Transcript University of Dayton Flyer Observatory (UFO)

University of Dayton Flyer Observatory
UFO
Funded: Fall 2006
Through the
University of Dayton
LTC Innovation Grant Program
UFO
Meade LX200R 12 inch telescope
w/ UHTC
Ritchey-Chretien Cassegrain
f = 3048 mm
D = 305.8 mm
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Sony GPS Receiver Sensor automatically inputs precise time, date, and
geographical location to help quickly and precisely align a LX200R Meade
Telescope.
Meade AutoAlign – Telescopes with Meade Auto Align come pre-aligned.
They are smart scopes that know the night sky right out of the box. Meade
AutoAlign picks two fail-proof alignment stars for you and places them right in
your view-finder. Just center them to fine tune your alignment and the wonders of
the universe are at your fingertips.
Meade AutoStar II Hand Controller features "Hot Keys" for quick access to a
145,000 celestial object database. Meade Auto Star II can be updated with the
latest software upgrades, guided tours and timely objects like comets free at
meade.com
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Image brightness in a telescope is crucially dependent on the reflectivity of the telescope's mirrors and on
the transmission of its lenses. Neither of these processes, mirror-reflectivity or lens-transmission, is,
however, perfect; light loss occurs in each instance where light is reflected or transmitted. Uncoated glass,
for example, reflects about 4% of the light impacting it; in the case of an uncoated lens 4% of the light is
lost at entrance to and at exit from the lens, for a total light loss of about 8%.
Early reflecting telescopes of the 1700's and 1800's suffered greatly from mirrors of poor reflectivity —
reflection losses of 50% or more were not uncommon. Later, silvered mirrors improved reflectivity, but at
high cost and with poor durability. Modern optical coatings have succeeded in reducing mirror-reflection
and lens-transmission losses to acceptable levels at reasonable cost.
Meade Standard Coatings: The optical surfaces of all Meade telescopes include high-grade optical
coatings fully consistent in quality with the precision of the optical surfaces themselves. These standardequipment coatings from Meade include mirror surfaces of highly purified aluminum, vacuum-deposited at
high temperature and overcoated with silicon monoxide (SiO), and correcting lenses coated on both sides
for high light transmission with magnesium fluoride (MgF2). Meade standard mirror and lens coatings equal
or exceed the reflectivity and transmission, respectively, of virtually any optical coatings currently offered in
the commercial telescope industry.
The Meade UHTC Group: Technologies recently developed at the Meade Irvine coatings facility, however,
including installation of some of the largest and most advanced vacuum coating instrumentation currently
available, have permitted the vacuum-deposition of a series of exotic optical coatings precisely tuned to
optimize the visual, photographic, and CCD imaging performance of Meade telescopes. These specialized,
and extremely advantageous, coatings are offered here as the Meade Ultra-High Transmission Coatings
(UHTC) group, a coatings group available optionally on many Meade telescope models.
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Meade LX200R UHTC 12" Advanced Ritchey-Chretien RC Computerized
Telescope w/ GPS, Meade Autostar II, Meade AutoAlign, Tripod 1210-6002
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Why a Ritchey-Chrétien...
A Ritchey-Chrétien is a specialized Cassegrain reflector utilizing true hyperbolic surfaces. All reflectors
typically have an aberration called coma - all except for the Ritchey-Chrétien. The hyperbolic mirrors of the
Ritchey-Chrétien make this design coma free, which results in a much smaller spot size. This is the #1
reason why nearly all professional observatories have chosen the Ritchey-Chrétien design.
Since Ritchey-Chrétien optics are two mirror optical systems, they have no Spectral Dispersion or Chromatic
Aberration. Chromatic Aberrations are common in Catadioptric Systems and caused by their refractive
element known as a "corrector plate". See diagrams of Chromatic Aberration on and off axis in a Catadioptric
system.
In addition to being coma free and chromatic free, a true Ritchey-Chrétien offers:
Only two surfaces for less light loss - Catadioptric type optics have 4 surfaces (two are glass!). Some
APOs have 6 surfaces. Each surface degrades the amount of light getting to the focal point.
No refractive elements - Glass scatters light, especially in IR where CCD cameras are most sensitive. A
Ritchey-Chrétien has no refractive elements, such as a corrector plate.
Flatter Field - The lower the amplification factor of the secondary mirror, the flatter the field. For example, the
RC has a 2.7x secondary, whereas, a Schmidt-Cassegrain has a 5x secondary. The RC has a much flatter
field!
Smaller Spot Size on and off axis. Examine this spot diagram to see the difference!
For these reasons, the Ritchey-Chrétien is ideal for medium to large format CCD or film photography, where
a large aberration-free field of view is required. It is also a superb visual instrument.
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John E. Erdei
Nikon D80
University of Dayton Flyer Observatory
Jupiter
09/18/09
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John E. Erdei
Nikon D80
University of Dayton Flyer Observatory
Jupiter
10/01/10
UFO
John E. Erdei
Nikon D80
University of Dayton Flyer Observatory
Ring Nebula
10/01/10
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John E. Erdei
Nikon D80
University of Dayton Flyer Observatory
Ring Nebula Processed
10/01/10
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John E. Erdei
Nikon D80
NOT the University of Dayton Flyer Observatory
Andromeda Galaxy
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John E. Erdei
Nikon D80
University of Dayton Flyer Observatory
Andromeda Galaxy Processed
03/31/10
UFO
John E. Erdei
Nikon D80
University of Dayton Flyer Observatory
Great Orion Nebula
03/31/10