Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Clock drive mechanism in the pier of the German equatorial mount for the 8-inch refracting telescope at Aldershot Observatory.. In astronomy, a clock drive (also known as a sidereal drive or field rotator) is a motor-controlled mechanism used to move an equatorial mounted telescope along one axis to keep the aim in exact sync with the apparent motion of the fixed stars on the celestial sphere.
Direct-drive mechanisms are used in applications ranging from low speed operation (such as phonographs, telescope mounts, video game racing wheels and gearless wind turbines) [14] [15] [16] to high speeds (such as fans, computer hard drives, VCR heads, sewing machines, CNC machines and washing machines.)
Primary lens: The objective of a refracting telescope. Primary mirror: The objective of a reflecting telescope. Corrector plate: A full aperture negative lens placed before a primary mirror designed to correct the optical aberrations of the mirror. Schmidt corrector plate: An aspheric-shaped corrector plate used in the Schmidt telescope.
[1] [2] This type of mount is used for astronomical telescopes and cameras. The advantage of an equatorial mount lies in its ability to allow the instrument attached to it to stay fixed on any celestial object with diurnal motion by driving one axis at a constant speed. Such an arrangement is called a sidereal drive or clock drive.
A telescope on an alt-azimuth GoTo mount. Note the keypad, resting on the platform between the tripod's legs, that is the telescope's hand control. Batteries are stored in the circular compartment just above the tripod. In this picture, the compartment is just above the hand control.
Ideally, this drive requires a 1 RPM stepper motor on a 1/4" 20 pitch drive rod, but for shorter exposures on a stable platform , a well designed type-4 barn-door tracker is supposed to produce very acceptable results even when manually advancing the drive in 15 or 10 second sequential steps in order to achieve one full revolution per minute.
Get AOL Mail for FREE! Manage your email like never before with travel, photo & document views. Personalize your inbox with themes & tabs. You've Got Mail!
An adjustable speed motor drive is a system that includes a motor that has multiple operating speeds. A variable speed motor drive is a system that includes a motor that is continuously variable in speed. If the motor is generating electrical energy rather than using it, the motor drive could be called a generator drive but is often still ...