{"title":"Active Optics","description":"","products":[{"product_id":"starlight-xpress-active-optics-guiding-system-with-usb","title":"Starlight Xpress Active Optics Guiding System with USB","description":"\u003ch2\u003eSpecifications\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe guide camera images a star through an off-axis guider (OAG), either supplied with the AO Unit as an optional extra, or through an OAG built into a filter wheel such as the MIDI or MAXI filter wheels from SX. The software calculates the centroid of the guide star rapidly and accurately, and if the guide star moves, the optical window can be adjusted to compensate for the movement of the guide star. As the guide camera and imaging camera are looking through the same optical system, any corrections made for the guide star are automatically translated through to the main imaging camera.\u003cspan class=\"Apple-converted-space\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe optical corrections are controlled by 4 stepper motors, so the small amount of movement, combined with the lightweight mass of the optical window, allows the corrections to be implemented very quickly and much more accurately than the mount drive system is capable of achieving.\u003cspan class=\"Apple-converted-space\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIdeally suited to longer focal lengths optical systems, the benefits of the Active Optics on the final image can also be seen with shorter focal length systems on less accurate mounts.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eImage tracking and stabilisation using a high speed tip-tilt optical window.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFast tracking speed of 5mS per increment.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eOvercomes rapid gear errors to stabilise even difficult mounts.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMount control output for correcting large drive errors while maintaining AO stabilisation.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eImage shift factor independent of optical system or camera back-focus spacing.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eOff-axis guider assembly for use with a Lodestar Pro\/Ultrastar Pro guide camera.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMay be used to image stabilise many other makes and types of camera, given suitable control software.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eClear aperture of 60mm for up to 35mm full-frame size chips.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShort optical length – 74mm with OAG, 44mm without (add 6mm if front end adaptor is used).\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVery low light loss (~2%) from the multicoated optics.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFilter threads for adding 48mm narrow band. IR blocking or pollution rejection filters without affecting the guide camera sensitivity.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUSB or Serial RS232 control via the computer.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLow power consumption. Less than 600 mA at 12v DC when moving – 50mA quiescent current.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCompact and lightweight – only 132mm in diameter x 44mm long – less than 750 grams load on the ‘scope.\u003cbr\u003e\nThe SXV-AO-USB should be used with the off-axis guider assembly for the best results with most optical systems.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis combination uses ideally suited to using the LodestarPRO or Ultrastar PRO to view the edge of the telescope field via a 10mm square prism and provides accurate positional feedback to the control software. Unlike cameras with an integrated guider chip, the OAG puts the guide camera ahead of any filters that the user fits into the camera ring recess and so its sensitivity is always at maximum. The guide camera mounting is designed to be parfocal with a SX camera when used in this combination – fine focus adjustment is provided by moving the threaded guider mount along the prism tube. If you do not need the OAG barrel (e.g. when using a filter wheel such as the MIDI or MAXI filter wheel by SX which has a built in OAG or a camera with a built-in OAG or guide chip), you can fit the 72mm or T adaptor directly onto the rear of the AO assembly.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"fusion-separator fusion-full-width-sep\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"fusion-alignleft\"\u003ePRODUCT MANUAL \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.bintel.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Handbook-for-the-Starlight-Xpress-SX-AO-USB-1.pdf\"\u003eHandbook-for-the-Starlight-Xpress-SX-AO-USB\u003c\/a\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Starlight Xpress","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42045293396037,"sku":"140-0002","price":2399.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0609\/6673\/1845\/files\/starlight-xpress-active-optics-guiding-system-with-usb-297729.jpg?v=1731541090"},{"product_id":"starlight-xpress-active-optics-guiding-system-without-oag","title":"Starlight Xpress Active Optics Guiding System without OAG","description":"\u003ch2\u003eSpecifications\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe guide camera images a star through an off-axis guider (OAG), either supplied with the AO Unit as an optional extra, or through an OAG built into a filter wheel such as the MIDI or MAXI filter wheels from SX. The software calculates the centroid of the guide star rapidly and accurately, and if the guide star moves, the optical window can be adjusted to compensate for the movement of the guide star. As the guide camera and imaging camera are looking through the same optical system, any corrections made for the guide star are automatically translated through to the main imaging camera.