How to Make a Telescope (with Images)

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How to Make a Telescope (with Images)
How to Make a Telescope (with Images)

Video: How to Make a Telescope (with Images)

Video: How to Make a Telescope (with Images)
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Telescopes make distant objects appear closer by using a combination of lenses and mirrors. If you don't have a telescope or binoculars at home, you can make your own! But be aware that images can be turned upside down.

Steps

Method 1 of 2: Making a telescope with magnifying glasses

Make a Telescope Step 1
Make a Telescope Step 1

Step 1. Gather your material

You will need a piece of corrugated cardboard about two feet long. This material is easy to find at stationers and packaging stores. You will also need to use two different sized loupes. Also take strong glue, scissors and a pencil.

The telescope will not work if the lens is the same size

Make a Telescope Step 2
Make a Telescope Step 2

Step 2. Hold the larger magnifying glass between you and the cardboard

The image will look blurry. Place the second magnifying glass between your eye and the first.

Make a Telescope Step 3
Make a Telescope Step 3

Step 3. Move the second magnifying glass forward or backward until the image is clear

You will notice that the image will look larger and upside down.

Make a Telescope Step 4
Make a Telescope Step 4

Step 4. Wrap the cardboard around one of the magnifying glasses

Mark the diameter on the paper with the pencil. Keep it tight.

Make a Telescope Step 5
Make a Telescope Step 5

Step 5. Measure along the edge of the paper from the first mark

You will need to measure about 3 cm from this marking to leave extra space to glue around the magnifying glass.

Make a Telescope Step 6
Make a Telescope Step 6

Step 6. Cut the line marked on the cardboard to the other side

You should cut lengthwise, not lengthwise. The cardboard should be about 2 feet long on one side. Cut a slit in the cardboard tube near the front opening, about 2.5 cm from it. Do not cut to the end of the tube. The slit will need to hold the larger magnifying glass.

Make a Telescope Step 7
Make a Telescope Step 7

Step 7. Cut a second slit in the tube, the same distance that was measured between the two lenses of the first slit

This is where the second magnifying glass goes.

You will now have two pieces of corrugated cardboard, one slightly larger than the other

Make a Telescope Step 8
Make a Telescope Step 8

Step 8. Place the two magnifying glasses in their slots (the big one on the front and the small one on the back) and tape them together

Leave about 1 to 2 cm of tube behind the smaller magnifying glass and cut off the excess.

Make a Telescope Step 9
Make a Telescope Step 9

Step 9. Glue the first piece of cardboard around one of the magnifying glasses

You'll need to glue the edges of it too, as you left about 3 cm of cardboard.

Make a Telescope Step 10
Make a Telescope Step 10

Step 10. Make the second tube for the magnifying glass

It will need to be a little bigger than the first one, but not much; just enough for the first to fit the second.

Make a Telescope Step 11
Make a Telescope Step 11

Step 11. Thread the first tube into the second

You can now use this telescope to observe distant objects, although it doesn't allow you to see stars clearly. This type of telescope is great for observing the Moon.

The images will be upside down, as astronomers don't care about orientation in space (there's no "up" or "down" in space, anyway)

Method 2 of 2: Making a Telescope with Lens

Make a Telescope Step 12
Make a Telescope Step 12

Step 1. Gather the materials

You will need two lenses, a postal tube with an inner and an outer tube (can be purchased at stationers or packaging stores and needs to be 5 cm in diameter and 110 cm in length), a saw bow, a stylus, glue strong and a drill.

  • The lenses need to have a different focal length. For best results, purchase a concave-convex lens with a diameter of 49 mm and a focal length of 1350 mm, and a plano-concave lens with the same diameter and focal length of 152 mm.
  • It's easy to order lenses online, and they're not very expensive.
  • The saw bow is the most effective for making straight, clean lines, but you can use any other saw or cutting tool if you need to.
Make a Telescope Step 13
Make a Telescope Step 13

Step 2. Cut the outer tube in half

You will need both parts, but the inner tube will serve to distance them. The lenses go into both parts of the outer tube.

Make a Telescope Step 14
Make a Telescope Step 14

Step 3. Cut two pieces of inner tube

They will be the spacers and need to be 2, 5 to 4 cm in diameter. Try to cut straight and at once with a saw or another tool.

Spacers hold the second lens in place at the outer end of the tube

Make a Telescope Step 15
Make a Telescope Step 15

Step 4. Drill the eye hole in the tube cap

Use the drill to apply light pressure to the middle of the lid, making the hole. Again, it will need to be kept as clean as possible for best results.

Make a Telescope Step 16
Make a Telescope Step 16

Step 5. Drill holes on the outside of the larger tube

You will need to drill holes where you are going to place the lens in the outer tube, as these will allow you to put glue on the inside of the tube. The best place is about 2.5 cm from the end of the inner tube.

You will also need to drill holes in the end of the outer tube to fit the eyepiece and cap

Make a Telescope Step 17
Make a Telescope Step 17

Step 6. Stick the eyepiece against the removable cap

The eyepiece is the plano-concave lens, and the flat side must be against the lid. You will glue through the holes you made and turn the lens to spread the glue. Press the tube against the lens until the glue sets.

Make a Telescope Step 18
Make a Telescope Step 18

Step 7. Cut off the closed end of the outer tube

You're going to thread the inner tube into the outer one through this hole.

Make a Telescope Step 19
Make a Telescope Step 19

Step 8. Insert the first spacer into the outer tube

It will need to be flush with the inside of the outer tube to hold the concave-convex lens in place. Make holes and apply the glue as you did with the eyepiece.

Make a Telescope Step 20
Make a Telescope Step 20

Step 9. Attach the lens and second spacer

You will have to drill the holes, put the glue and spread it. Press firmly until glue sets.

Make a Telescope Step 21
Make a Telescope Step 21

Step 10. Insert the inner tube into the outer one

You can slide the pieces as needed to get focus. Since this lens magnifies about nine times, you'll be able to see the Moon's surface very well, and even Saturn's rings. Everything else will be too far away for your telescope.

Make the Final Telescope
Make the Final Telescope

Step 11. Finished

Tips

Buy the right lenses for the second telescope, because with the wrong lenses you won't be able to see anything

Notices

  • Do not look directly at the Sun or other bright objects using the telescope as you can damage your eyes.
  • Be careful not to drop the magnifying glass as it breaks easily.

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