JPH08201703A - Equatorial telescope type frame - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To more easily introduce a desired celestial body into the visual field of an astronomical telescope. CONSTITUTION: A 1st motor rotates the astronomical telescope 20 around a polar axis 12. A 2nd motor rotates the telescope 20 around a declination axis 14. A motor controller 26 is provided with a GPS circuit and a control circuit, and controls the 1st and the 2nd motors by receiving a longitude data signal and a time data signal from the GPS circuit in the case of designating the desired celestial body, so that the desired celestial body is automatically introduced into the visual field of the telescope 20. It is conceivable to provide an encoder instead of the 1st and the 2nd motors, display the difference of an angle by which the telescope 20 should be rotated, and manually adjust the polar axis and the declination axis so that the difference of the angle may be zero.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an equatorial mount for mounting an astronomical telescope, and more particularly to an equatorial mount that can be easily introduced into a desired celestial body in the field of view of the astronomical telescope.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Astronomical telescopes are used for observing celestial bodies such as the moon, planets, stars and nebulae. For observation, it is necessary to aim the astronomical telescope at the desired celestial body and introduce it into the field of view. At this time, some celestial bodies with relatively high brightness such as the moon and planets may be able to confirm their position with the naked eye, and in this case, place the telescope at the position on the sphere of the celestial body confirmed with the naked eye. It is also relatively easy to introduce it into the field of view. However, more generally, many astronomical objects are difficult to see with the naked eye, and many celestial objects change their position on the celestial sphere depending on the season and the time of day. To meet the requirements, some skill is required.

The position of the star on the celestial sphere can be indicated on the star map by using the right and declination coordinates. In particular, when observing low-luminance objects such as nebulae and clusters, check the position coordinates on the celestial sphere on the star map and use the RA, Decl. Coordinates to aim the astronomical telescope at the desired celestial object. Is done. In addition, even for planets whose positions on the celestial sphere change, the position at the time of observation can be represented by the RA, Decl. Coordinates, and aiming can be performed in the same way using these coordinates. You can

An equatorial mount is known as one of the mounts for mounting the astronomical telescope. This mount has two axes, a polar axis (right longitude axis) and a declination axis, and the telescope can be rotated around these two axes. At this time, after making the polar axis parallel to the rotation axis (earth axis) of the earth, the telescope is rotated around the polar axis and the declination axis to introduce a desired celestial body into the field of view. The declination axis is an axis perpendicular to the polar axis, and by rotating it, it is possible to aim at celestial bodies with different declination coordinates. According to the equatorial telescope, once the desired celestial body can be introduced into the field of view of the astronomical telescope, after that, if the astronomical telescope is rotated around the polar axis according to the diurnal motion of the celestial body (the rotation speed of the earth), The desired celestial body can be tracked while the axis remains fixed.

The inclination of the earth axis with respect to the horizontal plane (usually the ground) depends on the latitude of the observation point. For this reason, the operation of setting the polar axis of the equatorial mount parallel to the earth's earth axis is generally performed by referring to the north star located very close to the north pole of the celestial sphere. However, the north polar star is about 0.5 degrees different from the true north pole of the celestial sphere.

[0006] One way to make them parallel is to first make the polar axis of the equatorial mount parallel to the optical axis of the astronomical telescope, and then
There is a way to put the North Star in the field of view of the astronomical telescope. The fact that the polar axis of the equatorial mount and the optical axis of the astronomical telescope have become parallel means that the field of view when an object at infinity (for example, a star) is placed in the field of view of the astronomical telescope and rotated about the polar axis If you do not move, you can confirm that they are parallel. According to this, since the magnification of the astronomical telescope can be increased, it becomes possible to set the polar axis of the equatorial mount parallel to the earth's earth axis with relatively good accuracy, but the premise of the equatorial mount is It is difficult to make the polar axis and the optical axis of the astronomical telescope completely parallel.

Therefore, there is one in which a dedicated polar axis telescope is provided coaxially with the polar axis. According to this, the polar axis of the equatorial mount can be adjusted by inserting the north polar star at a predetermined position (intersection of the cross) in the field of view of the polar axis telescope without the step of making the polar axis of the equatorial mount parallel to the optical axis of the astronomical telescope. It can be set parallel to the earth's axis.
However, since the polar telescope is built in coaxially with the polar axis, it is usually impossible to obtain a high magnification, and the accuracy is somewhat lowered.

