Astronomy Boy
Resources and tutorials for amateur astronomers. There are features
here for newcomers, for do-it-yourselfers, for deep sky observers,
and for astrophotographers.
Best
Images of the Advanced Observing Program
The Advanced Observing Program is an experience available to
the public at the Kitt Peak Visitor Center. With no technical
knowledge needed, guests are able to take extremely high-quality
CCD images with the 16 inch Visitor Center Telescope.
Building an Inexpensive Galilean Style Telescope
We, the first ever astronomy group of History 333, were given
the task of recreating Galileo's observations using replicas
of the Galilean-style telescope. On a limited budget, our group
had to design and build a set of these telescopes.
John Dobson
of The Sidewalk Astronomers
John Dobson is a co-founder of The Sidewalk Astronomers, a pioneering
builder of telescopes, and a teacher. A biographical site for
those wishing to find out more about the inventor of those home-grown
telescopes so often seen at amateur gatherings. Note: search
on Sidewalk Astronomers and your city or state to find
a club near you.
How to build a spider for your telescope
This spider is easy to make, it's inexpensive, the vanes are
very thin yet extremely strong, and it's light weight, too.
Mark's Notes for the Amateur Telescope Maker
I've been helping to teach telescope making at the Chabot Telescope Maker's Workshop for the past nine years. In that time, I've often thought that it would be good to have a comprehensive set of notes that details most of the practical details that someone needs to know to build a telescope.
The Night Sky Live
Welcome to the night sky above some of the world's premier observatories.
Click on a star to go to live pictures taken by the fisheye CONtinuous
CAMeras (CONCAMs) in operation there.
Plans for Building a Dobsonian Telescope
Yes, it "looks like a cannon," but the above is really
a ten-inch (measured by the diameter of the objective) Newtonian
telescope that almost anybody can build. Here you will
find plans to build this telescope, or a smaller one--either
a six-inch, or an eight-inch--of identical design.
Plans
for Building a Sidewalk Telescope
"If there were a million amateur astronomers with telescopes,
and they were willing to let a few thousand people each look
through their telescopes, there would be a chance for the people
in the world who wanted to see to see." John Dobson.
Simple Equatorial Telescope Mount with Setting Circles
Sometimes what you need is a quick telescope mount that you can
make from readily available, inexpensive materials in one weekend.
Free pattern. Just go down to the local home center, buy a few
things, scrounge some scrap materials, and build it today. By
Tom Riley.
Telescopes
and Eyepieces
These pages are a brief introduction to how a telescope works,
and to the different kinds of telescopes available.
World's
oldest telescope?
If one Italian scientist is correct, then the telescope was not
invented sometime in the 16th century by Dutch spectacle makers,
but by ancient Assyrian astronomers nearly three thousand years
earlier.
Designed specifically for beginners and stargazers living in light polluted areas, this ingenious star wheel shows only the brightest stars and minimizes distortion, making it a snap to discover the constellations.
