Hyperstar 3 Delivered ***Added Pictures***

[multiweb]

Just received my Hyperstar 3 for the C11 today. So it's probably going to rain for the next 2 months at least... :whistle: Took a little while to clear customs but it's here now all in good order.

Just finished installing the conversion kit on the C11 corrector plate. It's a pretty cool system where you can clip on/off the secondary. The holder is all anodised aluminium too which is a plus compared to the old one that was plastic threads.

The Hyper star itself is fairly light. It's a huge lens. Nearly 100mm diameter on one end and 60mm on the other.

The QHY8 screws directly on it. There's also an internal thread to fit filters. I checked my Baader 2" filters and they all fit perfectly. :thumbsup:

I'll collimate the whole thing tomorrow night and hopefully I can do some test shots this week-end. Looking forward to it now. :)

[DavidU]

I can't wait to see what you can do with it. What happens with the wires as far as diffraction spikes go?

[multiweb]

I have three wires coming off the side of the camera. 1 USB + 2 power cables. I don't want to bundle them into one (USB next to power...yuck!). I'm thinking of arranging them at 90 degrees from each other to do a 4 vanes spider pattern or curve them out and wrap them to the dew shield. The latter shouldn't give me any defined straight diffraction spike in theory? I don't know at this stage. I guess I'll have to do a few shots and see how it goes. I'm on the fastar Yahoo group now so I'll be picking their brain for sure. I think focus will be an issue too. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Haven't even collimated the thing yet. I'm so excited, I'll probably bypass the whole setup thing and start shooting just to see what it looks like anyway :lol:

[gbeal]

Congrats Marc.
I always bundled my 12 volt, my S-VHS, and my USB together when I had the QHY8, still do with the SXVF as well.
Gary

[HarryD]

Sounds good Mark. Very interested to see what you can achieve, and how much effort is reqired. Very good of you to keep us all informed. Good luck and clear sky nights to you.

[multiweb]

I had banding issues during downloading the subs in the past and I narrowed down the problem to the USB being in close proximity to the power cables. :shrug:


Thanks mate. if the wind dies down a bit and the clouds stay away I should have a few test shots tomorrow night. :thumbsup:

[multiweb]

Well, I'm all ready to go and test now ... so obviously it's cloudy in Sydney. :P I might as well take a picture "of" the Hyperstar rather than pictures with the Hyperstar...

[gbeal]

Gawd, it is huge. Hope you reinforced the corrector plate, LOL.
Gary

[multiweb]

It does look big on the pics doesn't it, mostly because of the perspective. It is heavier than the QHY8. I took these with my mobile phone :lol:

Although you're right, I googled many horror stories of broken corrector plates with fastars :scared:. That's why mine is snug deep into the solid dew shield and the cables have also enough slack to be pulled on without pulling on the camera... s**t does happen :whistle:. I'm still to work out a practical system for all this though because it needs to be collimated everytime you use it. I don't have an observatory or permanent set-up.

I need to use it before I can refine the installation. But a solid aluminium cylindrical cage with spider vanes is definitely on the works. It will fit inside the dew shield. I've already drilled and tapped the front of the scope last night. Nothing better to do with the weather of late. :shrug:

[allan gould]

Really, really interested in your progress as I was thinking of getting the updating kit for the C8 and Fastar3. Very nice setup.
Allan

[multiweb]

Hey Allan, I'd say just do it! :) But I haven't had a chance to test shoot yet. Cable problem with the G11 tonight. My face when blue when I saw the 25kg or so slewing west at 1200 sidereal. Just dived on the mount to losen the RA clutch. :scared: I'm telling you, something is conspiring against me using this hyperstar... :confuse3: On a brighter note I didn't make it to Ilford this week-end due to work commitment. You can just imagine my face when plugging the G11 up there... :lol:

[g__day]

Does that much weight on the front corrector plate warp it?

[multiweb]

Nah... I don't think so. It looks big on the pictures but it's pretty much the same size as your secondary holder. The corrector plate is a big chunk of glass and the weight of the hyperstar + QHY8 is not enough to slide your secondary holder down on the corrector plate. The danger is if you knock the camera while attached. There is enough leverage to break the corrector if you did give it a good wack. Or if you get the camera cables jammed/tangled up and pull on the corrector this way.

[renormalised]

Looking forward to first light piccies:D:D

[AlexN]

Dude, im wetting my pants out of excitement for you! I hope its everything you hoped it would be! :) Do you know what its corrected image circle size is? Would it give a flat field across a 35mm sensor? Was thinking how nice it would be, C11 Hyperstar + SX H36 and a 3nm Ha filter! :) WOOOH! :D

[coldspace]

Hi Marc,

A friend of mine uses an Idas LPS v3 filter with great results in light pollution with a 14 inch Meade. I have been using a Astronomic CLS with great results but when I saw what the Idas does when I was in his observatory I went and ordered one straight away. I think the Idas might have the edge on the CLS but we have not done some side by side comparisons. Some reviews think these are very close with the same band passes but we will see. When I get mine I will see what performs better but with the Aus dollar the way it is now who can resist buying some accessories.
When I was searching on the web for info/reviews about these filters I came across this guy who seems to get spectacular results using Hyperstar 3 with this filter and a C8, 5min subs :eyepop: shows how fast these systems work and the Idas seems to control sky glow really well with a fast system. This is the filter I need now for what I do.
http://www.astrobirdphoto.com/nebulae/hhflamehy3v3.htm
hopefully you can get results like this with yours.

