SpectraSource's Lynxx camera contains a Texas Instrument
TI241 chip and is an array of 165 x 192 pixels, each pixel is
approximately 13.75m by 16
m. The chip is housed within
the camera head which is cooled by a thermoelectric cooler (TEC)
to approximately 30
Celsius below the ambient temperature.
The pixel size of the Lynxx's chip gives it the capability of
very high angular resolution. The atmospheric seeing at Stony
Brook does not allow it to be used to its full capability. The
oversampling can be useful in some Fourier transform analysis.
The Lynxx has a physical shutter creating a uniformly exposed
picture. It has a fast image readout time: 1 second for 12 bit, .3
second for 8 bit and real time display. Therefore, Lynxx is better
capable of observing asteroids, planets and occultations. Mounted
on the Lynxx is a retrofit package that includes a flip mirror
and filter box. This allows the observer to see the targets,
align them within a square reticle that overlaps the position
of the CCD and take an image just by flipping the mirror out of
the way. The alignment of the reticled eyepiece does have to be
checked periodically. A set of Johnson BVRI filters are used
with the Lynxx, and a clear filter is used to maintain the focus
on the chip when the BVRI filters are not being used. The filter
response curves are given in Appendix III. Undergraduates have
used the Lynxx camera for research projects such as; asteroid
light curves, periodicity of eclipsing binary stars (
Persei) and variable stars (W UMa). High school students also
have used the camera as part of Westinghouse Research projects.
These projects have included observations of weather patterns on
Saturn, particle size distribution in the early Solar nebula by
observing Lunar crater size and density and BVRI photometry of
Persei.