P.O. Box 2045 Buena Vista, Colorado 81211 Telephone: 719-395-8242 General Information: Info@GalaxyOptics.com Sales Information and Orders: Sales@GalaxyOptics.com

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Laser Interferometry & Fringe Analysis Time and time again Galaxy Optics has proven that we are an industry leader for quality and technology. With the installation of our laser interferometer in January of 1993, Galaxy Optics customers are assured that their optics are evaluated by the most advanced scientific methods. PV / RMS wavefront quality and Strehl Ratio are determined via interferometry and phase shift fringe analysis software. Thousands of digitized CCD data points from the interferometric wavefront fringes are utilized in determining the accuracy of an optic. During the 24 month period following the installation of the interferometer at Galaxy Optics concise interferometric data was collected on dozens of optics. The test results, consultations with other reputable optics manufacturers, the study of professional literature and field testing of Galaxy Optics products has yielded what we feel to be accurate and realistic optical quality specifications. Galaxy Optics includes a complete interferometric analysis with every optic. Producing an accurate interferogram is a time consuming and expensive process requiring costly equipment and technical expertise. Galaxy Optics is very pleased to offer its customers a second to none quality assurance program. *Strehl Ratio: A ratio of the amount of light focused into the center peak of the Airy disk by a perfect optic (wavefront error = 0.0) versus an optic with aberrations (wavefront error > 0.0). By definition, a diffraction limited telescope (including central obstruction) focuses 68% of the incoming light into the Airy disk central peak which is equal to a Strehl ratio of 0.80. The maximum amount of light that can be focused by a perfect unobstructed optic is 84% which is equal to a Strehl ratio of 1.00. An optical system with a Strehl ratio of 0.87 focuses 73% of the light energy. The higher the Strehl ratio the better the optic. The Strehl ratio of a Newtonian telescope optical system can only be accurately determined via computer analysis of the interferometric fringes.