TelescopePrime
Affordable, DIY, open-source, 3D printed telescope
by Aleksy Chwedczuk and Jakub Bochiński
Telescope for the
21st century
Telescopes have long been difficult to get one's hands on, hard to operate and far from affordable.
We decided to start the TelescopePrime project to change that and provide an open-source platform, which can be easily modified and expanded upon to suit every buddying astronomer's needs while staying below 400$.
Our telescope design consists of three main components:
-
20 cm main parabolic mirror
-
Raspberry Pi micro-computer with a touch display
-
3D printed parts to hold both camera and mirror
The mirror needs to be purchased online or in a local telescope store. We recommend focal length of 1m but you can try other lengths and just cut the tube accordingly.
Raspberry Pi computers are also easily accssible online. We used Rasberry Pi 3B+ with a TFT display but feel free to experiment with other versions and screens.
All the remaining parts, including the paper tube, screws and wood, can be easily sourced from a local hardware store.
Build gallery
Supported by
The Team
If you want to contribute to the project, ask for build instructions or just hang out and talk shop - write to us using contact details below.
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Aleksy Chwedczuk
aleksy.chwedczuk@gmail.com
Hey, I’m Aleksy, I’m 16 years old and I’m a student at Akademeia Tutorial College in Warsaw. I’m fascinated by how logical mathematics and physics are and yet how much we can still learn about them.
When I was a child I used to spend many nights looking at the sky with my dad. We were observing the diversity of the universe and how enormous it is. That is what inspired me to take on this huge challenge of designing and building a 3D printable telescope.
Jakub Bochinski
kontakt@kubabochinski.pl
Hi there! My name is Jakub and I'm an astronomer, a science communicator and a tech/IT consultant.
I got my PhD in astronomy from The Open University, where I studied new planets outside of the Solar System and contributed to development of a robotic telescope PIRATE. Later I managed an office of the European Space Agency in Poland, served as an advisor to ESA, worked as a Head of Education at Copernicus Science Centre and consulted on multiple R&D projects. Currently I serve as a board member for the Science Advocates Association.
My passion is communicating science by inviting people to engage with it directly. And what better way to do it than by building your own scientific instrument?
Current projects: kubabochinski.pl