A non-contact method for analysing the image quality of old and delicate optical instruments is proposed. The technique is based on the use of a Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor to obtain the Zernike coefficients of the wavefront at a certain plane, the application of our own software for the calculation of the point spread function (PSF) and a later convolution with the Gaussian image of the object to simulatethe image seen through the instrument. We have applied this technique to a terrestrial telescope from the beginning of the twentieth century. In order to test the quality of the method, the simulated PSFs and images are compared with the real ones. The main advantage of this method lies in the fact that the tested instruments do not suffer any harm due to dismantling or excessive manipulation required to transport it to outdoor observation areas.View full textDownload full textKeywordsShack-Hartmann sensor, antique optical instrument, image quality, telescope testing, wavefront propagationRelated var addthis_config = { ui_cobrand: "Taylor & Francis Online", services_compact: "citeulike,netvibes,twitter,technorati,delicious,linkedin,facebook,stumbleupon,digg,google,more", pubid: "ra-4dff56cd6bb1830b" }; Add to shortlist Link Permalink http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09500340.2011.605527
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