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Matm Chapter4tm PDF
Matm Chapter4tm PDF
1
American amateurs may find 130 mm in between the sizes of available blanks. Either a 4.25-inch (108 mm) or a
6-inch (152 mm) will serve for this simple example.
33
34 Part 1: Introduction
Table 4.1
Approximate Budgets
Budget Telescope
< $350 130-mm, alt-azimuth
$750 250-mm motorized equatorial
$1500 300-mm motorized equatorial Cassegrain-Coudé
good idea to begin with the 300-mm telescope; this is an instrument that will tax
the skills of even an experienced telescope maker.
What Can You See Through a 130-mm, 250-mm and 300-mm Telescope?
In the 130-mm:
• The Moon: all the various formations of our satellite are observable; craters are perceptible
down to 1.5 km diameter; grooves; and Copernicus’ craterlets.
• Planets: the phases of Mercury and Venus; details and polar caps of Mars; bands and the
great red spot of Jupiter; Saturn’s rings, including Cassini’s division; planetary disks of
Uranus and Neptune; four moons of Jupiter and six (below mag 13) for Saturn.
• Stars and nebulae: stars visible to magnitude 13; all the Messier objects: galaxies, nebulae,
stars can be resolved in the periphery of the Hercules cluster.
In the 250-mm:
• The Moon: craters a kilometer in diameter; hills and rilles; interiors and ramparts of craters
in high detail; evolution of shadows and the color effects caused by varying illumination.
• Planets: details in the clouds of Venus (with a purple filter); dust storms on Mars; storm
formations and cyclones on Jupiter; cloud bands on Saturn and details in the rings; Pluto
is at the limit of perception.
• Stars and nebulae: stars to magnitude 14.5; resolution of principal star clusters; color in
planetary nebulae; distant extensions of the Orion nebula; spiral arms of bright galaxies.
In the 300-mm:
• The Moon: craterlets around impact zones; lunar volcanos; bottoms of valleys.
• Planets: cloud variations on Mars and details in the polar caps; ephemeral formations on
Jupiter and spiral structure of the great red spot; cyclones on Saturn and 12 observable
satellites; bluish tint of Neptune; a very faint image of Pluto.
• Stars and nebulae: stars to magnitude 15; resolve bright globular clusters to the core; gal-
axies that are dim in lesser instruments become interesting; details in diffuse and plan-
etary nebulae; quasars and more.
• Miscellaneous: $100
We suggest the purchase of Plössl or orthoscopic eyepieces with a 31.75 mm bar-
rel diameter, and, if you like, a wide-field eyepiece.
For the 300-mm telescope (using the mount described for the
250-mm)
The budget starts at about $1,500 and is divided up as follows:
• Primary, secondary, and tertiary mirrors, tools, abrasives and material used
from grinding to polishing: $450
• Telescope window (optional): $300
• Vacuum aluminizing or silvering of mirrors: $120
• Wood, screws, motor and other materials: $350
• Eyepiece holder: $100
• Miscellaneous: $150
movement of the mi
rror
mirror
Fig. 4.4 Rough-grinding and fine-grind-
ing a mirror. At first (top), the disks are
tool both flat. The center of the mirror is ground
against the edge of the tool. At the end of
rough grinding (middle) the disks have de-
central hole fects (a ledge and a central hole) that dis-
appear during fine grinding. Smoothing
begins when the mirror and the tool are
ledge
the same shape (bottom).
Fig. 4.5 The Copernicus region photographed with the SAF 150-mm refractor at the Sorbonne
Observatory.
Fig. 4.7 Left, the base of a polishing stand. The triangular structure makes the stand rigid and very
stable. Right, detail of the top of a stand. The polishing tool is held in place by three wooden blocks
spaced at 120°. A little gap is left between the blocks and the tool to allow the disk to be turned in
the support.
42 Part 1: Introduction
foam rubber.
Many amateurs do not see the need to care-
fully wrap their secondary mirror, because it is W180 emery
small. This is an oversight that must be avoided, for smoothing
Table 4.2
Abrasives Used During Rough and Fine Grinding
Average grain
Operation Corundum Emery Carborundum
size (µm)
Rough grinding 60 300
Rough grinding 80 200
Rough grinding 120 W120 120 100
Fine Grinding 180 W180 180 50
Table 4.3
Abrasives Used In Smoothing (extract from G. Kluyskens Co., Inc.)
