12.5" Dobsonian Telescope

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  The telescope

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  Looking through the telescope at a rare astronomical object typically referred to as a "chair leg"

Inspiration

I like telescopes a lot

What it does

It collects photons

How I built it

The mount is a fork alt-az mount made mostly from 80-20. It has 3 bearings -- 2 for altitude control and 1 for azimuth control. The optical tube assembly is made from COTS optics and a sonotube intended for pouring concrete.

Challenges I ran into

The telescope is somewhat nearsighted due to the optical train being slightly elongated, which required altering the optical tube assembly to bring the primary mirror closer to the secondary mirror.

Accomplishments that I'm proud of

My handmade turntable bearings are very sturdy and smooth.

What I learned

It's important to design components with manufacturing and assembly in mind -- otherwise those parts of the process will take forever!

What's next for Telescope

Following MakeMIT, I will add gears and stepper motors to have the telescope move on its own.