Lhires III kit

This Lhires III kit contains all parts that are required for you to build the standard version of the spectrograph. The body is light but solid and rigid. Aluminium is used for all support parts and these components are custom cut, folded and black-anodised by the supplier. All the optical elements (a 2400 lpm grating, achromatic doublets, reflecting mirrors and slit) are included, together with a high quality micrometer screw for precision wavelength selection. All screws and springs are also provided and are in stainless steel. What must you yourselves provide? Well, a few hours of your precious time, some adhesive, a standard screwdriver and some tender loving care! And, of course, a telescope, your CCD camera, and a video camera or webcam. And let’s not forget some clear nights!!!
Assembling the kit is straightforward but it does require some care and attention to detail, since some of the parts are fragile – the grating and slit, in particular. A CD-ROM is provided with a full copy of this website at the time of distribution. The CD-ROM includes full details on how to assemble the spectrograph, with a visual “hands-on” procedure using images. All adjustments to the spectrograph can be made during the day (and with an eyepiece, the solar spectrum is a beauty!!!).

The basic kit is provided with a standard 2400 lines/mm grating, providing a spectral resolution R=17,000 with an f/10 telescope. This is the standard version that is recommended for high-resolution spectroscopy, the main objective of this project. Additionally, other gratings (150, 300, 600, 1200 lines/mm) can be ordered, so you can adapt the resolution to your own project. Even with a 150 lines/mm grating, Lhires III can be a powerful tool with good resolution (e.g. for spectroscopic studies of bright comets). Additional grating mounts are available so you can change gratings easily – this can be very useful for groups or astronomy clubs that have different groups wanting to do different projects.