of the gate.

Therefore, now with the mount base firmly leveled, the RA is released and adjusted until the bubble is centered in the window. Now select alignment on your hand controller so your first go-to star is selected and press the button sending the mount slewing. And you’re ready to go!

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