In recent years, in order to more easily introduce a desired celestial object into the field of view of the astronomical telescope, after setting the polar axis of the equatorial mount parallel to the earth axis according to the latitude as described above, the current time and observation are performed. When two pieces of data of the longitude of a point are input, there are some that display the difference between the RA and declination coordinates. If you rotate the polar axis and declination axis of the equatorial mount so that this difference becomes zero,
A desired celestial object can be captured in the field of view of the telescope. The polar axis and the declination axis may be rotated manually, but at present, there are known those equipped with a motor for rotating them. After setting the polar axis of the equatorial mount parallel to the earth's axis, if you control these motors with a computer based on the current time and longitude data of the observation point, you can automatically introduce the desired celestial body into the field of view and track it. It is also possible.

As a mount on which the astronomical telescope is placed, there is a azimuth mount. This has two axes, which change the sighting of the astronomical telescope, but the first axis is the vertical axis perpendicular to the horizontal plane (usually the ground) at the observation point, and the other The second axis is a horizontal axis perpendicular to the first axis (axis parallel to the horizontal plane). This differs from the equatorial ritual in that one axis is not parallel to the earth's axis. The astronomical telescope is rotatable about two axes by a motor, and the rotation of the two axes is controlled by a control means such as a computer. The celestial body is introduced into the field of view and tracked by rotating the two axes together.

[0010] As the progress of the gantry mount, 2 on the celestial sphere
After introducing the three stars into the field of view of the telescope, by entering the name of each star, the relative positional relationship between the astronomical telescope and the celestial sphere is stored, and based on this stored data, the desired astronomical object is selected. It is also known that it is possible to set a sight. For example, enter the data that it is "Cygnus α star" at the time of introducing α Cygnus into the field of view of the telescope, and similarly, at the time of introducing α α constellation into the field of view, Enter the data that there is. It is convenient to use the bright major star as the designated star. After that, the computer controls the two motors to rotate the two axes momentarily, so that the operator can introduce and track a desired celestial body in the field of view. According to this method, unlike the equatorial ceremony, it is not necessary to input the current time and the longitude data of the observation point.

[0011]

The above-described equatorial mount for an equatorial astronomical telescope has the following problems. That is, setting the polar axis parallel to the earth axis requires a certain degree of skill as described above, and even if the polar star is referred to, it is not at the true north pole of the celestial sphere, so it is difficult to set accurately. Further, in order to obtain accurate current time data, it is necessary for the operator of the apparatus (astronomical observer) to set his clock accurately each time. For example, the clock is 2
The deviations cause a difference of about 0.5 degrees on the celestial sphere, which corresponds to the viewing angle of the diameter of the moon. Furthermore, for star observation,
A dark place away from a so-called light-poor city is often selected as the observation point. Therefore, when moving by car, it is necessary to obtain the latitude and longitude of the observation point each time. Furthermore, when observing an aircraft with an astronomical telescope constantly moving relative to the earth, the latitude and longitude of the observation point constantly change, so the polar axis and declination axis of the equatorial mount are always adjusted accordingly. It will be necessary to keep adjusting.

In the azimuth mount, two motors that constantly rotate the astronomical telescope around two axes are controlled, so that when tracking the celestial body, unequal speed control of two axes is required, which is complicated. Furthermore, even if you fix the camera to the astronomical telescope controlled by this method and try to shoot a starry night photograph etc. with long exposure while tracking an celestial body like the equatorial ceremony, the field of view rotates with respect to the camera. It is not suitable for shooting because it will be lost. When photographing, an expensive field-of-view rotation device that rotates the field of view is required.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an equatorial mount which can more easily introduce a desired celestial body into the field of view of the astronomical telescope. Another object of the present invention is to provide an equatorial mount that allows the polar axis of the equatorial mount to be parallel to the ground axis more efficiently.

