how do you build a telescope?

Question

intructions

Answer 1

First you have to decide what kind of telescope you want to build? Do you want to build a refractor, reflector, or catadioptric, or other kind of telescope?

Also, do you want to make it completely from scratch, or buy the parts and assemble it?

To make a telescope completely from scratch, you have to grind the mirror or lens yourself...most people make reflectors so we'll talk about mirror grinding.

Glass for the mirror typically arrives as thick, disk shaped blank and can be bought from Newport Glass. First the glass has to be hoggged out. This means griding it into the basic parabolic shape of a mirror. A lot of people use a machine to do this as it takes forever manually. You'll have to buy a grit kit either way, and a grinding tool for fine grinding, and a polishing lap, and you'll have to make a focault tester, and you'll need a book, video or class on grinding, a clean place to do it, ,and something to grind it on....that all being said, most people just order the mirror already made. You can order mirrors from www.rfroyce.com for exceptionally high quality parabolic mirrors. If you want to make a catadioptric, you can buy those mirrors from www.scopecity.com and http://www.e-scopes.cc/ which also sell parabolic mirrors and just about everthing you need to build a telescope.

You will have to buy a cell to mount the mirror in and a tube, though you can make your own tube out of whatever material pleases you. Some people make theirs out of wood (though they always manage to be ugly) and some people prefer to buy expensive carbon fibre tubes. If you are making a catadioptric, you will need a corrector plate and so it's best to just buy a kit so the plate is figured correctly for the individual mirror. If you are building a Newtonian you will need to buy a secondary mirror.

Anyway, there are many books on the matter and you can also check out www.atmsite.org or look up Amatuer Telescope Makers or Making online. There are tons of resources.

Answer 2

Really, this kind of stuff interests me. Anything dealing with math or science always interests me. Though, I'm only a senior in high school and have never owned or built a telescope, it sounds like a lot of fun. The down side is, I don't have enough time or even patience for star gazing. Additionally, I don't think the city lights would do much good. I wouldn't mind building one out of scrap materials, just because it involves personal discovery, but I could get a lot more out of a purchased telescope or googling stars and planets. I mean, you would just see a blur in the lens - not much detail. And you have to wait for the right time to look up and be looking in the right place. It would be first looking for the star or planet, then saying "oh there it is" and that's it. For me, the excitement I would get out of it is just building it instead of the reward of building it. I'd especially be interested in how it works.

Answer 3

If you mean build from scratch, the grinding of the main lens ain't for the faint of heart. It's not a question to answer in six lines and not a project to undertake lightly. You'll need a good book to get an idea.
"Making your own telescope" by Allyn Thompson is a good one.

Answer 4

the simpliest ones are just a cylinder with a lens at the end

Answer 5

http://www.funsci.com/fun3_en/tele/tele.htm