How Does a 408mm Cassegrain Telescope's CCD Capture Light Spectrum?

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SUMMARY

The discussion focuses on the optical characteristics of a 408mm Cassegrain telescope equipped with a CCD sensor measuring 12.3mm in length and pixel dimensions of 24 x 10E-6 m. The telescope operates at an f/19 focal ratio and utilizes a grating with 1200 lines/mm, resulting in a dispersion of 3.3nm/mm. Key calculations include determining the range of wavelengths imaged on the CCD, the wavelengths corresponding to a single pixel, and the spectrograph's resolution in terms of radial velocity centered around 600nm.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of optical telescope design, specifically Cassegrain telescopes
  • Familiarity with CCD technology and pixel dimensions
  • Knowledge of diffraction grating principles and their application in spectroscopy
  • Basic skills in high-school geometry for visualizing optical setups
NEXT STEPS
  • Calculate the total wavelength range captured by the CCD based on the given dispersion
  • Determine the specific wavelength range that corresponds to a single CCD pixel
  • Analyze the radial velocity resolution of the spectrograph centered at 600nm
  • Explore advanced topics in spectroscopy, including the impact of grating density on resolution
USEFUL FOR

Astronomy enthusiasts, optical engineers, and researchers involved in telescope design and spectroscopic analysis will benefit from this discussion.

rubble
hey guys anyone got any ideas on this:

f/19 cassegrain focus of a 408mm telescope. ccd is 12.3mm long, each pixel is a square of side 24 x 10E-6 m, grating used has 1200lines/mm

1. = the spectrum is imaged on a ccd with a zoo lens such that the dispersion is 3.3nm/mm. what is the range of wavelengths that can be imaged on the ccd?

2. = the range of wavelengths that fall on a single ccd pixel

3. = the resolution of this spectrograph in terms of the radial velocity of the source of radiation, if the spectrum is centred on 600nm

cheers everyone!

rubble
 
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