Long story short, I am going to make a homemade telescope, and attempt to see Saturn (yeah, another Science Fair project=P). Anyways, I have searched and searched for a way to make one, or at least suggestions on how to make one, but have come up with nothing solid. I don't want to construct this little thing of cardboard, that will only be of some use in seeing the moon. Does anyone know any websites, or anything, that may be of some help?
2007-12-23 09:32:15 · 6 answers · asked by Outer Space 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
Thompson wrote THE classic book for amateur telescope makers more than half a century ago. Check it out: http://www.amazon.com/Making-Your-Telescope-Allyn-Thompson/dp/0486428834/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198452069&sr=8-1
I used it to make a six-inch f8 Newtonian back in the 1960's when I was 13. As pointed out by another poster, Edmund Scientific is a great source of materials.
ADDENDUM
Hmmm. Looks like Edmund got out of that business. Oh, well. Here is a link to a good how-to site: http://stellafane.org/atm/atm_main.htm
Here is a link provided by the previous site to suppliers of materials: http://stellafane.org/misc/links.html#Suppliers
Have fun!
2007-12-23 10:26:09 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Check the Stellafane website. It lists some of the (20+) groups of people making telescopes. Newport Glass Works and Willmann-Bell sell some telescope making materials. At its website NGW gives prices for its telescope mirror starter kits. WB will email you the part if its catalog with telescope making supplies. A first mirror project is usually in the 4" to 10" diameter range. It will take a few weekends. Making a 4" mirror is a one-day project once you have some experience. Books to get are the ones by Thompson, Berry, and Texereau. Thompson's book is online at
www.astronomytelescope.net
2007-12-24 13:13:36 · answer #2 · answered by Mark 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Check out Edmund Scientific Corporation in Barrington, New Jersey. They used to have kits for making your own telescope. I made a 6-inch from them when I was in the 6th grade!
www.edsci.com
2007-12-23 17:40:49 · answer #3 · answered by banjoman 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Making a telescope is a very complex project, especially if you make your own mirror. Here's one Yahoo Group you might try:
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/atm_free/
2007-12-23 18:11:42 · answer #4 · answered by GeoffG 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
This may help. If the web page doesn't load correctly, I'll include a direct link to the PDF file also.
2007-12-23 17:40:47 · answer #5 · answered by Rock 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There are many resources on telescope making.
You can do a websearch for amateur telescope making or go to
http://www.atmsite.org
2007-12-24 01:24:31 · answer #6 · answered by minuteblue 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