Build a Copyscope
A good telescope for very cheap. Use the lens from an old Copy Machine and PVC pipe for the body. The lens will not have great magnification but this is actually a good thing -- most DST Telescopes touting 12,000 power magnification deliver crappy images well before that point. (DST = Department Store Trash -- a common acronym in Astronomy circles.)
Anyway, here is a link to a place with plans and links to sources:
A Portable Astronomy Copyscope
A copyscope is a refractor built from a surplus photocopier lens. These lenses generally have a short focal length and flat fields. Photocopier lenses are generally found mounted in an aluminum or steel cell. Copycopes similar to those described here, have previously been described in Astronomy magazine, May 1986, page 74 . Stillwater Stargazers members drew from the magazine article for inspiration in building their copyscopes.
Cool use of surplus tech and simple construction. For someone wanting to get into astronomy, a good atlas, pair of binoculars and a reclining lawn char is the best way to start. Get to know your way around the sky and then start with a smaller scope. Until you learn how to star-hop from a visible constellation over from star to star to a specific point of interest, you will spend your scope time looking at an interminable number of small points of light. There is a little learning curve but once you get over that, the rewards are great.
My only gripe about the place we live is that it is close enough to Abbotsford to get significant light pollution from them. No observatory here dangit! I can run up to Mt. Baker and view from there -- lots of astronomers do -- but I would have loved to have a back-yard 14" scope. Oh well...
Posted by DaveH at March 4, 2005 9:20 PM