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INDUSTRYNEWS
ISTAR OPTICAL
New Company Introduces Exotic Offerings
Many of you have noticed recent ads in
ATT by a new company, ISTAR Optical. The
company, started by Ales Krivanek of the
Czech Republic, is developing a solid international
reputation for the exceptional qualityto-price
ratio of its astronomy-related optical
components and complete telescope assemblies.
Ales started ISTAR Optical in the middle
of a challenging economic crisis and overall
market downfall after two years of market
research, price comparisons, and glass sourcing.
He felt that despite the economic climate,
there was an opportunity to create an
effective niche by offering a wide variety of
large-aperture achromatic objective lenses and
finished refractors, as well as medium- to
large-aperture Apos, super Apos and astrographs.
Ales put together a group of experts
including a master optician, all interested in
amateur astronomy, with the goal to design
and produce a new line of high-quality refractors
at affordable prices.
Production of tube assemblies, accessories,
and all related mechanical components
is performed in Europe – specifically in the
Czech Republic and Austria. Each ISTAR
lens assembly is crafted to exacting standards
and each element is hand figured and precision
coated. The company uses the highestgrade
magnesium alloys and each component
is precision CNC-machined to strict tolerances
and perfect fit and finish. Powder coating,
silver plating, nickel plating, and anodizing
are performed by several highly-specialized
companies and final assembly of each
component and optical tube assembly is performed
in house.
Each lens assembly, accessory, and completed
telescope is designed by ISTAR
Optical from scratch. Its experts have
designed and tested a wide variety of products,
from achromatic doublets to apochromatic
triplets, super apos, multi-element
Pezval-style astrographs, as well several versions
of correctors/reducers for SCT telescopes,
Schmidt-
Newtonians, and
achromatic refractors,
with plans to introduce a
number of these newly-designed
products to the international market
within next few years.
ISTAR reports that its achromaticdoublet
designs achieve an approximately
35 percent reduction in chromatic
aberration and 30 percent smaller
spot size compared to more common designs.
Currently, the company produces a line of 6-
inch achromatic refractors under the series
name “Perseus,” that includes the AT 150-8,
AT 150-10, AT 150-12 and AT 150-15. The
first number of each product designation corresponds
with its clear aperture (lens diameter)
and the second number (behind the
dash) represents the focal ratio.
The company has also designed a
“comet-hunter” achromatic-refractor line
under the series name “Phoenix,” the first
production model of which is the WFT 150-
5. For 2011, ISTAR is scheduled to offer
additional achromatic models, including the
Perseus AT 127-12, Perseus AT 127-8,
Perseus AT 210-12, and comet-hunter
Phoenix 127-5.
Its line of apochromats currently
includes the Philotes 177-8 Triplet, Forfax
180-12 Super Apo, and Phantom 152-8
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CaF2 Pure-Fluorite Triplet. Later this
year, ISTAR will introduce the Phoebe SAA
180-5, a Sextet Petzval-style super-apochromatic
system designed specifically for astroimaging,
with 6 elements in 2 groups.
The company also has plans to offer a
line of chromatic-aberration correctors for
achromatic refractors, the first production
models of which will be specifically designed
to match its existing line of achromatic lenses
and achromatic telescopes.
ISTAR’s SCT-corrector/reducer line
employs a 5-element design and is formulated
to transform the ubiquitous f/10 SCT into
a high-quality, fast f/5 astrograph.
ISTAR also offers an extensive line of
accessories, including telescope tubes, baffles,
lens caps, and more, and is equipped to produce
custom accessories to user specifications.
For more information please visit www.istaropitcal.com.
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Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY 17