Matt.

[multiweb]

Thanks mate. I posted some test shots in the Helix Ha thread in Deep Space. I have stacks to process from tonight so it's going to take me a little while to post the rest. Probably took over 400 subs in a matter of 3-4 hours. :)

They say it covers sensors up to 27mm. I'm shooting flats right now and I get very little vignetting. Just a hint of it with the QHY8 but much less than the 5" newt.


Thanks for the tip Matt. I'll look into that filter definitely. :thumbsup:

[spearo]

Looks very exciting Mark
look forward to some great shots!
frank

[multiweb]

Thanks Frank, last night was great. I has an absolute ball. The system shows a lot of potential. It's so different from conventional imaging because you can collect more data quicker and the chances of something going wrong are greatly reduced. Let's put it this way, you could even put in a decent number of subs before the clouds roll in :)

[renormalised]

Pity the HS doesn't work with ACF optics, if it did I'd have one already:D

Might have to wait till the boys come up with the lens system to suit...or buy an older Meade or Celestron OTA.

[multiweb]

I think it does. It even should work with the aplanic range. Just a matter of spacing it correctly I think. Check the fastar yahoo group.

[renormalised]

If that's all it is, just spacing, then I'm set because I can remove my secondary:D:D

[CometGuy]

Marc,

Can't wait to see the first results. I've got a Hyperstar/conversion kit ordered for my C8, just waiting for them to make the correct spacer made for my camera.

How did you go with customs? Any tips for getting it through?

Alex: Only the 14" SCT versions will cover a 35mm frame. More info here:

http://www.hyperstarimaging.com/specs.php

Terry

[DavidU]

There is a Hyperstar for a C14 sitting on Ebay AU
I know Paul has a 14

[multiweb]

There are some pics in that thread here (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=51710)from last night testing. Got loads to process still... Customs will charge you GST on goods value. Couple of forms to fill in but pretty quick. No hassle.

[CometGuy]

My C8 Hyperstar3 arrived yesterday and I did the conversion as well which was slightly harder than it looks in the instruction video! Getting the baffle tube off took a while as I really had to work at it - apart from that pretty straight forward.

Once I had the corrector plate out it was interesting to see how sturdy a C8 corrector plate actually is - it was thicker than I expected - and I feel a lot more comfortable with the cantilever weight of small camera hanging off the front. It would take a lot of force to break one I reckon.

The Hyperstar itself is very well made but quite light. It uses simple push pull screws to adjust collimation - but a nice feature is the ability to rotate the assembly within the collar. Another plus is provision for a 2" filter inside the camera adapter - even the fat Baader 2" filters will fit. I'm tempted to get some narrowband filters later as this will make a killer combination for wide angle narrowband photography.

Cloud has prevented me doing much with hyperstar. In fact I haven't been able to get enough clear sky to collimate it yet - but a couple of test shots look promising. Stars look quite crisp in comparision to the native C8 (although this has a lot to do with seeing). Vignetting is also quite minimal with 65% illumination at the corners of a 8300 chip which is very acceptable.

I really look forward to using the scope in earnest for comet searching as I will be able to image a large area of sky down to mag 17.5 or better.

Terry

[Ian Robinson]

Holy cow , it's big .... how sure are you it wont flex / distort the corrector (they are pretty thin) ?

[CometGuy]

Ian,

Well I know the corrector plates in the Meade 14 are 11mm thick for example. The smaller SCT's will have thinner glass, but this is offset by the smaller diameter. I have seen the calculation done for the Meade 14 corrector plate and to cause a deflection of 11 micron at the end of the hyperstar (~200mm out) requires a force of 25 lbs (or 12 kg!). A more typical camera would cause closer to 1-2 micron deflection - pretty minimal.

To actually break the corrector requires a lot more force, and the person who did the calculation above used 1000psi as the Ultimate tensile strength of glass calculated 140 lbs at the end of the hyperstar. However, the Ultimate tensile strength for glass is >4000 psi, so even factoring in local stress raising factors ( around the secondary hole) it wouldn't suprise me if the corrector couldn't support the weight of a person. Anyone like to test this!

