Astrograph, a device for photographing stars. Drawing, description

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Astrograph, a device for photographing stars. Children's Science Lab

Children's Science Lab

Huge telescopes, complex electromechanical systems, and electronic computers are used to photograph planets and stars. And you only have a Smena camera and ... a great desire to get a photo of the planet you like. Take a look at the picture. This is an astrograph. It was developed and built by the guys from the Vitebsk city SYUT. Vladimir Evgenievich Soiko, the head of the film and photography circle, talks about the astrograph.

Many of you probably know that faint stars are photographed with long exposures, sometimes reaching tens of minutes. During the exposure, the camera is moved following the daily rotation of the starry sky. If this is not done, then the image of the star on the film is blurry. In large astrographs - photographic telescopes - this movement is carried out using an electric motor or a weight mechanism. Our design of the astrograph is designed to use available short-focus lenses, and therefore we guide - we guide the camera after the stars - manually. This greatly simplifies the design of the device and makes it possible to manufacture it in a school workshop or circle.

Astrograph drawing (click to enlarge)

All parts of the device are mounted on a massive base 6. Adjusting screws 5 are installed in its corners, which serve to accurately orient the clock axis 3 to the celestial pole. On the base with M8 screws, a cone bearing 4, bearings 8 of the lead screw 12, and a stand 11 for fastening the clock axis are fixed. Nut 9 is mounted on the lead screw, pivotally fixed with levers 10. When pulley 7 rotates, it moves along the screw, turns the levers, and they, in turn, turn the clock axis, and hence the platform 2 associated with it, the telescope 1 and the camera . To manually aim the camera at the desired part of the sky, the device has a declination axis. (It rotates in a sleeve screwed to the clock axle.) This axle is rigidly fixed with a clamping screw. The platform is connected to the clock axis through the flange and declination axis.

In the guide telescope, we find the star we need, and then we follow it during the shooting, trying to keep it in the middle of the eyepiece. For the convenience of guiding, the ocular part of the telescope is made rotating.

As I already said, it is not difficult to make an astrograph in a school circle. But I would like to immediately warn young lovers of astronomical photography: the quality of the resulting images will largely depend on how accurately and accurately you make the individual parts and components of the device. What materials and details is our astrograph made of?

Base 6, stand 11, platform 2 for the camera and guide telescope we cut out of textolite. (The dimensions of the base of your device may be different, the main thing is that it be massive.) I will say a special word about the stand.

The stand is assembled from two parts: the lower part is connected to the base, and the upper part serves as a support for the clock axis, set at an angle to the base of the astrograph.

The angle of the top of the stand depends on the latitude of the photographing area. It is equal to 90° - L, where L is the latitude of the observation site. Accordingly, the height of the rack is also selected (the height of the rack of our device is designed for the latitude of Moscow). At the base, we drilled holes in the corners and cut threads for adjusting screws (special nuts with flanges are machined for a wooden base). One of the most time-consuming and critical parts of the astrograph is the lead screw. Probably not everyone will be able to get a ready-made suitable screw with a nut, so I'll tell you how to make it. I immediately warn you: you will not be able to cut the screw evenly with a die at such a length. Therefore, first mark the thread with a cutter on a lathe, and then calibrate it with a die. I advise you to make several screws at once, and then choose the best one from them.

The lead screw rotates in bearings that we machined from bronze. But you can also use ready-made ball bearings. Bearings need to be pressed into the racks. In our country, they are sawn out of textolite, as well as a kan and a nut 9. The bearing and the stand (part 4) of the clock axis are made of the same materials as the lead screw bearings. We also made the clock axis from textolite. To aim the camera at the desired part of the sky, a round groove is made in the clock axis, which is covered by a clamp attached to the upper lever 10. Here, on the clock axis, a protractor 13 is installed. The declination axis, I already told us, rotates in a sleeve built into the clock axis. The bushing is machined from bronze, the declination axis is made from steel.

The telescoping guide is a small refractor. As a lens (b), you can use any suitable lens or spectacle glass with a focal length of 30-40 mm. We made the eyepiece part (c) on the machine, but it can also be soldered from tin or glued from thin plywood. If you don't have a prism (e), replace it with a small mirror. We took the eyepiece (d) ready from the microscope, and glued the tube (a) for the telescope out of paper. The eyepiece can be replaced with any small strong lens with a magnification of 5-10 times, making a paper frame for it. Recall the well-known formula. The magnification of a telescope is equal to K of the lens divided by the F of the eyepiece (F is the focal length! To determine the focal length of your lens, point it at the Sun and measure the distance from the lens to the point image of the Sun. This will be the focal length of the lens. It probably makes no sense to talk about manufacturing all the details of the device - they are simple and understandable from the picture.I will only say that if you want your astrograph to look like a real one, carefully clean all the details, prime and paint them gray.

And finally, some tips on how to photograph stars. First of all, try to more accurately set the hour axis of the astrograph to the celestial pole. In the horizontal plane, the device is installed using a compass, taking into account the correction for magnetic declination, and in the vertical plane - in levels of 14. Having installed the astrograph, start photographing. To guide the device, select a sufficiently bright star in the sky and point the telescope at it. The image of the star will look like a luminous spot. Then cock the camera shutter, set the shutter speed, aperture and shoot the stars. During exposure, by turning the lead screw pulley, try to keep the image of the selected star to be guided on the crosshairs of the eyepiece as accurately as possible.

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