Reported January 2008

BUILD YOUR OWN TELESCOPE! You can make your own telescope with two magnifying glasses, an empty paper towel roll, and duct tape. Hold one glass between you and a printed piece of paper; the image will look blurry. Place the second glass between your eye and the first glass and move forward or backward until the image comes into focus. Have a friend measure the distance between the two glasses and write it down. Cut a slot in the cardboard tube about one inch from the front opening to hold one of the magnifying glasses. Cut a second slot for the second magnifying glass, the same distance from the first slot as your friend wrote down. Place the glasses in their slots and tape them in place with duct tape. Now you can look at the moon, some stars or even birds.

If you would like more information, please contact:

Dr. Chris Martin
Astronomer
California Institute of Technology
(626) 395-4243
cmartin@srl.caltech.edu