[0014]

The present invention relates to an equatorial mount for mounting an astronomical telescope according to the present invention. At this time, a positioning means such as GPS receives radio waves from a plurality of artificial satellites and generates a longitude data signal and a time data signal at the observation point. The first rotation angle detection means detects the rotation angle of the polar axis of the equatorial mount. The second rotation angle detection means detects the rotation angle of the declination axis of the equatorial mount. The indicator is necessary for receiving the longitude data signal and the time data signal from the positioning means and the signals from the first and second turning angle detection means when the desired celestial body is designated and introducing the desired celestial body into the field of view of the astronomical telescope. The angle difference between the polar axis and the declination axis is displayed.

The present invention relates to an equatorial mount for mounting the astronomical telescope of the present invention. At this time, a positioning means such as GPS receives radio waves from a plurality of artificial satellites and generates a longitude data signal and a time data signal at the observation point. The first motor rotates the astronomical telescope about the polar axis of the equatorial mount. The second motor rotates the astronomical telescope about the declination axis of the equatorial mount. The control circuit receives the longitude data signal and the time data signal from the positioning means when the desired celestial object is designated, and receives the first data.
And controlling the second motor to introduce the desired celestial object into the field of view of the astronomical telescope.

[0016]

According to the equatorial mount of the present invention, even if the latitude and longitude of the observation point are constantly changing, the polar axis and declination axis are adjusted according to the display on the display or the motor of the control circuit is adjusted. The desired celestial object designated by the control can be introduced into the field of view of the astronomical telescope. If this celestial body introduction operation is applied, if the celestial body cannot be introduced, it means that the polar axis of the equatorial mount is not parallel to the earth's axis, so the altitude of the equatorial mount is adjusted so that the desired celestial body is within the view of the astronomical telescope. If you adjust both the axis and the azimuth adjustment axis,
The polar axis can be parallel to the earth axis. This allows the designated desired celestial body to be introduced into the field of view of the astronomical telescope more accurately thereafter.

[0017]

1 is a view showing a preferred embodiment of the equatorial mount of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an electric circuit suitable for the first or third embodiment of the equatorial mount of the present invention. The astronomical telescope 20 is mounted on the equatorial mount 10. The broken line 18 indicates the optical axis of the astronomical telescope 20, and by directing the optical axis 18 to a desired celestial body, the desired celestial body can be introduced into the field of view of the astronomical telescope 20. Since the sub-telescope 21 has a lower magnification and a wider field of view than the astronomical telescope 20, the sub-telescope 21 is used as an auxiliary for reference when the desired celestial body is not in the field of view of the astronomical telescope 20.

The polar axis 12 of the equatorial mount 10 may be set parallel to the earth axis by using a polar telescope 24, etc. as in the conventional case, and may be set according to a third embodiment of the present invention described later. Is also good. Declination axis 14 of equatorial mount 10
Is an axis perpendicular to the polar axis 12. The polar axis 12 needs to be inclined with respect to the horizontal plane 40 of the observation point according to the latitude of the observation point, and is rotatable about the polar height adjustment axis 16 shown by a black circle. The altitude adjustment axis 16 is an axis perpendicular to the drawing in FIG. Further, the polar axis 12 is rotatable about an azimuth adjusting axis 17 which is perpendicular to the horizontal plane 23 of the gantry, so that the azimuth of the polar axis 12 can be adjusted.

The tripod 22 of the pedestal 10 is preferably installed so that the horizontal plane 23 of the pedestal 10 and the horizontal plane (ground) 40 of the observation point are parallel to each other, as in the conventional case. It is set perpendicular to the horizontal plane 40 at the observation point. To make the horizontal plane 23 of the gantry 10 horizontal (parallel to the horizontal plane 40 of the observation point)
Since it is possible to set with a fairly good accuracy even with a simple level, it is not a big technical problem.

The first preferred embodiment of the present invention employs first and second motors for rotating the astronomical telescope 20 about the polar axis 12 and the declination axis 14. First and second motor 52
And 54 are installed at appropriate places in the housing of the gantry 10. In the first embodiment, it is basically assumed that the polar axis 12 is set parallel to the ground axis by the conventional method described above. The motor control device 26 placed on the mounting shelf 30 is
The GPS circuit 25 and the control circuit 27 are provided, and the first and second
A control signal for controlling the rotation of the motors 52 and 54 and a power source of the motor are supplied through the cable 28. The control signal is generated based on positioning data and time data from the GPS circuit 25 of the device 26, data of a desired celestial body input by the operator to the control circuit 27 by an input device (not shown), and the like. A known external power source (not shown) may be used as the power source of the motor control device 26.

