A compact optical polarimeter for portable telescopes used for teaching astronomy

Gregory A. Topasna; Daniela M. Topasna

doi:10.1117/12.2527502

3 October 2019 A compact optical polarimeter for portable telescopes used for teaching astronomy

Proceedings Volume 11207, Fourth International Conference on Applications of Optics and Photonics; 1120721 (2019) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2527502
Event: IV International Conference on Applications of Optics and Photonics (AOP 2019), 2019, Lisbon, Portugal

Abstract

Using off-the-shelf optical components a simple, compact optical polarimeter is designed for use with portable telescopes. The polarimeter is optimized for telescopes with an aperture of 10 inches and an f/10 focal ratio, which are typically used in introductory observational astronomy courses. The polarimeter can be used to measure bright standard stars that have published polarization values for the degree of polarization and position angle in the V band. Aperture photometry is used to measure the stellar fluxes on CCD images, which in turn is used to determine the Stokes parameters that are used to calculate the polarization state of a star. In using the polarimeter, students gain insight into how stellar polarization is accurately measured and they become familiar with how Stokes parameters are used in practice.

Citation Download Citation

Gregory A. Topasna and Daniela M. Topasna "A compact optical polarimeter for portable telescopes used for teaching astronomy", Proc. SPIE 11207, Fourth International Conference on Applications of Optics and Photonics, 1120721 (3 October 2019); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2527502

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