How to make a telescope

Things You'll Need: * Cardboard Tubes * Glue Guns * Convex And Concave Telescope Lenses 1. Step 1 Acquire a pair of lenses - a large convex lens and a small concave one. (Convex lenses are thicker in the center than at the edge; concave ones are thinner in the center.) 2. Step 2 Find two cardboard tubes that will allow one to slide inside the other. 3. Step 3 Figure out how far apart the lenses should be by looking through the smaller lens while holding the larger one out in front of you. When you can focus on an object in the distance, measure how far it is between the two lenses. 4. Step 4 Double that measurement. The length of the two tubes should be about this long. 5. Step 5 Fasten the larger lens on one end of the wider tube. Hot glue is good for this. 6. Step 6 Mount the smaller lens at the opening of the smaller tube. This is the eyepiece. 7. Step 7 Build a gasket from cardboard or Styrofoam if the tube opening is larger than the lens. 8. Step 8 Make sure the lenses line up with each other. The centers should be in the centers of the tubes and the lenses should be parallel with each other. India Becomes Universal Leader In Space www.freewebs.com www.freewebs.com www.freewebs.com www.freewebs.com

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What is a Refracting Telescope?

A refracting telescope uses a lens as its objective to form an image. The refracting telescope was designed for used in a spy glass, but is also used in other devices such as binoculars and telephoto camera lenses.

There are two principles to a refracting telescope, an objective lens and an eyepiece. These two principles gather more light for the human eye and helps to focus and present it in a brighter, clearer, and magnified virtual image. A refractive telescope bends light to cause parallel light rays to converge at a focal point.

Galilean Telescopes are refracting telescopes. Galileo came up with the design in 1608 and uses a convex lens and a concave eyepiece lens. The Galilean telescope magnifies objects up to thirty times. The Galilean telescope was the first telescope to see the planet Jupiter and its moons.

The Keplerian Telescope, invent by Johannes Kepler in 1611 improves upon Galileo's design. The Keplerian Telescope uses a convex lens in opposition to Galileo's concave lens. This allows for a broader field of view and greater eye relief. However, the view is introverted.

An achromatic refractor is a refracting lens which was invented in 1733. The design over came the need for very long focal lengths and used two pieces of glass with different dispersion to limit the effects of chromatic and spherical aberration. Each side of each piece of glass is ground and polished, at which point the two pieces of glass are assembled together. Achromatic lenses bring two wavelengths together and focus them on the same plane.

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Galileo's Telescope

The narrative on Galileo's telescope is well known and retold many times. It was in the summer of 1609 that Galileo heard of news that some Dutch opticians had come up with some kind of optical instrument that can amplify objects and made them closer. The news was by then very well-known when Galileo was told of it.

The Venetian government was alert to it and was considering buying over the instrument from a foreigner until Galileo's friend Paolo Sarpi advised them to delay purchasing as he was positive that Galileo could match or even better it. Galileo was a great experimentalist and then he devoted himself to improve the instrument and he came up with a more powerful instrument that had greater than before magnifying power. This was done through his understanding of improved magnification through a weak convex lens and a strong concave lens. At that time no optician was able to manufacture a much higher magnification than three and he has to grind the lenses himself.

It was then in the autumn of 1609 and as curiosity taken over him, he aimed the refined instrument towards the sky. He was then astounded by the power of the new device. From the observation, he figured out that the earth was not the center of the universe. It was opposite to what the bible was about at that times and the church stated publicly that Galileo was wrong. Galileo disputed that the interpreter of the bible might be wrong but he was accused of deviation. Though he was found innocent, he was banned from spreading the Copernican belief system.

Copernican belief system was the set of guidelines that Earth is not the center of the universe but revolve round the sun. Galileo went on to apply his knowledge of the refined instrument to other areas in particular the study on Jupiter and the ocean's tides. He persisted with the Copernican belief system even though he was not allowed to perpetuate. As a result he was placed on house arrest until his death.

It was from there that he unearthed even more sightings. The spots on the surface of the sun, rings that surround Saturn and the number of phases that Venus goes through were a result of his observations. All these were published in "The Starry Messenger" in 1610. That caused quite a stir back then just to imagine that the earth was round and not flat as thought earlier.

Galileo was the early contributor to the refined, contemporary telescope that we known today. Without his inquisitiveness and observations, our understanding and knowledge of the modern universe will not be as complete.

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Who Really Invented the Telescope?

For most of us, we thought that Galileo Galilei was the inventor of telescope because this is what our science teachers have told us and this is what we have read in our science books. But the truth is, we are wrong because even if Galilei was one of the greatest astronomers this planet has ever produced, he was not the one who invented the telescope, so who invented the telescope is a question that has been plaguing our mind.