GPS (Global Positioning System)
Is also called a global positioning system, and receives radio waves from an artificial satellite launched by the US Department of Defense with a receiver and measures the current position and altitude of the receiver. Compared with other positioning sensors, GPS has features such as low cost, high accuracy, and small receiver size, and is used in car navigation systems, automatic navigation, and the like.

The GPS satellite is in a circular orbit about 2,000 km away from the ground, and it takes about 12 hours to complete the earth for one week. 6 in total
One orbit is used, and four GPS satellites are placed in one orbit. In positioning by GPS, it takes how long it takes for a radio wave emitted from a satellite to reach a receiving point, and the current position is obtained based on the distance from the orbit. A precise atomic clock is mounted on the GPS satellite and transmits a time signal when a radio wave is emitted toward the earth.
The time required for the radio wave to reach the receiver is obtained by calculating the difference between the time when the radio wave is emitted and the time of the clock that the receiver on the ground has, which can be seen from the time signal. By multiplying the required time by the speed of radio waves (about 300,000 km / s), the distance from the satellite to the receiver can be calculated. If the distance to one satellite is known, the current position of the receiver is on the surface of a sphere centered on the satellite and having a radius from the satellite. If the distance to another satellite is known, the current position is on the circumference where the two spheres overlap. Further, the receiver is located at any of the two intersections with the sphere obtained at the distance from the third satellite. At this time, since one of the intersections is a point outside the satellite orbit, the current position of the receiver is an intersection closer to the earth.

By the way, the clock built in the receiver is usually used with accuracy lower than that of the atomic clock mounted on the satellite. At this time, if there is a slight gap between the clock built in the receiver and the clock of the satellite, there should be a common error in the obtained distance.
Therefore, the error is corrected by further adding the distance from another satellite. By thus receiving the radio waves from the four satellites, more accurate positioning can be performed. The above-mentioned positioning is called three-dimensional positioning, and the altitude, latitude and longitude of the current position of the receiver can be obtained. At the same time, very accurate time data can be obtained.

In this way, the GPS circuit (positioning means) 2
5 produces a latitude and longitude data signal and a time data signal. The control circuit 27 uses the longitude data signal, the time data signal, and the desired celestial body data specified by the operator,
A control signal that controls the rotation of the first and second motors 52 and 54 is generated to introduce the desired celestial body into the field of view of the astronomical telescope 20. The time data signal also includes date information, which corresponds to the difference in the position of the celestial body on the celestial sphere depending on the season. To specify a desired celestial body, the operator may input declination / right longitude coordinate data of the celestial body. However, in the case of a famous celestial body, a ROM is provided in the control circuit 27,
By inputting the name, the corresponding declination / right longitude coordinate data stored in the ROM may be retrieved and set.

In the above description, the astronomical telescope was rotated about the polar axis and the declination axis by the first and second motors. However, in the second embodiment of the present invention, an encoder (rotation) is used instead of the first and second motors. Angle detection means) may be provided and the polar axis and declination axis may be manually adjusted. That is, the first and second encoders detect the rotation angles of the polar axis and the declination axis, respectively, and supply the data of these rotation angles to the control circuit. FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an electric circuit in this case. At this time, the control circuit 27 causes the display unit 29 to display how much the polar axis and declination axis should be adjusted in order to bring the celestial body into the field of view of the telescope. The operator rotates the astronomical telescope around the polar axis and the declination axis according to this display. The encoder detects the rotation of the polar axis and declination axis by the operator, and when the encoder rotates by a necessary angle, the control circuit 27 causes the display device 29 to display that the angle difference is zero.

By the way, as described above, the astronomical telescope 2
Even if the operation of introducing the desired celestial body into the field of view of 0 is not accurately adjusted in reality, the polar axis 12 is not exactly parallel to the earth axis. Is the astronomical telescope 20 desired by the operator.
May be out of sight. In this case, in the initial setting for starting astronomical observation, a bright celestial body (a good star) that is easy to recognize is designated and the celestial body introduction operation described above is performed, and then the designated celestial body is placed at the center of the field of view of the astronomical telescope 20. While referencing the sub-telescope 21 like
6 and the azimuth adjustment axis 17 are adjusted. As a result, the polar axis 12 can be made more parallel to the earth axis, and thereafter, even when a darker celestial object is designated, it can be automatically introduced into the field of view of the astronomical telescope 20 with high accuracy. A method for tracking an celestial body once introduced into the field of view in accordance with its diurnal motion is well known to those skilled in the art.

