1. Illustration of LMAO (Low-altitude Mobile Astronomical Observatory) hovering over a city.
LMAO is a common word people use when responding on a very funny posting on facebook or other social medias, supposedly carrying the translation of, "laughing my ass off". However, I have explored the applicability and modularity of ADIB (see ADIB) and found that the symmetrical quadcopter can be effectively function as airborne astronomical observatory I called, "LMAO" too, but the acronym of "Low-altitude Mobile Astronomical Observatory".
2. Top view of LMAO.
LMAO however is different from ADIB that it deserves to be described on a different chapter in this book. First of all, on top of LMAO, there is a rotatable astronomical dome that is typically installed as a the roof for an astronomical observatory that house a telescope, as each LMAO carry an astronomical telescope.
2nd, the propulsion of LMAO is different from that of ADIB. LMAO electric propulsion has lower RPM (revolution per minute) than that of ADIB as LMAO ascends and descends at lower rate compared to ADIB. LMAO is designed to hover at geostationary low altitude, while ADIB is to travel from one point to another. This is because LMAO is an astronomical observatory, while ADIB is a transporter.
3. Side view of LMAO with the dome window facing forward.
In astronomy, too much light is considered as pollution because it decreases the effectiveness of astronomical observation, that such is called, "light pollution". LMAO is to overcome light pollution. It is the astronomical observatory to function at cities to serve urban astronomy - astronomical observation in the cities.
4. Side view of LMAO with the dome window facing sideward.
LMAO can be landed on flattop buildings or at a park or piazza in the cities. It will be flown to only few hundreds meters from the city rooftops on fully autonomous or with a couple of astronomers onboard. Being at these altitudes, LMAO will provide tremendous improvement to urban astronomy, enabling city dwellers including students of city universities to enjoy astronomy as good as that being enjoyed by those in the countries.
5. Assuming the building in this illustration is "The School of Physics & Astronomy", of a city university, employing LMAO will safe land and budget to build a separate astronomical observatory.
6. A mounted telescope inside LMAO.
Each LMAO carries a mounted telescope, which can provide real time images of astronomical objects being observed to observers on the ground. When flown in autonomous mode, the telescope performs auto-tracking and auto-focus of those objects. The telescope mount is installed on a very stable platform that is designed to minimize vibration because the quality of the image is very sensitive to platform stability and instrument vibration.
The most important specification of LMAO however is its low and constant RPM propulsion with total zero torque that enables LMAO to hover steadily at a point for several hours. This is where computer-stabilized contra-rotating propellers with with torque cancellation and minimum number of moving parts play the most significant role.
Although LMAO is designed to perform astronomical observation at a low altitude geostationary point, it maintains its mobile capability. The RPM of each propellers can be slightly differentiated to enable motion in all horizontal directions so that LMAO can be moved to "variable geostationary locations" for better "collective astronomical observation".
DISCLAIMER
1. The background in figure 1 is from a public website.
2. The illustration of telescope in figure 6 is from a public website.
No comments:
Post a Comment