The answer to question on who invented the telescope is Hans Lipperhey. Yes he was the one who invented the telescope and his invention has greatly contributed to world of astronomy and science as whole. The telescope has changed the landscape of many things in our world. The telescope is used not only in discovering the world outside our planet such as the stars, planets and other astronomical objects but even in our daily lives. For instance, a telescope is used in aiding navigation and transportation such as a vessel and it is used even in the military field, as a tool of protecting and defending one's territory.

Now going back to the question on who invented the telescope, this guy named Han Lipperhey was the cause for a big change in our world and he was born in Germany and built his home in Netherlands. Married in 1954 and a citizen of the Netherlands I 1602, he was a trader by professions. At that time when the Italians came up with glass-techniques that was introduced to the Netherlands, such development has brought new ideas and progress and people then began to try out different ways of creating lenses. It was in 1608 that telescopes were invented.

The truth was there was not only one person who invented the telescope because the invention can be given to three persons, Hans Lippershey and Zacharis Janssen and Jacob Metius. After the invention, telescopes were then produced in numbers and were spread across Europe and eventually in the Americas and in Asia. The early telescopes can only increase the size of an object thrice its original size. But the present telescopes can view object that are light years away and can see even the tiny object and magnify them.

When did Galilei enter into the picture? He actually did not invent the telescope but added some things because he put a convex and concave lens in a tube so what he did was an improved version of the original one. So Galilei was not really the one who invented the telescope.
Now here is the twist to the story because there was a rumor that circulated that it was neither Galilei nor Hans who invented. It was the children of Hans who found out about the telescope while they were playing. But that side of the story on who invented the telescope was not yet proven. So at this point, we have to settle with the more believable version and that is, it was Hans and two others who invented the telescope.

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How to Make a Telescope - Tips and Guidelines For Beginners

Making a telescope is an extraordinarily rewarding experience because it crosses several different realms of experience. The first reward for you is the fun of making something. And the second reward is the sheer pleasure of using what you made to explore the universe. And you also get the added benefits of saving some money and learning about telescopes and building things.

The Simplest telescope you can make

There are a lot of different types you can make and the absolute simplest one you can make is composed of just two lenses. One large lens called an objective and a second smaller lens called an eyepiece. You hold one lens near your eye and another lens at arms length. You adjust the difference between the two by moving your arm in toward you. A point will be reached where everything comes into focus. It is as simple as that. You have a telescope. Now you can make it much better by creating a tube around it. Get two cardboard tubes with one that can slide in and out of the other. You mount one lens on the end of one tube and the other lens on the end of the other tube. Insert one tube into the other and then slide them in and out to find the focus.

You can get very inexpensive lenses from a variety of surplus and online stores and they generally will only cost a couple of dollars each. I recommend you get for your primary lens a convex lens at least 50 millimeters in diameter and a focal length of between 200 and 300 millimeters. For the secondary lens I recommend you get a convex lens that is between 10 and 25 millimeters wide with a focal length of less than 75 millimeters.

There are several things you can do to make this telescope even better. First off you could make a tube out of something more durable than cardboard tubes. Secondly, this type of telescope will invert images so everything appears upside down which is ok for viewing the sky but is very awkward for viewing things on the earth. You can solve this by using a concave lens for the eyepiece rather than a convex lens.

You can purchase the lenses individually from online surplus stores and there are several kits readily available that give you all the necessary materials to make this kind of telescope. They also come in bulk units for classroom and group use. A kit like this typically gives you all the materials needed to make ten or more telescopes.

Getting A little more involved with your telescope making

If you want a bit more of a challenge you should consider making some type of reflector telescope. Instead of a large objective lens as the light gatherer this type uses a mirror. A reflector can be very economical by giving you great price versus performance. Mirrors cost substantially less than lenses so for the same amount of money spent you can get a much larger and much more powerful telescope.

If you have a bit of woodworking or metal working skill and you want to tackle a project that is well within the means of a hobbyist you might want to consider making a Dobsonian telescope. A Dobsonian telescope uses a parabolic mirror to collect the light and most Dobsonian builders buy the mirror then build the mount for the mirror to go in. The basic concept of this type of telescope is that it is easy to build and easy to use. It is pretty much just a rotating base with a telescope tube mounted on it. And this type of instrument has gotten very popular because it really is easy to use and easy to build. And one of the biggest benefits is that because it is so inexpensive to build more money can be spent on larger mirrors which can make them quite remarkable in terms of their ability to see things in the night sky. If you are considering making this type of scope you probably should begin with one that has a mirror between six and eight inches in diameter.

Whether you build a refractor or a reflector telescope making is a very rewarding pursuit and is something you can enjoy for a lifetime. And once you start you might find that you have caught the fever and will be always looking toward building bigger and better ones. For some people making them is half the fun.

