Building a DIY optical path towards the universe

The field of optics was born from the curiosity of early astronomers, whose pioneering work laid the foundation for theories ranging from ray optics to electromagnetic field theory. These advances fulfilled humanity’s enduring quest for sharper vision and greater fidelity across microscopic and macroscopic scales - an endeavor we now recognize as imaging. In this talk, we will introduce some history and fundamentals in optical imaging, specifically the quantitative metrics to describe the quality of an imaging system and its sensitivity to optical and mechanical misalignment. Leveraging my training in imaging system, I will share the motivations and design considerations that went into my DIY astronomy setups from the early prototypes to the latest Astronomical Imaging & Metrology System (AIMS), along with lessons learned in each iteration. These hands-on experiences ultimately led to a service mission at UCF’s Robinson observatory to restore its “eyesight” and paved the way for its on-going research in astro-photonics.

Speaker: Zheyuan Zhu, Optical engineer