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Hidden Hollow 2012 - Newtonian Telescope Design
Hidden Hollow 2012 - Newtonian Telescope Design
Hidden Hollow 2012 - Newtonian Telescope Design
OpenOffice.org
Impress
Newtonian
Telescope Design
With a focus on optics
Michael Abrams
Hidden Hollow 2012
Newtonian
Telescope Design
With a focus on optics
Michael Abrams
No Copyrights or pending patents on any of my photos, words, or ideas in this slide show All in the public domain
This slide show can be found on www.scribd.com And a video that goes with this slide show can be found on www.youtube.com Do a search for Hidden Hollow 2012
My Credentials
At the award ceremony a judge joked that Stellafane would have to open a patent and copyright office
Optics, primary mirrors, secondary mirrors and mirror testing What it takes to avoid optical distortion Various Newtonian telescope components and their effect on optical distortion
Or more specifically
Atmospheric seeing The inherent properties of parabolic mirrors especially at low f/ratios Mirror collimation The primary mirror figure the quality of the mirror How the mirror is supported Thermal differences between mirror and the environment Secondary mirror supports the spiders Tube or truss structure bending
DISCLAIMER - CAUTION
Some things I say may possibly be inaccurate This may be an overly long talk feel free to come and go
DISCLAIMER - CAUTION
Designing is risky business. You never really know what you have until you have lived with it Every new feature you make is a compromise, sometimes better, sometimes not as good as you thought
DISCLAIMER - CAUTION
Although all my photos are in the public domain, I do freely borrow from the internet and who knows what rights may be attached to them. For example, the caution sign below.
John Dobson
Unconventional cosmology
I'm allergic to the Big Bang....[it's] fudge without walnuts Universe is apparitional The dream is in the dreamer
Bruce Sayre
Mel Bartel
Promoted the use of wire spiders Aligning Newtonian Optics Richest Field Telescopes Telescope Vibration Ultra-Light and Minimalist Dobs Rating Mirrors
Fork mount
8 f/7on a horseshoe equatorial mount
Largest Influence on me
ATM #1 Guru
Nils Olof Carlin of Ystad, Sweden
Uses PLOP to show potential mirror distortion from strap sling mirror support Three part cable sling primary mirror support Primary mirror collimation from the front Hacksaw blade spider and secondary holder Clearly states collimation tolerances Tells how to make Cheshire with built in collimation tolerance gauge
Figure XP
By Dave Rowe and James Lerch
Astronomical Seeing
The distortion of image quality due to atmospheric turbulence
An animated image of the Moon's surface showing the effects of Earth's atmosphere on the view. ( Wikipedia )
Seeing
Here's a good way to measure your seeing...
Point the telescope to Alcor & Mizar With a higher power eyepiece focus on Mizar in the center of your FOV
You will probably see two shimmering star blobs. Since Mizar is a double star separated by 15 (arcseconds) you can estimate the size of these blobs in arcseconds. Use this number as an measure of your seeing. I use this drawing to help.
6 Seeing
But no matter how good your Seeing is and how good your optics are the stars will never become the point images that you might expect. They will become disks or dots of a certain size and no smaller. On my 12 telescope the smallest disk I could ever expect is about one arcseconds in diameter.
Examples of Diffraction
The bending of light
The Airy Disk is similar and can be generated from light passing through a pin hole light interfering with itself
400 nm
550 nm
750 nm
12 inches
1.0
20 inches
nm = nanometers (or 10-9 m)
How close can two binary stars be that I could ever possibly split with my 12 telescope?
If all the optics and seeing is perfect, then about half diameter of the Airy Disk
0.5 arcsecs
It turns out that the angular resolution for all optics
Mirror Diameter
6 inches
1.0
12 inches
0.50
20 inches
0.30
However, the larger mirrors generally have smaller f/ratios which are plagued by coma (inherent optical distortion) The smaller f/ratio mirrors are not considered good star splitters. More on this later...
1
What is Diffraction Limited Optics? A Diffraction Limited telescope has optics where it is possible to split a binary star separated by as little as half the diameter of its airy disk With a Diffraction Limited mirror the precision of the mirror can be increased but the optical quality can not With a Diffraction Limited mirror the optical quality of the mirror is limited by the diffractive, wave nature of light
But buying and testing the mirror was the most difficult part of the whole project....
