Category: Equipment
Sunday, May 09, 2004
Baader Micro-Guide eyepiece
Today I got the Baader Micro-Guide eyepiece. This eyepiece should enable me to measure position angles and separation of (double) stars, the diameter of lunar craters (you have to know the exact distance of the Moon), and
a few other interesting features for astrophotography and spectroscopy.
This multi-function eyepiece comes in two parts, the eyepiece itself and a battery illuminator with adjustable brightness control. The illuminator can be attached to the eyepiece. The first thing I will have to do is to determine the exact focal length of my telescope. Only then it will be possible to use the different scales which are etched into reticle. I will keep you updated about my results!
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Posted by
Math on 05/09 at 03:00 AM |
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Thursday, May 06, 2004
Star spectroscope arrived!
Yesterday I received my star spectroscope from Rainbow Optics (Hayward Ca. in the USA). I ordered it from Adirondack Video Astronomy . I have been looking for a spectroscope for some time, but most of them are too expensive. This one, the Rainbow Optics Spectroscope costs about 250 US dollars, a nice price for someone who wants to get his feet wet in amateur spectroscopy.
As you can see on the image below, the spectroscope
consists of two components: the grating cell and the lens cell.
The grating cell (right), holding a blazed diffraction grating with 5600 grooves, can be screwed into the bottom of a 1.25 eyepiece. The lens cell (left), containing a lens, which magnifies the image of the spectrum, can be installed on the top of the eyepiece. With an 8-inch telescope I should be able to get some spectra from stars down to the 4th magnitude. It is also possible to photograph stellar spectra with the diffraction grating.
I didn’t have the chance to test it, but I will keep you updated!
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Posted by
Math on 05/06 at 03:03 PM |
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Saturday, March 13, 2004
Nikon Coolpix 4500 / Camera adaptors
I regularly get e-mails from people that want to know more about the digital camera set-up I use. Today I have published an article in my equipment section about the two cameras’ I use(d) , the Nikon Coolpix 4500 and the Nikon Coolpix 775. In the article you will find a photo album containing 16 images in which you can see how the Nikon Coolpix 4500 is connected to the telescope, using digital camera adaptors from Vixen and ScopeTronix. You will also find some links to some images and the digital_astro yahoo group.
Follow this link to read the full article.
Enjoy!
Posted by
Math on 03/13 at 04:23 PM |
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Monday, January 26, 2004
Binocular astronomy using the Sky Window
I love to observe the night sky with binoculars. I use a 7x50 Bresser and a 15x80 Vixen together with the Sky Window, a binocular mirror mount. If you want to know why I like binocular observing, especially in combination with a binocular mirror mount, just go to Sky Window and Binoculars page. It has has been completely rewritten. A lot of images and useful links have been added as well. Enjoy!
Posted by
Math on 01/26 at 08:01 AM |
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Sunday, December 21, 2003
Nikon Coolpix 4500
I just received my new digital camera, the Nikon Coolpix 4500. The eyepiece adaptors from Scopetronix (for the Televue Plossl 32mm) and Vixen (for all the 1.25 Lanthanums, except the 40mm) fit perfectly into the 28mm female lens thread on the inner side of the lens tube.
I want to use the camera for solar, lunar and planetary photography. I hope to get the first results within the next few weeks! I will keep you informed through this astro-weblog! Here are some pics from the camera and adaptors.
Nikon Coolpix 4500
Nikon Coolpix 4500 and Vixen adaptor for Lanthanum eyepieces
Nikon Coolpix 4500 and Scopetronix adaptor for 1.25 Televue Plossl Eyepieces
Nikon Coolpix 4500 mounted on TAL 200K OTA
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Posted by
Math on 12/21 at 07:38 PM |
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