The telescope is the wind of wandering, the spirit of adventure and the anticipation of discoveries

The prototype of the telescope was described as far back as the 13th century by a Franciscan monk and naturalist Roger Bacon. After that, the idea came to Italy. Passing through the hands of the great genius Leonardo da Vinci (the first detailed scheme plus the lens grinding machine) and the thoughtful Giambattista della Porta (a detailed description and the first sample), she reached Galileo Galileo and became the first true telescope. It happened in 1608.

Of course, the real sensation in the learned world was the telescope, the younger sister of the telescope, when Galileo guessed to direct her to heaven. From there immediately "showered" the opening. And, by the way, continue to "pour" until now. Competent astronomical observations can be carried out by a person who has appropriate knowledge and such a simple tool. In the USSR, a number of cases are known when amateur astronomers make serious discoveries and the unpretentious telescope "Tourist" helped to enter into the list of solid academic lists.

Interest in an amazing optical instrument, fortunately, did not lose its power in the 21st century, when space telescopes are able to show Earthlings the most remote and ancient galaxies. Even playing a traveler and a pirate, one of the elements of which is certainly a telescope, awakens the spirit of the researcher in a teenager. And it's wonderful that special sets for children's creativity are sold, allowing to experiment with optics and at the same time to learn how optical instruments work and work.

But is it worth it to spend time searching for such kits, if you can repeat the experience of Galileo and experience the pride of having a telescope created by yourself? Time will be spent on this a little, and the interest will attract the interest of the lively.

Assemble two groups of lenses: long-focus (lenses) and short-focus (eyepieces). The first can be found in old telescopes, binoculars, glasses, the latter - in microscopes, cameras.

Now, do optical tests. Attach the future lens to the surface with plasticine so that the image from the light source, passing through it, remains on the sheet of paper put behind. Moving the eyepiece between the lens and a sheet of paper, achieve the most clear image on it. As soon as this happens, you will see how long your telescope is. In the same way, determine the focal length for each lens from the selected pair.

The body of the telescope is made of thick paper, previously painted on the inside in black. The two tubes folded from the paper must have a length slightly greater than the focal length of the lens and the eyepiece, and the diameter is equal to their diameter. Both lenses attach plasticine to the ends of the tubes. The eyepiece tube must fit tightly into the lens tube, if it is smaller - wind up the insulation. For the eyepiece and lens, you need to pick up two more paper tubes. One is needed to place the image on the whole eyepiece, the other, about 10 cm, - to protect the image from glare.

The homemade telescope is ready. But before you use it, read the warning. Strictly forbidden to look into it in the sun! A retinal burn can be fatal to your vision.