One of Galileo's Moon drawings from 1610, and a portrait of Galileo by J. Sustermans (1597-1681).
In 2009 the global astronomical community celebrated the International Year of Astronomy. Why 2009? Because that was the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei’s introduction of the telescope to astronomy. It is no exaggeration to say that the telescope changed everything: Galileo’s discoveries of lunar craters and mountains, four moons circling Jupiter, the phases of Venus, Saturn’s “ears” (he didn’t realize they were rings), and countless stars invisible to the unaided eye literally revolutionized our perception of the universe and Earth’s place in it.
The International Year of Astronomy (IYA2009) did more than just mark an anniversary; it celebrated astronomy’s contributions to society and culture, helped “connect the dots” between science and technology and prosperity, and aimed to stimulate worldwide interest, especially among young people, in science. Amateur and professional astronomers and science educators in 148 countries organized public events and activities around the theme “The Universe: Yours to Discover.” After all, anyone with a telescope can see what Galileo saw.
But not everyone has a telescope, especially in less developed parts of the world. To enable more people in more places to personally experience the wonders of the universe, a team of leading astronomers, optical engineers, and science educators developed a remarkably inexpensive, very-high-quality, easy-to-use refractor. With this new instrument, called the Galileoscope, children and adults can learn how telescopes work and repeat for themselves the spectacular observations made by Galileo beginning in 1609. To date more than 200,000 Galileoscopes have been sold, donated, or otherwise distributed worldwide.
The Galileoscope telescope kit after assembly.
Although IYA2009 is behind us, the Galileoscope is still available. It comes as a kit with simple instructions for no-tools assembly in 5 minutes or less. Its achromatic optics include a 50-mm-diameter objective lens of focal length 500 mm, an eyepiece of focal length 20 mm (magnification 25x), and a 2x Barlow lens (yielding 50x when used with the supplied eyepiece). The Galileoscope accepts almost any optical accessory that has a standard 1¼-inch (31¾-mm) barrel, and it attaches to virtually any tripod made or distributed anywhere in the world. (A tripod is not included with the kit; you’ll have to supply your own.)
The Galileoscope is augmented with educational activities and related materials for use by classroom teachers, planetarium presenters, astronomy-club members, and anyone else eager to share the treats of the telescopic sky with others.
IYA2009 was organized by the International Astronomical Union (IAU), the world’s largest professional society for astronomers. The project was led by the American Astronomical Society (AAS), the premier organization of professional astronomers in North America and the principal coordinator of IYA2009 activities in the United States. Production and distribution are managed by Galileoscope, LLC, a company established by the Galileoscope project team with the express purpose of ensuring delivery of the best possible telescope at the lowest possible price.
Why a New Telescope Kit?
Galileoscope telescope kit before assembly.
The IAU’s IYA2009 brochure and website ask, “Who doesn’t remember the first time they looked at the Moon through a telescope and were amazed by the details of the mountains and craters? The same is true for Jupiter’s cloud belts and its fascinating Galilean moons, Saturn’s rings, and a sparkling star cluster.” This question has a simple and obvious answer: “Anyone who has never had the opportunity to look through a telescope!” Especially for those who can’t afford to buy even a small department-store telescope, a do-it-yourself Galileoscope could be the key to pursuing an interest in astronomy.
As a first step in the Galileoscope project, we canvassed the marketplace for existing low-cost telescope kits and preassembled telescopes, many of which are marketed as toys. We found dozens of different models from various suppliers and obtained samples of each for evaluation. Most of them had problems like these:
- Insufficient magnification for astronomical use (for example, 3x)
- False color and other optical aberrations
- Small or stopped-down aperture produces dim images
- Very narrow fields of view (<1°)
- Unstable mount, no mount, or no way to attach it to a mount
- Poor, missing, or ambiguous assembly instructions
Accordingly, we set about to design a new telescope kit from scratch, one that would redefine the small educational telescope and include features usually seen only on commercial instruments costing many times more, such as achromatic lenses, aggressive stray-light control, and a 1¼-inch focuser. We believe we’ve succeeded! The Galileoscope enables kids of all ages to build and observe with a telescope similar to (but much better than) Galileo’s. Sharing these observations with as many people as possible, and encouraging parents, teachers, students, and others to think about their importance, addresses one of the main goals of IYA2009: Promote widespread access to new knowledge and observing experiences.