Telescopes for schools

[Matthew.Blake]

Hi,

At the school I teach in we (the physics dept.) are trying to get astronomy introduced as a GCSE option and we are including much more astronomy in the Year 8 scheme of work from next year onwards. We have put in a bid to the governors for a nice Nexstar 6 and are considering trying to get a set of 13 or so binoculars and stands so we can get a few pupils observing at once during the winter months after school. Being reasonably new to the hobby myself (I am still saving up to replace my Tasco OTA with something that works - in my defence I bought it for a song off ebay to make sure I could handle the hobby) I'm not sure of the merits of binoculars vs cheap telescope. Given that you can get a Skywatcher Mercury-607 for £55 or an Astrolux for £69 is it worth/that much more economical getting binoculars instead of a telescope at those prices?

Matt

[kniclander]

currently I think telescope House are doing 20x80 bins for £69 which is a really good price. Nb for bins bigger than about 10x50 you need a tripod.

[Matthew.Blake]

Cool, but is that a better option than just buying one of the cheaper telescopes from a decent manufacturer?

[kniclander]

tbh it depends what you want to do. the cheap scopes are a bit unsatisfactory becasue of the wobbly mounts (but if you buy the bins you would need to buy a mount too). the bins will give you much better views of DSOs but if you want to look at the moon and planets, the bins are less good because they are limited to 20x mag whereas even a tiny scope will give you quite a bit more.

[Matthew.Blake]

Given the light pollution here in Coventry is quite marked, what DSOs do you think we could get a good look at with a binoculars (I suspect we would be limited to getting either some 10x50 or I did see some 20x70 with a stand for £70 due to financial constraints).

[Helen]

The 10x50 Bresser/Meade Binos that Lidl sell for about £15 every so often would be a good starting point. They are much better than the price suggests! and if you don't mind just playing with them in the shop to get the best of the bunch you'll be fine.

You might also consider getting a couple of Dobsonian design scopes. These provide a lot of light gathering for a relatively low price, and the mounts are much more stable than those of small refractors. See here http://firstlightoptics.com/products.php?cat=31

Helen

[barkis]

Why don't you set up a class on mirror making and get them all interested in making their own telescope. You could get the governors to grant you some money to buy a few 6" mirror kits.

Grind and polish them to f8, then you don't have the headache of trying to parabolise them. Once they are completed, buy enough ready made small secondaries suitable for the focal length. Get the finished mirrors aluminised, then get them organised to build the optics into tubes. Pieces of suitable water pipe will do the job. Painted white, and mounted onto a simple Dobsonian framework. Some bits of waste pipe for the focuser, a couple of eyepieces, and Bobs your uncle.

A great deal of satisfaction to be gained, and they will learn a whole lot about many things. Patience being one of them. And just wait for the whoops and hollers when they finally get to use them.

Oh well, it was worth a try.

Ron.

[Matthew.Blake]

That's something I would consider for a VI form group actually, but not till I've done it myself first and they'd have to buy the mirrors.

[Ad Astra]

Hello Matthew!

Congrats for getting an astronomy program started in your school! I made that jump (adding astronomy to our physics program) about 1988 or so, and I've never looked back.

I have had wonderful experiences teaching astronomy over the years, and I now teach on three campuses regularly and visit many others. My scope of choice for the beginner is the 150mm dobsonian (make sure it is a parabolic mirror!!!). Simple, easy to set up and use, rugged in the extreme, and no gears, levers, dials, computers, batteries, or other nonsense. The kids learn the sky and you don't have to worry so awfully much when they are at the eyepiece. I have an even dozen of these beauties in service, some for over a decade and they all work great.

For bins, I've gone almost exclusively with 7x50's for much the same reason as the 150mm dob. I find that kids have trouble holding bins steady, and the higher mag doesn't help this. Besides that, the extra magnification helps us older folks, but kids eyes are more sensitive and don't need the boost as much as I do. We do have a pair of two of larger bins (like 20x80's) on a tripod, that way I can set it up, they can look see and tell what they should be seeing, and then go find it themselves with the 7x50's.

I also have loads of curriculum I would be happy to send you for free. Lots of schools in the US (and some in the UK) now use my book Maurice on the Moon, to teach activities-based astronomy and space science to kids from 5th to 9th grade. (There is a link in my sig to these books) I did exactly what you are doing ages ago, but you don't need to re-invent the wheel all by yourself! You are welcome to PM me and we can discuss it further, but suffice it to say that I am behind you 100%!

Kudo's to you - Astronomy is a life-changing experience, and you are making a difference in kids lives for today - and for tomorrow as well.

Cheers!

Dan