Optical Mechanics, Inc. or OMI is a high-end American

telescope A telescope is a device used to observe distant objects by their emission, absorption, or reflection of electromagnetic radiation. Originally meaning only an optical instrument using lenses, curved mirrors, or a combination of both to observe ...

and optics instrument manufacturer. OMI was founded in 2002 and produces observatory telescopes,

Lidar Lidar (, also LIDAR, or LiDAR; sometimes LADAR) is a method for determining ranges (variable distance) by targeting an object or a surface with a laser and measuring the time for the reflected light to return to the receiver. It can also be ...

telescopes, optical tube assemblies, telescope mirrors and reflective coatings for mirrors. OMI mirrors are used by other telescope makers such as Obsession Telescopes. Also taking on custom projects, they produced the 48-inch Dob, a

aperture In optics, an aperture is a hole or an opening through which light travels. More specifically, the aperture and focal length of an optical system determine the cone angle of a bundle of rays that come to a focus in the image plane. An opt ...

, 4,

Dobsonian A Dobsonian telescope is an altazimuth-mounted Newtonian telescope design popularized by John Dobson in 1965 and credited with vastly increasing the size of telescopes available to amateur astronomers. Dobson's telescopes featured a simplified ...

telescope called "Barbarella" and featured in Astronomy Technology Today magazine (June 2008 Issue). OMI is located in the US state of

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

. OMI procured the assets of the former optics company Torus Technologies. OMI has an optics shop where it does work on telescopes. OMI produced the 60 cm, f/10 telescope for TUBITAK National Observatory in

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

. OMI built the telescope mount for the

SuperWASP WASP or Wide Angle Search for Planets is an international consortium of several academic organisations performing an ultra-wide angle search for exoplanets using transit photometry. The array of robotic telescopes aims to survey the entire sky, ...

telescope. The

Robotic telescope A robotic telescope is an astronomical telescope and detector system that makes observations without the intervention of a human. In astronomical disciplines, a telescope qualifies as robotic if it makes those observations without being operated ...

Rigel Telescope Rigel is a blue supergiant star in the constellation of Orion. It has the Bayer designation β Orionis, which is Latinized to Beta Orionis and abbreviated Beta Ori or β Ori. Rigel is the brightest and most massive componentan ...

was finished in 2002, a Talon program controlled 0.37-meter (14.5 in) F/14 telescope. OMI helped re-furbish the Gueymard Research Telescope at The George Observatory at

Brazos Bend State Park Brazos Bend State Park is a state park along the Brazos River in unincorporated Fort Bend County, Texas (with a Needville postal address), run by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. The park is a haven for a diverse mix of native wildlif ...

. The telescope's mirror was degrading after many decades of use and exposure. The 10 ton 36 inch aperture telescope was acquired from

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...

in 1990. It is a cassegrain telescope, and one of the largest that is open to public viewing through an eyepiece. OMI had to strip off aluminum coating and re-surface the glass mirror. The mirror was ground to a hyperbolic shape, and the refurbishment was conducted in 2014. OMI refitted the 0.8 cm telescope at

McDonald Observatory McDonald Observatory is an astronomical observatory located near unincorporated community of Fort Davis in Jeff Davis County, Texas, United States. The facility is located on Mount Locke in the Davis Mountains of West Texas, with additional facil ...

in 2011 to 2012. Another telescope OMI built was the CESAR Cebreros Optical Telescope at Cebreros observatory at the ESA Deep Space Tracking Station The telescope is a Cassegrain design with 50cm and a F/10 ratio. (see also

Cebreros Station Cebreros Station (also known as DSA 2 or Deep Space Antenna 2) is a European Space Agency, ESTRACK radio antenna station for communication with spacecraft, located about 10 km east of Cebreros and 90 km from Madrid, Spain, operated by th ...

)

OMI Evolution-30

OMI developed the 30-inch mirror for Obsession Telescopes's 30-inch reflector When Obsession withdrew from the 30-inch market, OMI still wanted to offer their 30-inch mirrors. Drawing on help from Obsession Telescopes and their own experience with the OMI 48-inch telescope, they offered the OMI Evolution-30 in 2009.

References

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External links

OMI
Telescope manufacturers Optics manufacturing companies Companies established in 2002 2002 establishments in the United States