Category: Telescope Making

This simple, easy-to-build mount provides the perfect introduction to long-exposure astrophotography.

Round stars. That’s the difference between astrophotos captured with a camera that tracks the sky’s motion versus one that doesn’t. Traditionally you’d make a tracked photo by placing your camera piggyback on a telescope with a motorized equatorial mount. But that’s a lot of equipment to deal with if all you want are some nice-looking constellation portraits or a shot of a newly discovered comet — especially if you have to travel to reach your favorite dark-sky destination.
Continue reading “A Tracking Platform for Astrophotography”

For optimum performance, precisely aligned optics are a must. Luckily, achieving this goal doesn’t have to be difficult.

Most telescope users know that the only way to get every last drop of performance from a reflector telescope is to ensure that the optics are in good collimation. Here’s a method that’s simple and doesn’t require tools or even a centre-dotted primary mirror.
Continue reading “No-Tools Telescope Collimation”

The Newtonian reflector is one of the most versatile optical configurations ever created. Whether homebuilt or commercially manufactured, a good Newtonian can rival the performance of any optical design.

Knowledge is power. The more you know about your Newtonian reflector’s potential and its pitfalls, the better equipped you’ll be to ensure it’s delivering peak performance.
Continue reading “Five Reflector Performance Killers”

I’ve been building and using telescopes for more than three decades and I’ll share with you a secret: collimating a Newtonian reflector is easy. So why does it seem so difficult when you’re just starting out? Probably because you’ve done your homework by Googling the subject and have read and re-read everything you’ve found. And now, you’re lost in a forest of information — some of it contradictory, some of it densely technical. Truly, sometimes less is more.
Continue reading “A Beginner’s Guide to Collimation”

This image of the Scorpius Milky Way was captured from Costa Rica with a DSLR camera and the simple hinge tracker mount described here.

If you have a DSLR camera and are interested in astronomy, you’ve probably considered dipping a toe into the astrophotography waters. But a camera is only part of the equation — for exposures longer than a few seconds, a tracking mount is usually necessary. Unfortunately, most suitable mounts are relatively bulky, or expensive, or both. But not the hinge tracker. It costs less than $10 to build, takes less than an evening to assemble, and requires no batteries. And best of all, you can put one together even if you’ve never built anything more complicated than Ikea furniture.
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I built my 12.75-inch Dob for less than $700 — much less than a comparable commercially made scope would have cost. But is making your own scope always a money saving proposition? That’s what inquireing minds (canine or otherwise) want to know.

For diehard ATMs, building telescopes is a way of life. But for others, the decision about whether or not to make a scope often hinges on economics. Will I save money building my own? The question shows up regularly in on-line forums and in my e-mail box. Before the emergence of a large-scale commercial telescope industry, the answer was a definite “yes!” But with the current abundance of low-cost, imported Dobs, and the increasing expense (and scarcity) of telescope-making supplies, it’s reasonable to wonder if it’s still possible to save a few bucks by going the home-made route. The prevailing conventional wisdom says “no,” but my own experiences suggest the answer isn’t as cut and dried as that.
Continue reading “Telescope Economics: To Build or To Buy?”

Any new telescope-making book is a big deal, but one that is both new and important is a huge deal. I believe that’s what we have here with the arrival of Albert Highe’s Portable Newtonian Telescopes. It’s a very satisfying, and detailed volume that covers a great deal of territory not explored in any other telescope-making book. What makes it “important,” in my view, is that it not only advances the state of the art, but also provides a wealth of information that will stand the test of time. Albert, and his publisher Willmann-Bell, are to be congratulated on producing such a fine and valuable addition to the ATM’s bookshelf.
Continue reading “A New Telescope-Making Book”