Thursday, April 21, 2011

The Telescope


I spent all afternoon at the Cradle of Aviation in Garden City, at their Astronomy Day. I brought with me one of my home made telescopes, and a telescope mirror, and this glass and wood "telescope." I built this device to show to some middle school children when I gave a talk one time. It is a wonderful demonstrator for kids - it includes the glass lens to the right, in an open frame, and a telescope eyepiece on the left. Viewers wondering how a telescope works can see that there is nothing else in the tube - just a lens and an eyepiece. This gentleman who stopped at my table was fascinated by it, first photographing it sitting on the table, and then he picked it up and spent quite a while looking through it. I love to see his concentration, and how his fingers are gently holding the device.

3 comments:

ken schwarz said...

This blog struck me as wonderfully human. A great shot of an elderly gentleman enjoying a new experience. But what surprised me is that your wooden frame was not constructed with mortise and tenon joints, which I would have expected from a Yankee craftsman.

Anonymous said...

Ken Schwarz - you made me laugh! Ken Spencer must be slipping. I would have expected perfection from my brother! :-)
Joan

ken schwarz said...

Joan,
I was shocked when I noticed the simple butt joints on the wooden frame. I can only presume your brother was in a mad rush to put this telescope together in short order to meet a deadline.
Ken