Corundum Emery Carborundum
Average grain
size (µm) Limits Limits Limits
Grade Grade Grade
(µm) (µm) (µm)
42 280 22–75
36 320 18–69
34 W 04 12–89
33 W 03 11–81
32 W 02 12–74
31 W 01 9–69
26 W1 10–52
25 400 12–50
24 W2 11–49
21 302 10–52 W3 9–38
19.5 500 8–42
18 W4 7–36
17 302½ 8–43 600 7–38
16 W5 5–37
14 303 7–49 W6 7–36
13 303½ 6–40 800 5–35
12 W7 4–32 1000 4–27
10 304 2–49 W8 3–28 1600 2–21
Shaded boxes indicate the abrasive grains most commonly used for mirror making. It is
interesting to note the difference between the size of the largest grain in a given grade to that
of the median grain. This explains why tiny pits remain after smoothing.
Table 4.4
Principal Types of Glass, Their Optical and Mechanical Characteristics
Coefficient
Type of Glass Density Refractive Index Maker
of Expansion
3 –7
Duran 50 2.23 g/cm 1.473 at 587.6 nm 32 x 10 /°C Schott
3 –7
Pyrex 2.23 g/cm 1.474 at 589.3 nm 32.5 x10 /°C Corning
ZERODUR 2.53 g/cm3 1.5424 at 587 nm Schott
CER-VIT 2.5 g/cm3 1.54 at 587 nm 0.2 to 1 x 10–7/°C
BK7 2.51 g/cm3 1.5168 at 587 nm 7.1 x 10–6/°C Schott
3 –7
ULE (Silica 797) 2.213 g/cm 1.484 at 587 nm 0.2 ±0.3 x 10 /°C Corning
3
Suprax (Boro 8488) 2.31 g/cm 1.484 at 587 nm Schott
4.3.6.1 Chamfering
The chamfer is a beveled edge, inclined at 45°, ground around the top edge of the
mirror blank and the tool (see Figure 4.11 on page 46). The sole purpose of this
chamfer is to prevent chipping from abrasive buildup or a bump against something
46 Part 1: Introduction
Fig. 4.11 The chamfer is made by grinding the glass disk with a wet carborundum stone. The
stone must be inclined at 45° and pressed with the hand solely from the interior to the exterior of
the mirror; this way, any chips are made on the side of the disk and not on the optical surface. Left:
Making the chamfer on a 130-mm mirror; Right: On a 300-mm mirror. The arrows indicate the di-
rection of the movement of the stone. Photographs © Arnaud Gaillon.
hard. Under no circumstances should you allow the chamfer to be ground out; it
should be renewed when ever it appreciably wears down.
The chamfer is formed by rubbing a whetstone (made of carborundum; sold
at hardware stores), inclined at 45°, around the entire circumference of the mir-
ror’s face. Press lightly on the whetstone to avoid chipping and moisten it in a
washbowl from time to time. You can also make the chamfer with a brass or alu-
minum block used in the same manner as a whetstone using loose abrasive (#120
or #240 carbo) and water.
The chamfer should be about 3 or 4 mm wide (at 45°) before beginning
rough grinding. At the polishing stage, about 1 to 2 mm should remain. A chamfer
of at least 5 mm width is necessary for the tool, because its edge wears away more
quickly than the mirror’s during rough grinding. The interior diameter of the
chamfer determines the optical diameter of the component.
If the back of the mirror or tool does not have rounded edges, they should
also be chamfered to prevent chipping during handling.
Fig. 4.12 Left: The bevel after smoothing. Several scratches are apparent when viewed under
a microscope. Right: The bevel is polished, and the surface is clean.
Unpolished zones
Fig. 4.13 Left: A 250-mm mirror of Duran 50 glass, seen moistened for transparency. Notice the
irregularities of the back (clear and unpolished zones). Right: Correcting the flatness of the back
of a 130-mm mirror by grinding it for a few minutes on a sheet of plate glass. The abrasive used
was #120 carbo.
48 Part 1: Introduction