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CCD's

by George Russell

I guess that it is no secret that I have more than just an ordinary interest in electronic detection devices. When I was about 12 or so, some 60 years ago, I remember rather faintly of constructing a rather simple photoelectric cell from copper wire and some Selenium from a compound of stuff obtained from an available chemistry set. When finished, I had no idea of the nature of its sensitivity, etc. No matter. It did respond electrically to changes in light levels and that's what really mattered at the time. It worked! I'm sure you know the feeling.

Looking at the literature available these days about Charged Coupled Devices, CCD'S, reveals a whole new class of detection devices that have seem to have spawned from the video camera industry. Early video cameras employed rather special electronic vacuum tubes with sensitive face plates particularly sensitive to changes in light levels. They were scanned with an electron beam inherent in the design of a system intended to provide an electronic image. Today, the CCD is considerably more sophisticated.

The application of the CCD to modem astronomy has occurred at such a fast pace it is difficult to keep up with the latest advances. Some of the images that we see in the popular magazines of today devoted to astronomy are simply fantastic and seem to suggest that perhaps a whole new way of looking at the universe as we now know it may be in order. By that I mean that perhaps old theories may be in peril and new understandings of our universe may arise.

Imagine focusing an image on a rather small area of one of these devices that "divides" that image into literally thousands of electrical signals, called pixels, and displaying the resultant on an ordinary video monitor or television receiver. Sophisticated systems are already available costing thousands of dollars which may be a little steep for the average amateur astronomer. However, much less expensive systems are also available. Certain CCD cameras are available for less than $300.00 that have fewer pixels, perhaps 262 or so per TV line, but adaptable for use with a monitor or TV set.

Adapting a video camera to an amateur's telescope certainly is within the realm of possibility but it may present more problems than one would care to deal with. However, I'm sure that the challenge of such a project has already been tackled by an A'Dl'er and we'll soon see construction projects describing in detail how this can be done.

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