A MESSAGE FROM STELLARVUE FOUNDER VIC MARIS
When I was a child, I developed a love for astronomy. My parents wanted
to encouarge my interest, so they bought me a 60 mm refractor. Like many
store-bought telescopes it was poorly made, showed very little detail, and
was difficult to use. I struggled for months and became very discouraged.
Then, I learned it was possible to make a telescope. Using my allowance, I
saved and purchased parts, ground and polished a 6” mirror,
and made my first handcrafted telescope.
At the age of 16, I went on to grind and polish a two-element, 5” achromatic lens. I learned a great deal in
these early years and discovered first-hand the importance of excellent optics combined with mounts that were
mechanically stable. Viewing the night sky using my handcrafted telescopes fed my interest, and inspired me
to continue learning more about astronomy and making telescopes.
Realizing that there was a need for high-quality refractor telescopes on the
market, I began Stellarvue in 1998. We have since invested in computer
numeric controlled equipment and a state of the art testing facility. I am
proud to say that each employee currently working at Stellarvue is commit-
ted to making the best telescopes possible. Today, we deliver the finest
apo-triplet refractors available, and we strive to maintain a very high stan-
dard of customer service.
Stellarvue telescopes are individually made, and each optic is tested multiple times to ensure perfection.
Please store and use it as you would any optical device. If dust accumulates on the lens, you may use a bulb
type blower to remove it. Always be careful to avoid marring the lens.
Stellarvue refractor lenses are fully multi-coated to increase light
transmission and contrast. Lenses are accurately hand-figured and
glass test plates are used to ensure accuracy. A test plate is a sepa-
rate optic that is figured to the precise curve required for a particular
optical surface. We make test plates for every surface on every optic
we make. These plates are placed on top of the surface of the lens
to ensure it is polished to the exact curve. When the curve on the
lens matches the curve on the test plate, straight lines will show
under an intense testing light. Placing these glass plates on the surface of the lens may result in some very
fine cosmetic lines or marks which do not affect performance in any way. This is normal in a high Strehl lens
that is continually tested during polishing.
Stellarvue strives to ensure the highest optical accu-
racy. While many companies producing mass-pro-
duced lenses rely solely on test plates, we confirm
the accuracy of each optical surface using our Zygo
phase-shifting laser interferometer and extremely
high precision test spheres that measure the entire
clear aperture of the objective lens.
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