No one will suspect the telescope is made from PVC pipe after it has been painted. Left: Use a boxcutter to scrape the inside of the pipe and enlarge its inner diameter. Their stock is less expensive, but also somewhat touch-and-go. You will also need strong glue, scissors, and a pencil. Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! Use the drill to make an eyehole in the center of the cap, using light pressure. Receive news and offers from our other brands? Share. A Galilean telescope is, in essence, a tube with two lenses placed at either end. Best binoculars 2020: Top picks for skywatching, nature and travel from Celestron, Nikon and other top brands, The best Cyber Monday deals on telescopes, China's Chang'e 5 enters lunar orbit for historic attempt to return moon samples, The best Cyber Monday deals on Orion telescopes and binoculars, Concave-convex lens: Diameter of 49 mm, focal length of 1,350 mm, Plano-concave lens: Diameter of 49 mm, focal length of 152 mm, Outer tube (diameter: 5 cm or 2 inches; length: 2 meters or 7 feet), Inner tube (diameter 4 cm or 1.5 inches; length: 15.25 cm or 6 inches), Concave-convex lens: Diameter 49 mm, focal length 100 mm, Plano-concave lens: Diameter 47 mm, focal length 2000 mm. Here is her first-person account of the process. Cut two pieces from the inner tube, approximately 1 to 1.5 inches (2.5 to 4 centimeters), to create spacers to hold the objective lens. And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community@space.com. Following his pattern, you can make your own Galilean telescope at home and use it to study the stars, just as the well-known astronomer once did. NY 10036. Galileo made his telescope using glass lenses. In retrospect, we probably should have gone with the standard pipe and kept the excess around for future projects. Visit our corporate site. Gluing the spacers in place allow the eyepiece to be adjusted as necessary. We opted for a magnification of 20x, which resulted in a longer telescope than we could find from an office supply store. A coping saw will cut the cardboard clean and straight, which is important. It’s portable and easy to carry along with you wherever your explorations may take you. Future US, Inc. 11 West 42nd Street, 15th Floor, Slide the smaller tubing into the larger diameter tube. The telescope can be focused by sliding the cardboard tube as necessary. The convex side faces outward. Slide the inner tube into the outer tube. (Image credit: Galileo Project, Rice University). Focal length is the distance from the lens to the point where the telescope is in focus, and is measured in millimeters. [Related: Best Telescopes for Beginners]. © There was a problem. A telescope's power, or magnification, has to do with its lenses. When Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei heard rumors of the first practical telescope at the beginning of the 17th century, he was quick to craft his own version and turn it toward the heavens. Insert glue through the hole, spread it, and press until it is dry. Now it is time for us to build the actual mount of the telescope. Please deactivate your ad blocker in order to see our subscription offer. The telescope can be focused by sliding the cardboard tube as necessary. Thank you for signing up to Space. Our lenses were 47 and 49 mm, or 1.8 and 1.9 inches, while the only PVC pipe we could locate came with an interior diameter of either 1.5 or 2 inches. However, the flexible pipe came slightly curved, a problem we thought would change with sufficient exterior pressure and/or enough time inside of the straight pipe. Place the flat end of the eyepiece lens against the removable cap. These can be found in most office supply stores: Note that the focal lengths of the lenses are 1,350/152 = 8.88. The word telescope means “see far,” and that is just what a telescope enables us to do. [1] X Research source If the magnifying glasses are the same size, the telescope won't work. This project was inspired by the Galileo Project, hosted by Rice University in Texas. Building my telescope, watching it swivel so smoothly, seeing the stars, I basked in the reflected glory of that ingenuity. Press the tube against the lens firmly until the glue is dry. The Galileo Project website, which inspired the creation of our large telescope, lists plans for building a sufficient base. The cardboard tube still fell short of the PVC diameter, so we added cardboard spacers along the side. 2. Set aside. To build a simple cardboard Galilean telescope with a magnification of approximately 9x, your materials will need to have the following specifications: Cardboard telescoping mailing tube, with an inner and outer tube that telescopes. Cut the closed end of the outer tube. Drill small holes around the outside of the inner tube, where the lens will be. You will receive a verification email shortly. Drill small holes around the outside of the inner tube, where the lens will be. Add the value of the focal lengths of the short and long lens together. Details of Jupiter, such as its famous Great Red Spot, will not be visible at 9x, and Saturn's rings should be visible as a disk, but not with great detail. You'll need a piece of corrugated paper that is about 24 inches in length (this is a ridge material, easily available from paper stores or craft stores). Right: Insert the cardboard eyepiece into the pipe. For more information, visit their main page or their telescope-building page. At the other end is the objective lens, a concave-convex lens, which curves inward on one side and outward on the other. The straight side is pointed outward. As such, we decided to switch the bulk of the body to a PVC pipe. The Italian scientist, Galileo Galilee, was the first person to study the heavens through a telescope, in 1609. The nature of a Galilean telescope means that greater magnification requires longer length, which results in a more unwieldy telescope. A diagram of how a Galilean telescope works. These detailed instructions will show you how to build a telescope that will allow you to see far up into the sky and get a closer look at the solar system. Once the first spacer is dry, slide the objective lens in, with the second spacer against it.