This
is my versatile wpo spectrograph designed
around the Littrow principle where a single lens serves as collimator and
camera lens.
text
& images (c) Maurice Gavin - 2000
2000
July 24 & 26: Spectra taken in rather poor transparency
[lvm ~2.5!] include Arcturus, Vega and b
Lyrae and test the MX5c CCD in the blue and red.
To
the Arcturus image the solar spectrum has been added and shows a near perfect
match from two different light sources both with and without a slit !
Click
to view MX5c colour spectra.. Arcturus[blue]
Vega[red] Vega[blue]
beta Lyr[yellow] Arcturus[red]
![Arcturus[blue]](aboouv2.jpg){kind=link}
![Vega[red]](alyrred2.jpg){kind=link}
![Vega[blue]](alyruv1.jpg){kind=link}
![beta Lyr[yellow]](blyrred1.jpg){kind=link}
![Arcturus[red]](aboosp2.jpg){kind=link}
Click
to view MX5c mono spectra.. beta
Cyg P Cyg XY
Lyr
2000 July 27: More spectra confined to the Ha region in red light ie Vega [a Lyr], d1Lyrae, broad emission line star b Lyrae and Altair [a Aql]. The slitless image of M57 shows the Ha emission line 'ring' and possible second 'ring' left [bluewards] of neon or nitrogen.
Click
to view MX5c colour spectra..Vega
Altair
delta Lyr beta
Lyr 5M57 [Ring Neb]
![5M57 [Ring Neb]](m57sx.jpg){kind=link}
2000 July 28: Spectra in red region for a Her, a Oph and b Sco - the latter very low in the SW shows strong absorption lines added by the earth's atmosphere.
Click
to view MX5c colour spectra.. Alpha Her
alpha Oph beta
Sco
2000 July 29: The solar spectrum - by adding a slit [within the spectrograph barrel for connection to the telescope - see below] spectra of diffuse objects [in this case daylight]can be captured. No telescope is needed here - the slit just aimed skywards to record effectively the sun's spectrum that is superimposed on daylight.
Click to view MX5c colour spectra of daylight.. blue green red
Visual
solar spectrum: by replacing the camera with an eyepiece and
aiming the slit towards the sun [no telescope required], the solar spectrum
can be viewed in exquisite detail to a resolution 10 times higher than
can be captured by camera. This is especially so when the 58mm fl
lens is substituted by a 85mm fl lens and x2 Barlow to yield 170mm fl.
Two additional [Telluric] lines can be seen within the sodium D1/D2
pair [6A apart] and the magnesium b3 line is
easily split from the Fe [iron] line < 2A away. Visual resolution
estimated at ~0.1A. Dispersion via the MX5c camera and 170mm fl lens
would approximate 0.4A/pixel and a resolution ~1A.
2000 August 8: SX HX5 hi-res camera -tonight the spectrograph camera exchanged for the monochrome HX5 camera with slightly smaller 7.4um pixels and potentially higher resolution [dispersion = 0.96A/pixel] than the MX5c camera used initially. This spectrograph should work equally well on all the Starlight Xpress eyepiece cameras [MX9, MX5m/c and HX5] as they use a common 26mm extension tube for M42 [Pentax screw] lenses when focused at infinity and here containing the vital pick-off prism.
Click
to view mono HX5 spectra.. Deneb#1
Deneb#2 Vega
beta Lyr pi
Her#1 pi Her#2 XY
Lyr
2000 August 11: SX MX9 larger mid-res camera - these spectrograms complete the SX series of cameras on the WPO spectrograph. Although taken in poor conditions [lvm ~3.5] under a gibbous moon - the quality is surprisingly high. Dispersion about 1.53A/pixel or 3A resolution via 11um pixels but a larger 1143A swath of the spectrum is covered - nearly double that of the MX5 and HX5 cameras used above. The spectrograms include delta Sco and other emission lines stars like gamma Cas, beta Lyr, P Cyg [all efectively comparison stars for delta Sco currently in outburst] and A-type stars, alpha Cyg, aplha Aql, alpha Lyr, alpha Oph and two K-type stars beta Cyg and zxc Aql. Note the double emission lines in beta Lyr at this time in its cycle.
Click
to view emission line stars delta
Sco gamma Cas beta
Lyr P Cyg
A-type
stars Vega
Deneb alpha
Oph Altair
K-type
stars xi
Aql beta Cyg
more
spectra - page #1
