Every year, amateur telescope makers gather under starry skies
in the US and South Africa – to trade tips and tales from across the universe
You have to be rigorous. You need perseverance. You must be meticulously clean. But even if you possess all these skills, none of them matters if you are in a hurry. Because there is one thing enthusiasts make clear from the start: building a telescope from scratch takes time. “It will often take a year to make your first mirror,” says Ken Slater, a board member of the Springfield Telescope Makers. “There are plenty of people who get frustrated and give up. It’s really a geeky, focused effort.”
Every year, barring global pandemics, hundreds of amateur telescope makers haul their instruments to Stellafane, the club’s annual convention held in 90 acres of Vermont hill country. Most are a drive away, but others turn up, designs in hand, from Europe, Japan, Australia and China. The daylight hours are whiled away at lectures, demonstrations and how-to classes. And then there is the swapping table, where attendees pick over bits and bobs – motor drives, autofocusers, ball mounts and the like – the seeds of their next creations.
Continue reading…Every year, amateur telescope makers gather under starry skies in the US and South Africa – to trade tips and tales from across the universeYou have to be rigorous. You need perseverance. You must be meticulously clean. But even if you possess all these skills, none of them matters if you are in a hurry. Because there is one thing enthusiasts make clear from the start: building a telescope from scratch takes time. “It will often take a year to make your first mirror,” says Ken Slater, a board member of the Springfield Telescope Makers. “There are plenty of people who get frustrated and give up. It’s really a geeky, focused effort.”Every year, barring global pandemics, hundreds of amateur telescope makers haul their instruments to Stellafane, the club’s annual convention held in 90 acres of Vermont hill country. Most are a drive away, but others turn up, designs in hand, from Europe, Japan, Australia and China. The daylight hours are whiled away at lectures, demonstrations and how-to classes. And then there is the swapping table, where attendees pick over bits and bobs – motor drives, autofocusers, ball mounts and the like – the seeds of their next creations. Continue reading…