What is Digg?20 Comments
- scott1, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6If you need it...
http://www.duggmirror.com/mods/Inventor_creates_Trackball_Telescope_-_you_can_build_one,_too/ - nonhuman, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6The guy said that spherical telescopes had been around before, but _not ones that track_. That was the innovation here: the tracking.
- denaje, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4From the looks of it, you need a lot more than "a rubber ball, a bucket, some plastic pipe, a Bic pen shell and assorted hardware" to build this, but it's still a really cool design! I would like to see someone build it en mass and sell it. I wonder how much it would go for...
- tlmac59, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4I first heard about this guy and his telescope in a news article, but his website had far more details. The news article: http://www.registerguard.com/news/2006/07/04/e1.cr.telescopeguy.0704.p1.php?section=cityregion
- alphgeek, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I certainly would be amazed to find that, as it is not correct. Galileo's telescope was a refractor which used lenses. This is a Newtonian reflector which uses a paraboloid mirror to capture the light.
LOLZ, after you get your Bic pen and bucket, you might need the following "Assorted Hardware":
diffraction limited paraboloid mirror
focuser
diffraction limited diagonal mirror
eyepiece(s)
DC servomotor and controller
mirror cell with collimation system
fully adjustable secondary mirror holder and "spider"
precision worm drive precisely designed to match your tracking speed, based on the *exact* diameter of your precision made ball mount (worm gear is hand crafted in this case!)
etc. etc. etc.
All kudos to the guy, as you can see he has made most of this stuff himself. Building a telescope, especially a nifty one like this is a reasonably challenging task.
Spinesplitter, likely he made it himself as home-made optics (he made the mirror himself) are usually considerably better than commercially produced optics. Plus, likely he enjoyed the challenge. Believe me, there is nothing 'Ghetto' about most home built telescopes! - erichexagon, on 10/12/2007, -6/+8Ahem.
http://www.dansdata.com/astroscan.htm
"Despite the fact that it's been around for about 28 years (at time of writing), it remains an excellent all-round basic telescope." - scauer, on 10/12/2007, -3/+5The spherical base isn't what makes this novel, its that it also tracks.
- CiXeL, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3I cant help but look at the guy and then see this picture http://duggmirror.com/mods/Inventor_creates_Trackball_Telescope_-_you_can_build_one%2C_too/ba95be72cf6073aefc4a65658aa31b40_Prototype.JPG
and think how bong-building inspiration factored into this design. - TheQwe, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Dugg for my home town.
- RichPowers, on 10/12/2007, -3/+4Jerry Oltion = MacGyver's alter ego?
- subscriber, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I think it's amazing he didn't patent it.
- Dutton, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Ok, rock on. I'm into amateur astronomy and have been wanting to build my own scope for a while. I think this looks like a perfect starting point just because it's so different than others out there. Yes, the title of the story is a little misleading; some research into the site shows that building this will take considerable time, energy, and money. But heck, isn't that the fun of a hobby like amateur astronomy? :)
Z. - Poco, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Is the site down? I keep getting "Service Unavailable" errors when I click on the links but I was able to get the main page a couple of hours ago.
- tmiller51, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1With so much light pollution these days, where do you have to live to see the stars, Wyoming?
- epheterson, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I need a bic pen, some hose off an old truck, an empty bucket, some counterweight...
Man, can anyone say Macgyver? - otterstedt, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I thought I had seen tracked ball-telescopes before, but I can't find one on the Internet any more. Here are some links to other (non tracked) ball telescopes: http://www.otterstedt.de/wiki/index.php/Kugelmontierung
- spinesplitter, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1though i dont know why ride ghetto when you can make the base and buy one of these for cheap
http://users.skynet.be/alphonse/skytel.htm - krisgesling, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1Could just be me but im getting a "Service Unavailable" from the linked page. It couldnt have been dugg under already could it?
- CiXeL, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2yeah but how WELL does it track?
- spinesplitter, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0i think you guys would be "amazed" to find out that gallileo's telescope was based on the same design, its very very old
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