There seemed to be no correlation between price of the mirror and the stated quality of the mirror.
Increasing Quality
Rayleigh Criteria*
1/14 0.82
1/10
1/28 0.95
* Or Rayleigh Limit The traditional standard A mirror made to the Rayleigh Criteria is usually considered a Diffraction Limited mirror
The two most respected names in mirror optics had the lowest claims for mirror quality.
....the traditional knife-edge Foucault Test only measures the mirror cross-section and thus
consistently overstates the quality of a mirror Mirrors need to be measured with interferometers which measures the entire mirror surface
There was little consistency in the terminology used to describe the quality of a mirror
(all the following describe the same mirror!)
Wave Lambda Wavefront error P-V wavefront error Peak to valley wavefront error Peak to valley on the wavefront Peak to valley error 130 nm Wavefront error 1/15 RMS 1/15 RMS Wavefront error .067 RMS Smoothness 37nm RMS
1/8 Measured on the surface 1/8 Peak to valley on the surface 1/8 Peak to valley surface error 1/8 Surface error 1/8th Wave surface error 65 nm Wave surface error 1/30 RMS Surface 1/30 RMS Surface Smoothness .033 Wave surface RMS 18nm RMS Surface Error 0.82 Strehl Ratio
ambiguous to me
Curve generated with data from a Foucault (Knife Edge) Tester and entered into data reduction software
Wave Lambda Wavefront error P-V wavefront error Peak to valley wavefront error Peak to valley on the wavefront Peak to valley error 130 nm Wavefront error 1/15 RMS 1/15 RMS Wavefront error .067 RMS Smoothness 37nm RMS
1/8 Measured on the surface 1/8 Peak to valley on the surface 1/8 Peak to valley surface error 1/8 Surface error 1/8th Wave surface error 65 nm Wave surface error 1/30 RMS Surface 1/30 RMS Surface Smoothness .033 Wave surface RMS 18nm RMS Surface Error 0.82 Strehl Ratio
P-V
Wave Lambda Wavefront error P-V wavefront error Peak to valley wavefront error Peak to valley on the wavefront 130 nm Wavefront error
1/8 Measured on the surface 1/8 Peak to valley on the surface 1/8 Peak to valley surface error 1/8 Surface error 1/8 Wave surface error 65 nm Surface error
RMS
1/15 RMS 1/15 RMS Wavefront error .067 RMS Smoothness 37nm RMS 0.82 Strehl Ratio
1/30 RMS Surface 1/30 RMS Surface smoothness .033 Wave surface RMS 18nm RMS Surface error
Strehl Ratio
Strehl Ratio
is the ratio of
the light intensity in the Airy Disk to the light intensity in the theoretically maximum Airy Disk
Airy Disk
Strehl Ratio
Is generally determined from the RMS
Strehl Ratio
12.5 f/5 mirror $1650* Mirrors are tested with an interferometer and are fully documented but after you buy
0.964 Strehl Ratio
* March 2008
12.5 f/5 mirror $950* Each mirror is fully documented before you buy
but with
(the lesser)
Foucault Test
* March 2008
He frequently has the Sky Instrument Mirrors refigured for his High Performance Newtonian (about once a week) and no mirror has never come in under spec (1/6th wavefront error) Typical P-V values on mirrors before refiguring are 1/7th to 1/12th wave Antares won't tell him who makes the mirrors. He suspects they are from the orient.
Paper taped over the end of my focuser and aimed at a full moon
Moon illuminated through the paper with the paper at the focal plane
When you are at the movie theater where is the focal plane?
The distance from the focal plane to the mirror is the focal length
Focal Length
The distance from the focal plane to the mirror is the focal length
1/2
Focal Length
What portion of the focal plane do you see through the eyepiece?
