As I have often stressed, an uncollimated telescope is no telescope at all — although it may serve as a flux collector, if fuzzy viewing is what you are into. A good telescope will have optics that have transmitting or reflecting surfaces that have been perfectly formed to within fractions of a wavelength, Their respective alignments must reach an accuracy commensurate with these proportions. Laser collimators allow this to be accomplished. The Howie Glatter Blug™ makes available improved alignment of a reflector’s primary mirror.
Blug™ is a charming contraction of ‘Barlowed collimation plug’ and it does something remarkable to the already acutely useful laser light being emitted from the collimator. After the laser beam passes through its anti-reflection negative lens, this neat little devil (placed at the base of the focuser tube), casts a returned shadow of the collimation target on its angled face, making adjustments of the primary mirror clearer and therefore more accurate.
There can be no sweeter sense of achievement than when you can see that an optical system is ‘closed’, with all elements in-line and on-axis — an achievement that is readily apparent in use, too. After all, once your responsibility of arranging the mechanics has been met, you can leave physics to do the rest.
Price:
£39 (1.25-inch model)
£69 (2-inch model)
For more information: www.firstlightoptics.com