Usefulness of HyperStar in science

I just discovered the HyperStar device that allows a SCT to take
beautiful images of regions sky quickly by converting the scope to
basically an f/2 scope. This is all well and good, but are scientific
applications for this type of scope? Supernova searches, minor planet
studies, ..., whatever.

On Mar 9, 7:48*pm, "W. eWatson"
wrote:
I just discovered the HyperStar device that allows a SCT to take
beautiful images of regions sky quickly by converting the scope to
basically an f/2 scope. This is all well and good, but are scientific
applications for this type of scope? Supernova searches, minor planet
studies, ..., whatever.

Such a fast optical system _might_ suffer from sky fogging/ light
pollution unless you enjoy really dark skies. It would usually be
limited to very short exposures. Which is fine as long as it can
capture enough detail to satisfy.

I presume the applied lens elements flatten the usually steep
curvature of the focal plane. Which was a problem with so-called
"lenseless Schmidts"... and the genuine article, of course. The images
shown online seem fine.

On 3/9/2012 12:48 PM, W. eWatson wrote:
I just discovered the HyperStar device that allows a SCT to take
beautiful images of regions sky quickly by converting the scope to
basically an f/2 scope. This is all well and good, but are scientific
applications for this type of scope? Supernova searches, minor planet
studies, ..., whatever.


Have a look at the NightSkiesNetwork. They are a group of video
astronomers that broadcast their observing sessions.

http://www.nightskiesnetwork.com/

Several of them use HyperStar. That would give you an opportunity to
see what some people are doing with the device. You can chat with the
broadcasters and ask them the same question.

All the HypeStar does is expand the useful range of a telescope.
Asking what scientific applications the device could be used for is
like asking what good is a telescope with an eyepiece or a camera. I
suppose it would have a lot to do with who you gave the device to. In
the hands of a medical researcher it would be about as useful as a
piece of moldy bread to an astronomer.

LdB

http://www.mts.net/~lmlod/Observatory.html

On Fri, 09 Mar 2012 11:48:48 -0700, "W. eWatson"
wrote:

I just discovered the HyperStar device that allows a SCT to take
beautiful images of regions sky quickly by converting the scope to
basically an f/2 scope. This is all well and good, but are scientific
applications for this type of scope? Supernova searches, minor planet
studies, ..., whatever.

A fast focal ratio does not allow for shorter exposures, except in the
case where you are otherwise readout noise limited. So fast scopes can
be useful where you need very short exposure times- particularly for
video applications.

Professionally, you find fast scopes used mainly in survey
applications, where the researcher is willing to trade S/N for rapid
acquisition over wide fields.