This 38mm 2 eyepiece has the largest Field of View (FOV) of all my eyepieces because it has the largest diameter Field stop
If you look into the focuser end of the eyepiece you can see the Field Stop Removing the focuser end clearly shows the Field Stop
1.80
1.80
So when you look into this 38mm eyepiece you see everything on the focal plane within a 1.80 diameter circle
If the eyepiece had a 1.00 Field Stop diameter, then you would see everything on the focal plane within a 1.00 diameter circle
The parabolic mirror will focus the light of a star to a point on the focal plane
Focal plane
Focal Length
90
The secondary mirror deflects the tip of the light cone But I usually won't show the secondary mirror
Focal plane
Focal Length
The light from two stars will have two light cones
Focal Length
= 1/2
0.50
Focal Length
FL = 60
d = 2 * FL * tan ( / 2 )
Focal Ratio =
f/4
Focal Plane
Focal Length
Focal Ratio =
f/4 f/6
Focal Ratio =
f/4 is fast
f/4 f/4
f/6 f/8
The larger the f ratio the more the mirror is spherical and the less it is parabolic
6 f/10 slow
Crafted by Chuck Fellows Mirror by Mark Harry
12 f/5 fast
Michael Abrams
The size of the moon at the focal plane is the same for all these telescopes 6 f/10 12 f/5 20 f/3
All mirrors with the same focal length use the same identical parabolic shape
But some mirrors use less of it...
6 f/10
FL = 60
All mirrors with the same focal length use the same identical parabolic shape
12 f/5
FL = 60
All mirrors with the same focal length use the same identical parabolic shape
and some mirrors use more of it...
20 f/3
FL = 60
The Shadowgram
The lamp and image are at the same distance from the mirror = 2x the mirror focal length
This is how you get your focal length for your mirror The length of your telescope depends on this number
Law of Reflection
Sliding the cardboard back and forth will change the slit width
What do you see when you look into the slit of light?
The Shadowgram
My Stellafane Inspired
Foucault Tester
(pronounced foo-coh)
Front View
Adjustment Knob
The Shadowgram changes by moving the in Knife Position of the Foucault Tester forward and back
For my mirror you could see this much change with 3/16 movement of the Knife-edge
(a spherical mirror has no transitional movement)
Astigmatism
Dog Biscuit
HubbleOptics
Surface Roughness
Bullseye
Surface Roughness
Source:mostly Mike Lockwood
My Mirror
My Mirror
with defects
To determine the Mirror Figure The Couder Mask is attached to the mirror
(pronounced Koo-day)
At this Knife position Zone 3 is equally illuminated on both sides The Dial Indicator Reading is then written down for Zone 3
The readings were done four times for each test. Note the consistency in the readings. It took one to two hours to do the entire set of 20 indicator readings.
Test 01 5 Zones
Test 01 5 Zones
Test 02 6 Zones
Test 06 5 Zones
Two days later while reading the results of the Mirror Testing Round Robin
(the testing of three mirrors by 20 people)
The test mirrors were handled while wearing.... rubber gloves to minimize heat transfer.
Wm. D. Hanagan, Jr., PhD.
Test 07 6 Zones
Test 03
Repeating Test 03
Test 07 6 Zones
Test 06 5 Zones
Test 07 6 Zones
Test 06 5 Zones
When I combine two figures 90 degrees apart, I get a (a very good mirror, but it is not a 0.99 strehl )
....the traditional knife-edge Foucault Test only measures the mirror cross-section and thus
Vignetting
Increasing secondary mirror size reduces vignetting, but decreases the amount of light reaching your mirror Newt ray traces the light cones and does the calculations that attacks this problem
%
Illumination
2.10
3.06%
2 Focuser
32mm Eyepiece
0.66
%
Illumination
2.50 2.10
4.34% 3.06%
2 Focuser
32mm Eyepiece
0.94
100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 1.875 Max ID
%
Illumination
2 Focuser
32mm Eyepiece
Telescope Design
The Deflection of the Truss or Tube Collimation Error
Why Copper?
