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  • Temperature Effects on Focusing


    Reggie Jones
    Message added by Reggie Jones,

    One thing I forgot to add in this article is how to calculate what this means for your specific equipment.  Once you know what the CFZ change is for your equipment, you need to relate this to the number of steps involved for your focuser.  You need to know:

    1.  The focuser travel per focuser step

    2. The conversion from microns to inches or millimeters

    In my case, my Astro Tech AT125EDL with a Moonlite focuser the focuser travel per focuser step is 0.00016 inches.  1 micron is 0.0000393701 inches.  For the 23.6 micron change per degree of temperature change results in the CFZ moving 0.000906 inches.  We divide this change by 0.00016 inch per step and every degree change results in a change of 5.6625 steps or ~ 6 steps.

    Clear skies...

    Getting optimum focus for your imaging data is absolutely critical to be able to get the best image you can.  Poor focusing is one of the major reasons for poor quality data.  Novice astro imagers know that focusing is affected by dropping temperatures but may not completely understand the reasons for this.

    The Critical Focus Zone (CFZ) is the plane in the optical train where the light rays entering the telescope converge in the image train.  This is where you want to place your image sensor to get the best image data.  You can calculate where the CFZ should be using the following formula:

    image.thumb.png.971c919d4fb15f8a6dd7e17d6c85e6ba.png

    Where;

    A. (Focal Length / Aperture) is the telescope focal ratio

    B. Light Wavelength is the wavelength of light you’re imaging, such as with an LRGB or narrowband filter.

    As an example, for my Astro Tech AT125 EDL with a 975 mm focal length with narrowband filters;

    CFZ (Ha)  = 4.88 x (60.84) x 656 nm = 190 microns

    CFZ (SII)  = 4.88 x (60.84) x 672 nm = 199 microns

    CFZ (OIII) = 4.88 x (60.84) x 500 nm = 137 microns

    Now, lets look at what happens to the CFZ when the temperature drops during your evening imaging session.  For a refractor, there are 2 primary affects; Optical tube contraction and the Index of Refraction of refractor optics.  My optical tube is made of aluminum.  The Coefficient of Thermal Expansion for aluminum is 0.024 microns / mm Celsius.  To get the change in optical tube length per degree of temperature change -

    image.png.882b0881f3445699756f94f3c3819fb4.png

    Where:

    L = focal length of the refractor

    Delta Temp = Degree change

    For my refractor then:

    (0.024) x (975mm) x (1 degree) = 23.4 microns

    This means that for every degree drop in temperature, the optical CFZ moves 23.4 microns inward as the optical tube compresses.

    The Index of Refraction has 2 components; one for the ambient air temperature and one for the glass of the lens in the optical tube.  As a general rule, the Index of Refraction for the ambient air doesn’t change much with temperature.    However, the Index of Refraction for the lens glass does change with temperature depending on the glass.  Refractors with multiple lenses (doublets, triplets, petzval) will be more complex to calculate this effect than a refractor with a single lens.  To calculate the Index of Refraction, you will use Snells Law:

    image.png.6adde0eaea6c43f73b76b16db7e3901c.png

    The bottom line is this:

     

    1. When the temperature drops, your optical tube will shrink and will move the CFZ inward.  The focus point you use at the beginning of the imaging session will change depending on the change in temperature and you will need to check and adjust it periodically.
    2. The Index of Refraction will also change the how the light rays enter your optical tube and add complexity to the change in the focus point that you will need to account for.
    3. A good rule of thumb is to document the ambient air temperature when you begin a session and track the temperature and perform a focus check once an hour during your imaging session.

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