Australian Sky & Telescope — January 01, 2018

72 AUSTRALIAN SKY & TELESCOPE January 2018

ALL PHOTOS BY WERNER SCHMIDT

State of the art scope

Here’s a look at the cutting edge of telescope technology.

INTHELASTISSUEIWROTEabout

amateurtelescopemakinginthe1950s.

This month let’s look at what’s possible

in the hobby today.

I could scarcely believe it when

Detlef Werner Schmidt wrote to

me about his latest project. Some of

youmayalreadyknowWerneras

thedesigneroftheFeatherTouch

focuserandthefounderofStarlight

Instruments, so you might expect

anotherfabulouslywell-machinedgem,

andyouwouldberight.Butwouldyou

expect an imaging Newtonian that can

be switched from f/4 to f/8 in about 10

minutes? Without re-collimating?

No kidding. Werner has built just

suchatelescope.Andhehasbuiltit

withhistypicalattentiontodetailand

exquisite machining.

Werner had several goals in mind

when he started. He wanted a sharp

imaging scope that would illuminate

alargeCCDwithminimalfield

aberrations. He wanted both wide-field

and high-magnification capability.

He wanted to minimise diffraction

spikes.Hewantedtokeepitlightand

manageable. And he wanted do away

with performing in-field collimation.

Anyoftheabovewouldbedifficult

enoughonitsown,butincombination

they’reanengineeringchallengetosay

the least. Then add to that the decision

WernerSchmidtwithhistelescopeinits

f/8configurationonitsangledpiermount.

That’sthef/4secondarycageinhishands.

SThe scope in its f/4 configuration. Note how it

clears the pier even when pointing at the pole.

ASTRONOMER’S WORKBENCH by Jerry Oltion