Readily available Bendable All those cool fittings and it solders together quickly and easily Eliminates many complex connections of a truss telescope
But before I decided to use copper tubing I needed to calculate if it would be rigid enough... The mirror, secondary and eyepiece needed to be rigid relative to each other... or the optics would go out of alignment or the optics would not be collimated
Collimation Error
Collimation Error
The moon projected onto the focal plane by the parabolic mirror
The Sweet Spot is the area at the center of the focal plane where coma has limited effect
Where the Strehl Ratio is not reduced less than 0.2 or where it could be said that this portion of the focal plane is diffraction limited
focal ratio
f/10
sweet spot
C L
f/5
f/3
The larger the mirror the more resolution you have Minimum Star Separation
(arcsec)
Mirror Diameter
6 inches
1.0
12 inches
0.50
20 inches
0.30
The size of Sweet Spot on the focal plane depends on the f/ratio The smaller the f/ratio the smaller the Sweet Spot
It does not depend on mirror diameter or focal length
mirror dia. f/ratio f/10 6
radius from center of focal plane
0 2 mm 4mm 6mm 8mm 10mm
sweet spot
C L
f/5 12
f/3
20
S'Spot
.028
Not Collimated
Collimation Error
Blue Circle is the Sweet Spot where the mirror axis hits the focal plane
(0.110 )
2 Dia Focuser
Collimated
It is collimated when the Sweet Spot circles the Allowable Collimation Error
2 Dia Focuser
And it is my judgment to make the... maximum allowable telescope deflection allowable collimation error
Telescope Deflection
Materials
Steel CFRP
(Carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer)
Truss
Sonotube
String Scope
Structure type
Sonotube Truss CFRP Tube String Scope
Single Tube
Strength of Materials
(part one)
The heavier the weight at the end of a bar before it breaks, the stronger it is
Yield Strength (psi) Ultimate Strength (psi)
Strength =
Strength of Materials
(part two)
E
where E = Modulus of Elasticity (psi)
Stretch
E
= FL AE
Cantilever
FL 3IE
Truss
2 F L3 c2 A E
How many of you have ever seen a telescope made with CRFP?
(Carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer)
Jay M. Scheuerle 6" f/5 4th Place (Tie) Mechanical Arrow shaft trusses
4 pole 4 pole
3 pole
Telescope Design
Spider Secondary Holder The Mirror Cell PLOP Cell Designer Mirror Cell Adjuster Roller Bearings The Friction Clutch
Bicycle Spokes
Wire spider
extremely strong reduced diffraction thanks to thin cross section eliminated thermal effects
spider vanes cool below air temperature and may capture a boundary layer of air that refracts light
And my two-cents
Wing Nuts Fender Washers (large OD) Brass Tubing with screw threads
added after purchasing
Two springs are compressed about 30% Maintain about 2.5 lbs tension in wires
Secondary Mirror
ABS Plastic Tubing 1/8 wall Copper Foil Tape for stained-glass craft Silicone Caulk used a minimal amount 1/8 gap
A base point
A base point
Finite element analysis Will optimize the placement of mirror support points Gives surface deformations (how much the mirror deflects) Automatic Cell Design makes it easy to use
Recommended cell surface error of 3 to 5nm my mirror is 12 diameter, 1.5 thick, pyrex Errors are surface deformation in nanometers
Recommended cell surface error of 3 to 5nm my mirror is 12 diameter, 1.5 thick, pyrex Errors are surface deformation in nanometers
A three point mirror cell has surface error of 20nm My mirror has a surface error of 26nm
```
20nm
Mirror Diameter D
(6) support points are equally spaced on a diameter d optimized by PLOP d = 0.60 D
These edge supports are not much different than how I supported my mirror to test it
45 whiffletree support
Roller bearings
PLOP results show that the common 180 belt sling is extremely sensitive to adjustment and .... can have disastrous effects on performance.
The bottom two slings have 90 mirror contact, the top sling has 180 contact
( 3/64 dia. x 86 lg )
150
r
150
150
Cable ends are tied to each other with Split Bolt Connectors (Home Depot, electrical dept.)
These are the only forces that you want on a mirror .... perpendicular to the mirror surface
Gluing the mirror to the supports will induce shear forces on the mirror at different temperatures.
at temperature
T = T + T
at temperature
T = T - T
Without edge supports Gluing the mirror to supports will induce shear forces on mirrors
Roller bearings
on 45 whiffletree supports
Magic Sliders
Rubber Pads
are used to collimate the mirrors You can reach these wrenches while looking into the eyepiece
die spring
spacer
Allen wrench
A 1
After about a year I replaced all my Teflon pads with Roller Bearings
(no longer a Dobs)
2. There is a spring back effect at the eyepiece when directing you telescope at a celestial object