Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Sep 1999
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1999aas...19410607r&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society Meeting 194, #106.07
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Scientific paper
The stellar coronagraph is an instrument that allows imaging of faint sources like sub-stellar companions that lie near bright objects. Such sources are often obscured by the halo associated with the star's point spread function. This halo is due to scattered light and diffracted light. A coronagraph can reduce the stellar halo without affecting the off-axis rays from the companion, making detection possible. This filtering is accomplished with an arrangement of masks placed at the focal plane and re-imaged pupil. The closer the telescope is to diffraction limited the more effective a coronagraph can be. Therefore it follows that for fixed atmospheric conditions, smaller telescopes can benefit more from a coronagraph than larger ones. Because the overwhelming majority of even naked eye stars have never been observed with a coronagraph, the instrument can be used to illustrate imaging concepts while offering the possibility of making truly new discoveries. Moreover the problems of data collection and analysis are independent of the telescope aperture so a small instrument provides excellent training. Since data from several telescopes can be easily added, it is possible that a network of small telescopes equipped with coronagraphs could make very powerful observations. We describe a project to design and build a stellar coronagraph for a small telescope on a modest budget. Our combined telescope and instrument allowance was \$5,000. Problems in designing and aligning the instrument will be discussed and some preliminary results will be shown. Plans will be on the Web when finalized. Some helpful sites are: http://www.phy.mtu.edu/seniorarch/jdrogers/index.html http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Ftaclas.html We are grateful to the National Science Foundation and The Michigan Tech College of Arts and Sciences for support during this project.
Ftaclas Chris
Rogers Daniel J.
No associations
LandOfFree
Coronagraphs for Small Telescopes does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with Coronagraphs for Small Telescopes, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Coronagraphs for Small Telescopes will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1767179