\u003cspan class=\"Apple-converted-space\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe optical corrections are controlled by 4 stepper motors, so the small amount of movement, combined with the lightweight mass of the optical window, allows the corrections to be implemented very quickly and much more accurately than the mount drive system is capable of achieving.\u003cspan class=\"Apple-converted-space\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIdeally suited to longer focal lengths optical systems, the benefits of the Active Optics on the final image can also be seen with shorter focal length systems on less accurate mounts.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli style=\"list-style-type: none;\"\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eImage tracking and stabilisation using a high speed tip-tilt optical window.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFast tracking speed of 5mS per increment.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eOvercomes rapid gear errors to stabilise even difficult mounts.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMount control output for correcting large drive errors while maintaining AO stabilisation.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eImage shift factor independent of optical system or camera back-focus spacing.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMay be used to image stabilise many other makes and types of camera, given suitable control software.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eClear aperture of 60mm for up to 35mm full-frame size chips.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShort optical length – 74mm with OAG, 44mm without (add 6mm if front end adaptor is used).\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVery low light loss (~2%) from the multicoated optics.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFilter threads for adding 48mm narrow band. IR blocking or pollution rejection filters without affecting the guide camera sensitivity.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUSB or Serial RS232 control via the computer.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLow power consumption. Less than 600 mA at 12v DC when moving – 50mA quiescent current.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCompact and lightweight – only 132mm in diameter x 44mm long – less than 700 grams load on the ‘scope.\u003cbr\u003e\nThe SXV-AO-USB should be used with the off-axis guider assembly for the best results with most optical systems.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis non-OAG (off-axis guider) version of the SXV-AO-USB is designed to work with either a filter wheel with a built in OAG such as the MIDI filter wheel or MAXI filter wheel or a main imaging camera that has a built in OAG.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCombine this with the incredibly sensitive Lodestar PRO or Ultrastar PRO auto guide cameras, finding a guide star and tracking through the Active Optics system works absolutely seamlessly.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePRODUCT MANUAL \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.bintel.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Handbook-for-the-Starlight-Xpress-SX-AO-USB.pdf\"\u003eHandbook-for-the-Starlight-Xpress-SX-AO-USB\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eExamples\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSome examples of the AO in use.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNo processing was applied, other than cropping, so that the images are essentially ‘raw’. The mount used was a Celestron CI700 with a C11 SCT at F10\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-132998\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0609\/6673\/1845\/files\/M57_NoAO-800x600-400x300-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA 2x enlarged clip from an SXV-H9 image. Ten minutes with a C11 at F10 using mount guiding only.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-132999\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0609\/6673\/1845\/files\/M57_AO-800x600-400x300-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnother clip taken a few minutes later with the AO switched on and operating at 3 updates per second.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHere are some ‘extreme’ images from an Ultima 2000 on a fork mount with poor polar alignment and rapid gear errors. The camera was an SXV-M8C and the images have been resampled to 50% of full size for display.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-133000\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0609\/6673\/1845\/files\/10min-noAO-Ultima-M42-800x600-400x300-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWithout AO correction.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-133001\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0609\/6673\/1845\/files\/10min-AO-Ultima-M42-800x600-400x300-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWith the AO switched on. (The short coloured spikes on the bright stars were produced when the AO switched off for image download)\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Starlight Xpress","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42045293428805,"sku":"140-0003","price":1999.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0609\/6673\/1845\/files\/starlight-xpress-active-optics-guiding-system-without-oag-817775.jpg?v=1731541084"}],"url":"https:\/\/bintel.com.au\/collections\/active-optics.oembed","provider":"The Binocular and Telescope Shop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}