With the use of time-lapse photography, stars appear to circle the Earth’s axis of rotation projected on the sky. Image courtesy of the Australian Astronomical Observatory.

Spectral images of over a million stars in the Milky Way are being captured with the help of powerful new spectrographs.

KiwiStar Optics Research Technician Graeme Jonas inspects a truncated spherical mirror for the SALT High Resolution Spectrograph.

KiwiStar Optics Senior Research Technician Dave Cochrane inspects the surface of a 686 mm diameter corrector lens during manufacture.

Welcome to KiwiStar Optics

KiwiStar Optics provides a unique total system integration package with the ability to design and manufacture optics and their mechanical housings, and the assembly and precision alignment of optical systems.

With a 40-year record of success in opto-mechanical design and construction, KiwiStar Optics has built up a world-class reputation in its specialised fields.

Our optical equipment is installed in telescopes in Australia, Hawaii, Mainland USA, South Africa and at the University of Canterbury’s Mt John Observatory in New Zealand. Work is in progress for a high altitude installation in India.

Other KiwiStar Optics lenses can be found in a sophisticated navigation system at the Diego Garcia US naval base in the Indian Ocean and in a special camera for a proton radiography experiment at Los Alamos National Laboratory in the USA.

Recent R&D has led to the development of a new high-resolution spectrograph known as the KiwiSpec. This modular, configurable and cost-effective instrument provides high performance with a small spatial footprint.

Eleanor Howick positions a 570 mm diameter corrector lens on a Leitz coordinate measuring machine.Measurement scientist Eleanor Howick positions a 570 mm diameter corrector lens on a Leitz coordinate measuring machine.