According to Starizona the instances of broken corrector plates have been from people shipping the scopes with the hypestar still attached. But the have also noted broken corrector plates caused by shipping of standard SCT's! As an aside, back in 1997 when I travelled to the US to see Comet Hale-Bopp while I was waiting at the baggage couresel I watched a baggage handle throw a foam wrapped cylindrical package across a room where it bounced end-on-end until it final came to rest against the other baggage. At the time I remember thinking that it looked all the world like a Celestron/Epoch 8" f1.5 schmidt camera wrapped in black foam...anyway the moral is you can never be too careful when shipping a scope!!

Anyway, back to the hyperstar this morning I was able to test under very hazy conditions with lots of high cloud and getting final collimation is going to take a bit of effort. 10-15 minutes of collimation adjustment was initially required to get acceptible images and there is more adjustment to do, but the potential is impressive! Attached is a small crop around the horsehead from a 30 second exposure using a QHY9 unbinned. Stars down to mag 17.5 are visible as expected.

Terry

[multiweb]

Very cool Terry. You'll have fun with it. :thumbsup:

[JethroB76]

Theres a reason those morons have been referred to as rock-apes

[Bassnut]

Ive been thinking about a HS conversion for my 12" LX200R (ACF) lately. Until I saw this. Is that right, its not suitable for Meade ACF?, why not?.

[multiweb]

They already do them for the aplanatic celestron range wich are coma free but it's because they have a glass corrector inside the baffle tube. Is it the same system on the Meade ACF? What is the f ratio of your primary? I know the hyperstar is not done on the C9 SCT for instance because the primary is not close to F/2 like the rest of the range C8/C11/C14. It's much flatter and the secondary as a lower magnification too.

[Bassnut]

Thanks Marc, sorry, I just noticed you answered this before, Ill check the faststar group. I dont know what f the primary is...yet. Yes, the ACF has corrector like the C11.

[kruska]

Is hyperstar 3 so much better than convenient astroimaging?

[multiweb]

Not necessarily. It is just a lot faster to acquire data. It has its own problems and limitations but I would recommend it for any SCT user. Yes.

[terrynz]

It's not a glass plate, its a set of lenses designed to project a flat field. Also the corector plate is a different design, hence for hyperstar to work a spacing ring is required to move further away from the primary mirror. In short they are different to the ACF.

[multiweb]

In the new celestron HD range I believe the primary and secondary are still spherical so there is an ideal spacing which is the same as a stock SCT. The corrector lenses inside the baffle tube give a flat field. I'm pretty sure the hyperstar is the same unless it has changed again. I was told it was at the time by starizona. The Meade ACF secondary is not spherical to correct for abberations.

[kruska]

I have plan to get hyperstar 3 for C8 but i dont have enough money now for new ccd camera because in -starizona- Dan said that DSLR is "incompatible" with hyperstar3 -C8.
Did anyone put DSLR on hyperstar 3-C8 and had nice results and why is so incompatible?
Is focus distance problem or just the aperture (i focused DSLR with just camera in front the primary mirror)?
Maybe with teleextender( or barlow) to extend focus and rise f/ratio number?

[h0ughy]

blocks too much of the incoming light - the centre hole is too small - look at the specs, would also get vignetting

[kruska]

Yes, I saw the specs, but...
I calculated the C6 aperture dimensions with the camera and area with appropriate ccd camera(area in square cm)


Aperture Values in C6 are less than the C8 with DSLR.

My question is rather should I get:
1. C11 +hyperstar3-C11 or
2. Hyperstar3-C8 + CCD camera or
3. Hyperstar3-C8

heheheee?
price seems to be different

[h0ughy]

whatever you can afford ;) but obviously the C11 would be better

[terrynz]

Hi Mark,

You need a spacer for the standard Hyperstar 3 to work with the EdgeHD or you need to purchase the newer EdgeHD Hyperstar assembly. Yes the mirrors are the same design from the old Celestron SCT and EdgeHD, there are slight differences between the two, including, but not limited to the rear cell housing the mirror. This results in the hyperstar needing to be set a little further forward (away from the corrector) to reach focus.

Here is the link to the adaptor. http://starizona.com/acb/HyperStar-Edge-HD-Adapter---C14-P3112C773.aspx the newer Hyperstar come in 2 versions. EdgeHD and standard SCT.

As for the Meade ACF - you are correct. However it only corrects for coma and is not a true astrograph; and this is where the the EdgeHD is different. This became evident during beta testing and to us optical designers.

cheers
Terry

[pmrid]

As I understand it, the Edge HD achieves the difference by means of the additional optical elements positioned in the baffle tube. Those would not have any impact on the use of a HyperStar of course - not being in the optical pathway at all in that configuration. So the difference between the EdgeHDs and, say the C14s seem to largely disappear don't they - when used with HyperStar that is.
Peter

[terrynz]

I wasn't comparing the difference between the HD and standard C14 @ F2, just correcting a misunderstanding in the astronomical community regarding the design of the EdgeHD. As a beta tester for Celestron, i'm more than aware of differences. Also the C14 EdgeHD14 do not work at F2. it is F1.9 to be correct.

With compliments...