[ATM] Some images from the 32" F/4

[Mike Lockwood <melockwo@uiuc.edu>]

Hi,

While the 32" F/4 telescope is not quite perfectly adjusted, it's 
getting much closer....  close enough to take some quick CCD images to 
see what it can do in a short time.

I've put up a page with images of M27, M16, M17 and M20.  There's a 
"disclaimer" section at the beginning stating some of the things that 
weren't optimal, but overall the results are quite good for a scope 
that's still getting debugged.  Go here and click on the CCD images link:

http://bi-staff.beckman.uiuc.edu/~melockwo/telescopes/holmes32/holmes32.html

It appears that the 2"-thick BVC mirror is working quite well, 
providing sharp star images with little or no astigmatism.  The 
mirror's thermal behavior has been encouraging too, considering that 
it currently is not being cooled (lots of other things to work out 
before that gets done).

Anyway, I'm still enthusiastic about the BVC.  It's also just amazing 
to see what this scope reveals in under a minute of exposure time.

	Mike Lockwood
	http://bi-staff.beckman.uiuc.edu/~melockwo/index.html


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