» Fixtures »A simple do-it-yourself telescope

DIY do-it-yourself telescope



Winter is a good period for observing the sky. In winter, you can see many stars and planets, as well as the Milky Way. The Milky Way is very beautiful (visible only in the clear sky). It is visible to the naked eye. In a clear sky, if you do not take into account the artificial satellites visible in the sky, you can see the ISS (international space station) with the naked eye. It looks like a moving high-intensity light source, similar to Venus. The author of this homemade he personally observed all this personally and after that decided to acquire a telescope, but found that it was a very expensive pleasure. Therefore, he decided to make a simple home telescope. For its manufacture, PVC pipes and lenses will be required.

Step 1: Theory



A telescope is used to see a distant object that is not visible to the naked eye. The telescope scales a specific area. The field of view is reduced and focuses on a small part, which leads to a more detailed view.

The main components are a large lens and a small eyepiece. The lens has a large diameter, which increases the ability to collect light. More light means a sharper image, and there is also a large focal length that provides a magnification effect. The eyepiece has a smaller diameter and a smaller focal length (to ensure high magnification). The lenses are convex.
The lens converts a parallel ray of light from infinity (in the far distance) to one point. The eyepiece diverges from convergent light, because our eye needs parallel rays (our eyes have a convex lens). Using this arrangement, we get an inverted image. To view the sky, inversion is not a problem. The scaling effect (increase) is determined by the given equation:

magnification = focal length (lens) / focal length (eyepiece)

The telescope operates based on the refraction of light rays. He has problems of chromatic abrasion caused by the fact that different colors are focused at different points, so bright objects seem like a rainbow color.This problem is reduced in a reflective telescope. It uses mirrors, so the refraction does not work. But a reflecting telescope is difficult to build, so we will create a refracting telescope.

This telescope does not have a larger magnification. It is made more for educational purposes, so it has flaws.

Step 2: Required Materials and Tools




Convex lens 8.5 cm diameter

27 cm focal length lens

Eyepiece from old binoculars, diameter 3.5 cm, length 5 cm, focal length 2 cm

PVC pipe with a diameter of 100 mm and a length of 25 cm

PVC pipe with a diameter of 50 mm and a length of 8 cm

PVC reducer (adapter) from 100 mm to 50 mm - 1 pc.

PVC plug, 50 mm in diameter - 1 pc.

Screws (as required)

The main tools and materials are shown in the figure.

Step 3: Preparation of materials






To build a homemade product, you first need to prepare all the necessary materials:

Lens parts

1. Cut a part from the PVC pipe, with a diameter of 100 mm and a length of 17.5 cm, using a hacksaw blade.
2. Cut a part from the PVC pipe, with a diameter of 100 mm and a length of 2 cm, using a hacksaw blade.
3. Cut 3 parts 2 cm long.
4. To clean and process the edges using a small knife.

Eyepiece Parts

1. Take 8 cm of PVC pipe.
2. Peel and trim the edges using a small knife.
3. Take a 5 cm end cap and drill a hole in its center using a drilling machine or an alternative method.
4. The hole size is 2.8 cm (the diameter of the binocular eyepiece is used).

The author does not have a suitable drill for drilling holes. Therefore, he first drills a hole with a small drill, and then enlarges it using old wire cutters and a drilling machine. All this is shown in the figures.

Step 4: fixing the lens







First you need to fix the lens in the PVC pipe. The lens has a smaller diameter than a PVC pipe. Therefore, to reduce the diameter, it is necessary to place a piece of PVC with a length of 2 cm in the pipe. The lens is placed 2 cm inside the tube to reduce glare from side lights falling into the telescope.

1. First, PVC of small width is cut and a part is removed to fix this piece inside the PVC pipe (2 cm inside from the edge).

2. Then another piece of PVC is cut and some portion removed to fit in the first placed piece.

3. Make sure that the part is 2 cm away from all positions, and then fasten it with screws (the screws do not penetrate the PVC pipe).

4. Then place the lens and fix it using other small pieces of PVC and screws. This is shown in the photo.
5. Then fasten the gearbox to it. Use screws to secure the structure in case of loosening. Make sure that the screws do not penetrate the PVC.

6. Be guided by photos if it is not so clear. Images are taken step by step.

Step 5: Fixing the Eyepiece





The author uses an eyepiece from old binoculars. Otherwise, you need a convex lens with a diameter of 3-4 cm and a focal length of about 4 cm.

1. Attach the eyepiece to the hole in the end cap using screws and metal strips.

2. Make sure that the screws do not penetrate into the eyepiece.

3. All actions are shown in the photo.

4. Connect the PVC adapter (gearbox) with a diameter of 100/50 cm to the end cap and fix it with a screw.


Step 6: Assembling the telescope




Make sure that the 100 cm pipe moves freely inside the gearbox.
If necessary, grind the surface of the PVC pipe.
The movement of the PVC pipe in the gearbox is used to precisely focus the telescope.

To adjust the focus, look at a distant object through a telescope and find a clear image. A sharp point is a focus point. Fasten this position with the screw to fix the telescope at its focus point.

Step 7: Lens Tips



This is the author’s scheme of the telescope. He uses lenses that can be purchased from him in the city. Similar lenses may not be sold everywhere, so he gives advice on choosing the right lenses. Make sure that the lenses meet the specified parameters of the assembly scheme.

