So you think your setup is complcated??

[kalasinman]

This instrument recently discovered a group of galaxies primarily of dark matter in the Coma Cluster.

[x935418]

    amazing !!!

[D4N]

So.... which one is the guide scope? [emoji12]

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[ollypenrice]

Nobody mention darks and flats! 

I find it quite hard to get three datasets stacked and calibrated before lunchtime. With TEN it would be dark again before I'd finished...

This is the way to go deep, though. I think the problems associated with insanely fast F ratios are greater than those associated with multiple rigs.

Olly

[Dave Lloyd]

I suspect that's one of Gina's

[kalasinman]

http://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-news/dark-matter-rich-galaxies-discovered-111820141/

[StuartJPP]

I can't even begin to calculate how much less sensitive my imaging rig is...10 lenses at f/2.8 on 10 CCDs vs. 1 lens at f/4 on a DSLR...

Wouldn't be able to fit that lot on an AstroTrac...

[RikM]

8x Canon 400mm f/2.8 L for an equivalent 40cm f/1.0 ! Why do they use 4x green and 4x red but no blues?

[SteveA]

Not much change out of £100,000 as far as I can see! I can't imagine the wife being to impressed....though she would definitely notice as the house would have to go!

Seriously though I was intrigued as to why this instrument is so good at it's job. The following article is really interesting and even I can understand it...just.....!http://arxiv.org/pdf/1401.5473.pdf

[Viewmaster]

Are they all in focus?

[Earl]

imagine aligning that lot...................

[Scott]

do you mind if I just tweek the focus?....NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

[DaveS]

Not sure about the Paramount though.

I think if I was planning something like this at research level I'd mount it on one of these:

http://www.astrosysteme.at/eng/mount_ddm160.html

[ollypenrice]

Not sure about the Paramount though.

I think if I was planning something like this at research level I'd mount it on one of these:

http://www.astrosysteme.at/eng/mount_ddm160.html

I wouldn't.

Olly

[damnut]

They have pinched the design from a nebulwerfur

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bf/Bundesarchiv_Bild_101I-277-0840-32,_Russland,_Nebelwerfer_im_Schnee.jpg

[kalasinman]

Are they all in focus?

From the Dragonfly .PDF posted above..."Each lens has an internal autofocusingmotor (which our system takes advantage of)..."

[JemC]

No way   I'm pulling my hair out trying to focus 1 lens and camera, I think this would send me to an early grave

[kalasinman]

Although I don't understand many of the details of the .phd doc, it makes an interesting read. That they are seeking to access data from objects whose surface brightness is below the optical limits of devices using reflective surfaces makes total sense. I'm thinking that limitations such as this may be one of the reason we call matter "dark", when we simply lack the capability to collect data from it.

[northcanadian]

HMMMMM. one needs collimating....now where do we start?

[D4N]

Indeed the dark matter and dark energy are simply things that we have been unable to observe directly and therefore prove their existence.

Whether this setup can actually find the stuff though I am somewhat sceptical.

If the stuff interacts with light at all then I would have thought we would have already detected it as it should be interfering with background light.

It is entirely possible that the stuff isn't even in our universe which would make it very tricky to find [emoji54]

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[SteveA]

I like the idea of a CO2 snow cleaning device to clean the optics...It sounds slightly more sophisticated than the washing up bowl technique!

[RikM]

They are looking for very low surface brightness normal objects, not 'dark matter'.

[Gazabone]

I saw something like that on a Royal Navy frigate a while back. Turned out that was for shooting mortars though not DSOs lol

[DaveS]

I wouldn't.

Olly

It's why I said "research". I would expect a technician dedicated to fettling the mount.

Wouldn't buy one myself.

[Earl]

id guess Paramount did the custom install and setup for it.