ABAA has been conducting Telescope Making Workshops for more than 20 years. 100's of individuals and schools from all over Karnataka have made their telescopes at ABAA. ABAA specializes in making Newtonian Reflector type telescopes.
One such workshop was started on Sunday the Feb 21st 2010.
In the workshop, the participants will grind and polish and assemble the telescope. They will be guided throughout the process by experienced telescope makers of ABAA. The workshop will be conducted only on Sunday evenings. The duration of the workshop will be around 10 weeks. The workshop is conducted freely by ABAA and the participants have to pay only for the cost of the materials needed for making the telescopes. Eleven such participants have started making their dream telescopes in this workshop.
The telescope making workshop informally started on 21st of Feb with a brief lecture on Newtonian Telescopes, different types of mounts and the art of mirror making.
The actual telescope making started on 28th Feb with Mr. Ravindra Aradhya showing the off-center stroke for rough grinding. Participants started grinding the primary mirrors which are the most important part of the telescope.
The grinding of the mirrors continued on Day 2 (7th March 2010).
Update on 14th Mar:
The participants started fine grinding with grit #220 which is a smaller grit than #120. They will continue to grind the mirror with smaller grits to make the surface of the mirror smooth.
Here are some photos of the workshop.
Mr. Jayanth, President of ABAA introducing the workshop participants to the world of telescope making.
The glass blank and tool ready for grinding.
Participants grinding the primary mirror.
Jayanth testing the curvature of the mirror. Testing is an important step in making a good mirror.
Participants wait anxiously for their turn.
Ravindra Aradhya thoroughly testing a troublesome mirror.
Nice to see professional approach to the process of Mirror making...
ReplyDeleteMore than that nice to see very well documentation. Good work Ravi, Keep up the tempo!!
ReplyDeleteWhen was this workshop planned & announced ?
ReplyDeleteMyself & couple of friends from BAS were eagerly waiting to join any telescope making workshop. Please let us know by posting on BAS or ABAA site.
Regards,
Sunil G
astrosunilnomy@gmail.com
Telescope Making is an continues process at ABAA. If you are interested in making telescope, please come to ABAA any Sunday after 5PM and enroll for mirror making. This workshop will end in middle of April and if you and your friends are interested, you can start from May. The telescope making session will be done on Sundays
ReplyDeleteAs we are planning similar workshop in Nepal since this year,we would like to hear from you mire on the organization part and technical part of the workshop.
ReplyDeletePlease, mail me at chikursharma(at)gmail.com for further discussion on Telescope making workshop in Nepal.
Looking forward to have fruitful co-operation.
Regards,
Suresh Bhattarai,
Secretary,
Nepal astronomical Society (NASO)