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Mechanical Engineering Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

2018

Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Amateur astronomy

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Full-Text Articles in Mechanical Engineering

3d Printed Filar Micrometer, Emily Rull May 2018

3d Printed Filar Micrometer, Emily Rull

Honors Program Projects

Background

Double stars are celestial objects that allow for calculating the mass of stars by assessing their orbits. Stellar mass affects every current model of stellar evolution, but the most accurate double star orbits can take decades to record. Due to the long-term nature of such observations and lack of groundbreaking research in double star studies, professional astronomers are no longer focused on making these measurements, so amateur astronomers can pick up where professionals have left off. Amateurs can only do this if they can get the equipment that they need at prices they can afford. A personally-manufactured filar micrometer …


Design And Evaluation Of 3d-Printed Filar Micrometer, Emily Rull Apr 2018

Design And Evaluation Of 3d-Printed Filar Micrometer, Emily Rull

Scholar Week 2016 - present

This project sought to design and 3D-print a filar micrometer for double star measurements that amateur astronomers could produce cost effectively.

Double stars are celestial objects that allow the mass of stars to be calculated by assessing their orbits. Stellar mass affects every current model of stellar evolution, but the most accurate double star orbits can take decades to record. As a result of the long-term nature of such observations and lack of groundbreaking research in double star studies, professional astronomers are no longer focused on making these measurements. This allows amateur astronomers to pick up where professionals have left …