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5 Great Tips On Buying A Telescope

Aiming a telescope at the night sky has been one of my hobbies for quite a few years. Ever since I was a kid I spent many evenings gazing up into the Milky Way and wondered how many? How far away and how big must some of those stars be? As I got older and my interest in astronomy persisted, I decided it was time I bought a telescope. I started shopping around and found not only are there many types, but of course different features and accessories. I had no idea there were so many choices.

If this is your first telescope, the choices can be overwhelming so I've included suggestions and some of the questions you may want to ask telescope dealers and yourself before you actually buy your first scope. If you already own a scope, these tips will still come in handy if you're thinking a buying a new one.

- First, think of the reasons you want a telescope. Are you part of a stargazing club or planning on joining one? Has it been a passion since childhood? Do you plan on giving it as a gift to a budding young astronomer? Maybe you want to catch a glimpse of the space station as it darts across the night sky! If you plan to get a lot of use from your telescope, the best bet is to buy a larger scope with more features. You'll want one that doesn't limit your ability to explore the heavens. The better the quality, the more you'll enjoy the experience and further your interest. If, on the other hand, you've just read the paper and found out there's going to be a lunar eclipse this weekend, a smaller scope with less features is the way to go. You won't want to lay out big bucks for a great telescope with all the bells and whistles for something you'll get only occasional use from.

Bend, Bounce Or Both?

- What kind of Telescope should you get? The 3 types are refractor, reflector and compound, or catadioptric.

A refractor telescope collects light at the top of a long, slender tube and bends or concentrates it to an eyepiece at the bottom. It's popular with observers whose main interest is the Moon and planets within our own solar system. They provide sharp, high-contrast views at higher magnifications and are less bothered by atmospheric disturbance and than the reflector or compound types. Because of this it makes an excellent choice for observation in a city setting.

The reflector telescope uses a concave mirror at the bottom of a tube, rather than a lens at the top, to gather and focus light. Newtonian reflectors, the most common design, reflect (bounce) the collected light to a smaller secondary mirror at the top end directing the focused light to an eyepiece on the side of the tube, making for a comfortable upright viewing position. These scopes are perfect for those living in an urban or country setting and who wish to explore deeper into the cosmos. They are usually larger and a little bulky in size making transport more difficult.

The third type, a catadioptric, employs a combination of lenses and mirrors to gather and focus light. Its design allows for a larger aperture mirror in a smaller space. Like the Newtonian, light is collected by a mirror in the bottom of the scope. Unlike the Newtonian, the tube is much shorter, making handling and transport easier. The light reflects off the back mirror to a secondary mirror near the top of the scope where it's concentrated once again and reflected to the eyepiece in the bottom of the tube. This design is also excellent for viewing objects beyond our neighbor planets.

Location, Location, Location

- It's true in real estate and it's true in astronomy. If you live in a city where there's well lit streets and neon signs flashing brightly at night, you may need to travel to areas away from the glow. It seriously hampers any attempt at stargazing. If you need to travel any distance to find a good location to practice your hobby, you'll want a telescope that's easy to set up and take down. Don't buy a scope that never comes out of the box because it's too much of a hassle to put together. A place in the suburbs or even the countryside is a much more inviting location. A quiet, peaceful setting with no streetlights, preferably with some elevation is perfect for viewing very faint objects in deep space. Buy a scope with a large objective lense (the larger the objective lens the more light gathering capability it has) and point it to almost any location in the Milky Way and you're sure to be thrilled by what you see.

Hobby Or Passion?

- Are you going out every weekend to observe stars and planets? Do you use star charts and plot locations of various constellations? Do you research deep space objects on the internet? Do you use a CCD (charged coupled device) Camera for astrophotography? If so, then you probably already have an impressive telescope and just want to upgrade and purchase a new scope or accessory. Again the objective lens of your new telescope is an important factor when deciding. You want to gather as much light as possible to provide lots of detail in your photos.

You may just want to take the your new scope on a camping trip with the family. In that case a smaller scope or even binoculars would be particularly well suited for that purpose. It's easy to pack, set up and take down, and very portable. Don't buy the biggest baddest telescope on the market, you'll never fit it in a backpack!

- Lastly, the price you're willing to pay for a new scope will ultimately determine the type of scope you buy as well as the size. You can spend a couple hundred dollars for a simple high quality scope if you're just starting out. Or you can spend thousands for a larger scope with more accessories than a New York model. Your answers to the questions above and your own good judgement will provide you with a firm platform to make a quality decision. If you're solidly entrenched in astronomy and the related fields, astrophotography, star charting etc. then you already have a good idea on the kind of scope you want. If this is your first telescope, I hope these suggestions and ideas have helped. Good luck and have fun stargazing!

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