Advance will help astrophysicists explore where stars are born
A University of Delaware-led research team reports an advance in the June 1 issue of Science that may help astrophysicists more accurately analyze the vast molecular clouds of gas and dust where stars are born. Krzysztof Szalewicz, professor of physics and astronomy at UD, was the principal investigator on the National Science Foundation funded research project, which solved equations of quantum mechanics to more precisely describe the interactions between molecules of hydrogen and carbon monoxide, the two most abundant gases in space. Read more
Transmission grating spectroscopes look like simple filters and are designed to screw into place on the eyepiece tube of a telescope for visual use, or into a camera adapter for digicam or CCD imaging. They are relatively inexpensive and by far the easiest type of astronomical spectroscope to use, and so are the starting point for most beginners. Read more
Feasibility of detecting Be star outbursts using Star Analyser grating Read more
Ed ~ For those wishing to get into spectrometry, it may be worth first experimenting with a cheap Cokin Diffractor Cosmos Filter
With a telescope of just 80mm aperture and a simple unmodified webcam, the hidden characteristics of hundreds of stars down to magnitude +4 can be revealed. With a 200mm aperture and a sensitive long exposure CCD imager, the identification of bright Novae and Supernovae or even a measurement of the expansion of the universe from the redshift of a Quasar are possible. Read more
The Paton Hawksley Star Analyser 100 was designed specifically for amateur astronomical spectroscopy. It can be mounted on your telescope just like any other 1.25" filter. It's is easy to use, and will work with most cameras. A big advantage to this 100 line/mm grating it is easier (than with a 200 line/mm grating) to image dim objects and you can display the zero-order (star) along with the spectrum. This makes it easy for you to calibrate your spectra. Read more
The Star Analyser 100 is a high efficiency 100 lines/mm transmission diffraction grating, blazed in the first order. Simple to use, this is best entry-level instrument to discover spectroscopy with your telescope. Read more
Star Analyser is a blazed diffraction grating in a 1,25" filter thread. You can screw it to a eyepiece or to a webcam, small astronomy CCD camera. It will split star light into a spectrum from blue to red like a prism (or rainbow). Such spectrum can tell many things about a star or other target - like it chemical composition, temperature, movement against Earth. Read more
RSpec at NEAF 2011 - Sky & Telescope
Before the advent of CCD cameras, most observers would agree that spectroscopy was well beyond anything the amateur astronomer or small observatory could do. Besides being extremely expensive, even fairly bright stars required very large telescopes to get spectra. When CCD cameras became plentiful that all began to change. A few years ago professional quality spectrographs became available for a cost within the means of many observers. Coupled with CCD cameras, they showed that a great deal of important work could be done with very modest equipment. Read more