Lens selection (convex lenses)


Use a large diameter of 8 to 16 cm. A larger diameter provides high light-picking capacity, which increases image clarity.

Use lenses with a large focal length of 30 to 100 cm. A high focal length means a large increase, which means high zoom.

Eyepiece selection (convex lenses)


Use a small diameter of 2 to 4 cm.

Use a short focal length of 2 to 10 cm. These lenses provide high magnification.

PVC pipe length selection

The length of the PVC lens is about 70% of the total focal length.

The length of the PVC eyepiece is about 40% of the total focal length.

Adjust the length yourself to ensure a clear image. This is a rough calculation.

Step 8: Conclusion




For a good and clear observation, it is necessary to wait for a clear night sky.

In clear weather, you can see many stars that are not visible to the naked eye. It is very interesting.
4.5
4.4
4.3

Add a comment

    • smilesmilesxaxaokdontknowyahoonea
      bossscratchfoolyesyes-yesaggressivesecret
      sorrydancedance2dance3pardonhelpdrinks
      stopfriendsgoodgoodgoodwhistleswoontongue
      smokeclappingcraydeclarederisivedon-t_mentiondownload
      heatirefullaugh1mdameetingmoskingnegative
      not_ipopcornpunishreadscarescaressearch
      tauntthank_youthisto_clueumnikacuteagree
      badbeeeblack_eyeblum3blushboastboredom
      censoredpleasantrysecret2threatenvictoryyusun_bespectacled
      shokrespektlolprevedwelcomekrutoyya_za
      ya_dobryihelperne_huliganne_othodifludbanclose
10 comments
Get (buy) a reflector mirror. And a reflector. And collect the reflector telescope. And adapt the camera for filming
Oh colleague! :)))
I also glued a “telescope” of a +1.5 spectacle lens and a small magnifying glass. The tube glued from a roll of wallpaper. It was soft, but bearable. I spent many evenings at this telescope. He led a notebook of observations. I saw rings at Saturn, the crescent of Venus, the orange ball of Mars ... In the school of astronomy it was an automaton 5, I knew more about space than a teacher)))
A tripod for such a telescope is required.

This is clear. I once tried with a simple "soapbox-superzoom" to photograph a lunar eclipse at 160x magnification. Realizing that you should not even try without a tripod, put the camera body on the roof of the car, rested and lifted the lens .... It didn’t work - you still need to hold it with your hands. Even being pressed to the roof, the slightest trembling in the hands is enough for a huge distance to creep in the viewfinder ....
And I also looked into the sight of SVD. (didn’t shoot. Just looked). Since then, I have been laughing wildly when in a film a sniper hits from a helicopter, or even from a moving car ...))))
Yes my phrase
I glued a telescope out of paper and eyeglass lenses
It can also be interpreted as “out of shit and sticks” (although in essence everything is done this way), I just didn’t write that I specially bought +0.5 spectacle lenses in the Optics store, which were not accurate, with a dot of the optical center. The tube was glued from the Whatman paper on the mandrel, the ink inside was ink, and the lens was assembled with a diaphragm (all according to the calculations and drawings from the magazine). Tripod for such a telescope required. In general, troubles there are higher than the roof. And yet, if I manage to repeat my childhood feat, and make a telescope for my grandchildren from memory, I’ll definitely post it here with a detailed description.
but if you write about something, then you need to at least know the subject of the description
I agree!
telescope is easy to make "out of shit and sticks"
I agree!
I glued a telescope out of paper and eyeglass lenses
I agree! smile
Of course it is impossible to know everything, but if you write about something, then you need to at least know the subject of the description. And then from the article it seems that the telescope is easily bungled "out of shit and sticks", and even with such explanatory drawings that it is dangerous to take seriously.
By the way, here is an example of the consequences of such mistakes from our own experience: in the magazines "Young Technician", in the section "Correspondence School of Radio Electronics", the structure of the transistor was denoted by the Russian letters r-p-p (er-pe-er) and, accordingly, p-p-p (pe -er-pe), and this first acquaintance was so firmly stuck in my head that I was retrained for a long time to correctly name transitions. So this article with its apparent ease can completely kill interest in astronomy and in design in general.
Well, here you are commenting without knowing how the Kepler telescope-refractor system differs from Galileo
I completely agree with you, in this topic I am a complete layman! I just wanted to express the idea that the author (or anyone interested in the topic) from a simple plastic pipe can grow to a real scientist! I, too, as a child started with a detector receiver, and, due to the absence of a soldering iron then, I did everything on twists! smile
Well, here you are commenting without knowing how the Kepler telescope-refractor system differs from Galileo. Astronomy was interesting to me in my distant school years, I glued a telescope out of paper and spectacle lenses according to an article from the journal Science and Life, where the manufacturing process, alignment, shortcomings and ways to reduce them are described in more detail. I do not think that Kepler or Galileo assembled their optical systems so clumsily, and they probably already knew how the rays passed through the lenses. Although judging by the size (length and lenses used), the increase is only 13.5X (27/2), which is slightly better than children's binoculars, but instead of stars there will be rainbow-colored stains.
physics section "Optics" studied by comics
Perhaps, but if I remember correctly, Galileo’s first telescopes were not perfect either. smile
Where did you dig this nonsense?
This picture confuses everything that is possible. You can not look further, since what was done by an amateur is described by an even bigger amateur, they studied the physics section of Optics using comics.

We advise you to read:

Hand it for the smartphone ...