Shelyak Star'ex high Resolution Optical Kit 

With Star’Ex (Star’Explorer), build your first High Resolution (HR) spectrograph to observe the spectrum of stars and other sky objects (nebulae, galaxies, planets, etc.)! Please note: this kit contains only the optical components (see Composition tab). You’ll also need to purchase the 3D-printed parts and other components (cameras, accessories, etc.). The Star’Ex project: Star’Ex is a project proposed by Christian Buil, following on from Sol’Ex. A dedicated site gives you all the information you need to assemble and operate this instrument. You make the parts using 3D printing (or have them made by a specialist), then assemble the instrument with the optical elements from this kit. All the optical elements necessary to make a Star’Ex HR are included in this kit: slit, grating, lenses, guide elements, etc. En outre, un dispositif haute-performance offre plusieurs largeurs de fente « fente large » pour adopter la configuration Star’Ex à la taille de votre télescope et à la résolution spectrale souhaitée. Note : avec ce kit optique, vous avez également tous les éléments nécessaires pour réaliser un Sol’Ex (nous vous recommandons de commencer par faire un Sol’Ex : ce serait dommage de se priver de merveilleuses images du Soleil !). Find out more about the Sol’Ex & Star’Ex project here. Already have a Sol’Ex? Just buy the Star’Ex HR optical add-on kit and turn your Sol’Ex into a Star’Ex. Example of a spectrum obtained with the Star’Ex HR:

With modest equipment (small telescope, small CMOS camera), you can produce very high resolution spectra on shiny objects, i.e. see minute details in the profile of an absorption or emission ray. You’ll also be able to measure radial velocities using the Doppler effect, see changes in the profile of a particular line, highlight a companion of a binary star, and even measure a magnetic field by adding a light polarization system as described in Guillaume Bertrand’s article. If you’re upgrading to a larger-diameter telescope, you’ll need to adjust the slot width to suit your telescope’s focal length, using the 4-position slot supplied with this kit. The longer the focal length, the wider the slit. A larger telescope will enable you to obtain fainter object spectra. Note: when you work at high resolution, the light flux reaching the sensor is widely dispersed, so you’re limited to making targets of bright objects. To produce spectra of fainter objects, you can use the low-resolution (BR) version of the Star’Ex, which will enable you to produce targets such as galaxies or quasars, but with the whole visible range in one go, spectro is always a matter of compromise.

Technical Specifications

• Spectral resolution: R = 700 to R = 30,000 depending on the slit width chosen (R = wavelength / spectral finesse)
• Wavelength range: 400 nm – 700 nm
• Internal reduction ratio: 125 : 80
• 10µm slit for maximum resolution, or 15, 19, 23 or 35µm slit, depending on your telescope.

In the Box

Kit Star’Ex HR Ref : [ES0038]

For the Sol’ex part :

• [OP0176] Collimator doublet with a diameter of 25.4 mm and a focal length of 80 mm
• [OP0181] Double objectif lens with a diameter of 25.4 mm and a focal length of 125 mm
• [OP0177] 2400 gr/mm holographic grating, 25 x 25 mm
• [SE0289] A reflective GEN 2 slit with two positions, 7 and 10 µm wide and 6 mm long

For guidance / Star’Ex

• [OP0080] Two doublets with a diameter of 12.5 mm and a focal length of 50 mm
• [OP0010] 15x15mm mirror, 3mm thick
• [SE0288] GEN 2 multi-width slit with 4 positions of 14/20/26/32 µm

Star’Ex HR complementary optical kit Ref : [ES0037]

• [OP0080] Two doublets with a diameter of 12.5 mm and a focal length of 50 mm
• [OP0010] 15x15mm mirror, 3mm thick
• [SE0288] GEN 2 multi-width slit with 4 positions of 14/20/26/32 µm

Manual & Warranty

Shelyak 1-Year Warranty

Articles detailing the Sol’Ex & Star’Ex project

Sol’Ex project website