Mirror Resurface?
- KingNothing13
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Mirror Resurface?
But having said that, I cannot help but wonder - how much would a Zambuto resurfacing improve the mirror?
https://zambutomirrors.com/zambutoopticalc1.html
Scope: Apertura AD10 with Nexus II with 8192/716000 Step Encoders
EPs: ES 82* 18mm, 11mm, 6.7mm; GSO 30mm
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Re: Mirror Resurface?
i just checked some mirror re coaters here in the aus online, it turns out it's almost cheaper to just buy a new coated mirror , about 14-16'' and over the value of recoating is alot better .
cameras : asi 1600mm-c/asi1600mm-c,asi120mc,prostar lp guidecam, nikkon d60, sony a7,asi 290 mm
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- notFritzArgelander
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Re: Mirror Resurface?
Zambuto mirrors are famous for very fine figure.
It’s unclear to me that it’s worth it though. The scope is obstructed by the secondary so that is a significant Strehl ratio handicap. I’d rather spend the money on a larger
- KingNothing13
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Re: Mirror Resurface?
Yeah, it's more of a "thought experiment" along those lines - like I said - I am not considering it at all with my current mirror - just wondering if it would make any difference with it. I would suspect not enough to justify the cost.notFritzArgelander wrote: ↑Wed Aug 05, 2020 1:44 pm It’s unclear to me that it’s worth it though. The scope is obstructed by the secondary so that is a significant Strehl ratio handicap. I’d rather spend the money on a larger aperture GSO mirror.
Scope: Apertura AD10 with Nexus II with 8192/716000 Step Encoders
EPs: ES 82* 18mm, 11mm, 6.7mm; GSO 30mm
Celestron SkyMaster 15x70 Binoculars
List Counts: Messier: 75; Herschel 400: 30; Caldwell: 12; AL Carbon Star List: 16
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Re: Mirror Resurface?
Ultra smooth mirror surfaces are costly. The main physical difference is less scattered light at the objective. It’d be interesting to see what the trade off would be with other methods of reducing scatter like baffling theKingNothing13 wrote: ↑Wed Aug 05, 2020 1:48 pmYeah, it's more of a "thought experiment" along those lines - like I said - I am not considering it at all with my current mirror - just wondering if it would make any difference with it. I would suspect not enough to justify the cost.notFritzArgelander wrote: ↑Wed Aug 05, 2020 1:44 pm It’s unclear to me that it’s worth it though. The scope is obstructed by the secondary so that is a significant Strehl ratio handicap. I’d rather spend the money on a larger aperture GSO mirror.
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Re: Mirror Resurface?
cameras : asi 1600mm-c/asi1600mm-c,asi120mc,prostar lp guidecam, nikkon d60, sony a7,asi 290 mm
mounts : eq6 pro/eq8/mesu 200 v2
filters : 2'' astronomik lp/badder lrgb h-a,sII,oIII,h-b,Baader Solar Continuum, chroma 3nm ha,sii,oiii,nii,rgb,lowglow,uv/ir,Thousand Oaks Solar Filter,1.25'' #47 violet,pro planet 742 ir,pro planet 807 ir,pro planet 642 bp ir.
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Re: Mirror Resurface?
I suppose one could get a somewhat higher magnification. I don't think it is preferable. By magnifying 2X with the barlow the whole image will become 4X darker. That means the advantage is gone.
IMHO : It is nicer to enjoy the better contrast with the same magnification. Far more pleasing.
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Most used Eyepieces: *Panoptic 24, *Morpheus 14, *Leica ASPH zoom, *Zeiss barlow, *Pentax XO5.
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Rijswijk Public Observatory: * Astro-Physics Starfire 130 f/8, * 6 inch Newton, * C9.25, * Meade 14 inch LX600 ACF, *Lunt.
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- OzEclipse
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Re: Mirror Resurface?
Re-coating
In 1978/79 I ground and polished a 6" mirror under the supervision of an expert mentor. He pushed me to keep working on it until near perfect. It's first coating was done by an excellent optical coater and the scopes performance was exceptional.
It's second coat, about 12 years later, was mediocre and the scopes performance reflected that.
That coat stayed on for 20 years during which time, I was doing very little observing. Two years ago, I had it recoated with a very high quality expensive coating - I could have bought a finished 10"
Alas, AF has shut down now and material is unavailable but the comparison is still posted on my website.
https://joe-cali.com/astronomy/articles ... ctors.html
Was it worth it? In my case - yes, definitely. Rob is correct that if you have an off the shelf mirror, and given the reasonable quality of
Refiguring
I can't comment specifically on the refiguring. I can say that detail seen through a high quality optic is exquisite. But the improvement depends on how bad your current mirror is.
Cheers
Joe
Amateur astronomer since 1978...................Web site : http://joe-cali.com/
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Re: Mirror Resurface?
cameras : asi 1600mm-c/asi1600mm-c,asi120mc,prostar lp guidecam, nikkon d60, sony a7,asi 290 mm
mounts : eq6 pro/eq8/mesu 200 v2
filters : 2'' astronomik lp/badder lrgb h-a,sII,oIII,h-b,Baader Solar Continuum, chroma 3nm ha,sii,oiii,nii,rgb,lowglow,uv/ir,Thousand Oaks Solar Filter,1.25'' #47 violet,pro planet 742 ir,pro planet 807 ir,pro planet 642 bp ir.
extras : skywatcher f4 aplanatic cc, Baader MPCC MKIII Coma Corrector,Orion Field Flattener,zwo 1.25''adc.starlight maxi 2" 9x filter wheel,tele vue 2x barlow .
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Re: Mirror Resurface?
My observing buddy has a 20”KingNothing13 wrote: ↑Wed Aug 05, 2020 1:48 pmYeah, it's more of a "thought experiment" along those lines - like I said - I am not considering it at all with my current mirror - just wondering if it would make any difference with it. I would suspect not enough to justify the cost.notFritzArgelander wrote: ↑Wed Aug 05, 2020 1:44 pm It’s unclear to me that it’s worth it though. The scope is obstructed by the secondary so that is a significant Strehl ratio handicap. I’d rather spend the money on a larger aperture GSO mirror.
Without knowing the qualities of your existing mirror, the question of refiguring can not be answered. Most machine made commercial mirrors are fair to good, but very few are excellent. I love walking around the observing field to peek through all the telescopes. My unscientific estimation is at least 70% of them are in dire need of collimation. I’ve seen a few with strong spherical aberration and some with obviously rough surfaces.
- Lady Fraktor
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Re: Mirror Resurface?
Either way I do like the owners attitude:
There is brightness, which is provided by
-Carl Zambuto
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