According to the third preferred embodiment of the present invention, the third motor 5 for rotating the pole shaft 12 around the altitude adjusting shaft 16 is provided.
6 is built in the housing of the gantry 10. GPS circuit 25
Generates a latitude data signal of the observation point, the control circuit 27 rotates the polar axis 12 around the altitude adjustment axis 16 in accordance with the latitude data signal, and the polar axis 12 is rotated with respect to the horizontal plane 23 of the gantry 10. Tilt to the same angle as. After that, the first
Similar to the embodiment, when the operator inputs the desired celestial object data, the celestial object is automatically introduced into the field of view of the astronomical telescope 20.

By the way, as in the case of the first or second embodiment, even after the operation of inputting the desired celestial object data and introducing the desired celestial object, the celestial object may not be introduced into the field of view of the astronomical telescope 20. . This is mainly the azimuth adjustment axis 17
The main reason is that the ground axis and the polar axis 12 are not parallel to each other because the adjustment is not accurate. Therefore, if the azimuth adjustment axis 17 is adjusted after the introduction operation and a desired celestial body is introduced into the field of view of the astronomical telescope 20, the earth axis and the polar axis 12 can be made parallel. In the third embodiment, the adjustment is a one-dimensional adjustment of only the azimuth adjustment axis 17. Therefore, the adjustment is significantly simpler than the case where the altitude and the azimuth adjustment axis are mutually adjusted. The accuracy of making the earth axis and the polar axis 12 parallel is also improved. The adjustment regarding the azimuth adjustment axis 17 may be performed manually or may be controlled by a motor or the like.

[0029]

According to the equatorial mount of the present invention, a desired celestial body can be easily introduced into the field of view of the astronomical telescope based on accurate positioning data and time data. Furthermore, if the celestial body introduction operation is applied, the polar axis and the earth axis can be made more parallel to each other more accurately and easily.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of an equatorial mount according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an electric circuit suitable for the first or third embodiment of the equatorial mount of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an electric circuit suitable for a second embodiment of the equatorial mount of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Equatorial Mount 12 Polar Axis 14 Declination Axis 16 Polar Axis Altitude Adjustment Axis 17 Azimuth Alignment Axis 18 Optical Axis 20 Astronomical Telescope 21 Secondary Telescope 22 Tripod 23 Mount Horizontal Plane 24 Polar Axis Telescope 25 GPS Circuit 26 Motor Controller 27 Control Circuit 28 cable 29 indicator 30 placing shelf 40 horizontal plane (ground) at observation point 52 first motor 54 second motor 56 third motor 58 first encoder 60 second encoder

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An equatorial mount for mounting an astronomical telescope, the positioning means for receiving radio waves from a plurality of artificial satellites to generate longitude data signals and time data signals at an observation point, and poles of the equatorial mount. First rotation angle detection means for detecting the rotation angle of the shaft, second rotation angle detection means for detecting the rotation angle of the declination axis of the equatorial mount, and the longitude data from the positioning means when a desired celestial object is designated. Signal, the time data signal, and the first and second signals
An equatorial ritual equipped with a display for displaying the angle difference between the polar axis and the declination axis necessary for introducing the desired celestial body into the field of view of the astronomical telescope in response to the signal from the turning angle detecting means. Frame. 2. An equatorial mount for mounting an astronomical telescope, the positioning means for receiving radio waves from a plurality of artificial satellites to generate longitude data signals and time data signals at an observation point, and poles of the equatorial mount. A first motor for rotating the astronomical telescope about an axis, a second motor for rotating the astronomical telescope about the declination axis of the equatorial mount, and a longitude data from the positioning means when a desired astronomical object is designated. An equatorial mount that includes a control circuit that receives the signal and the time data signal to control the first and second motors to introduce the desired celestial body into the field of view of the astronomical telescope.