A new type optical fiber T.V. adaptor-link between telescope and spectrography

Abstract

A new type of optical fiber T.V. adaptor-link device is developed to bring a star image at the focus of a Schmidt telescope to the slit of a spectrograph located at the observing floor, as well as part of the field, to a T.V. monitor for acquisition and guiding purposes. The device is constructed by 60 000 thin glass fibers (18 micron in diameter and 1.2 m in length) used as the adaptor, and a single long (20 m) thicker (25 micron core diameter) fused silica fiber used as the link between the telescope and the spectrograph. The 60 000 thin fibers are arranged in a 4 by 5 mm rectangular array with the link built in the center of the field. With the adaptor-link the astronomer can easily acquire the star on the T.V. monitor, transfer the star image through the link to the slit of the spectrograph and guide the star during observation.