What is a Hyperstar lens?

Dean Koenig and his team at Starizona, a telescope manufacturer and store based in Tucson, Arizona, have painstakingly developed an elegant system called HyperStar. It is a special lens system that retrofits to Celestron and Meade Schmidt-Cassegrain telescopes (SCTs), turning them into wide-field, f/1.8 imaging systems.

Can the Hyperstar be used for narrowband imaging?

The HyperStar can be used for narrowband imaging; however, the high optical speed and the location of the camera in the entrance pupil present some challenges for narrowband operation. Because of the high optical speed, stray reflections from filters will be large.

What is the field illumination of the Hyperstar system?

Field illumination in the HyperStar system, particularly with large sensor DSLR cameras, is extremely non-­‐uniform.

Why do Hyperstar images have to be calibrated with flat data?

This means that HyperStar images must be very accurately calibrated with flat data. It is normally not sufficient to simply use a gradient removal tool to flatten the field. Flats must be taken before the camera is rotated or moved and should be recorded with the system properly focused.