for a similar purpose. But thanks to pluck of a few scientists, the anticipated death of the dish ended up giving radio astronomy on the island new life. That’s not all; Technology Review’s Emerging Technology From the arXiv blog goes into more detail Funding for NOVA Next is provided by the Eleanor and Howard Morgan Family Foundation. 42 (x) Experimenting with relay lenses. Additional funding is provided by the NOVA Science Trust. ) He explains how to convert a compact satellite dish into a radio telescope and how to hook it up to Get Inspired! 41 (c) Varying the magnification – making a pancratic telescope. Homemade Telescopes. Major funding for NOVA is provided by the David H. Koch Fund for Science, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and PBS viewers. The dish is located near a remote township in the very north of New Zealand’s North Island. The answer, I discovered, is yes. Figure 3 — Homemade plastic single LNB mounting bracket. Measure the radiation intensity of the made by DIY’ers just like you! Large mirrors are structurally easier to design and less expensive to build than large lenses. Photo credit: Howard Ignatius/Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND) (viii) How to make a terrestrial telescope – our recipe. 40 (ix) Making a larger terrestrial telescope. Check out these awesome examples of next level home made telescopes (that double as science art!) Photo credit: If they could successfully repurpose it, the new, larger dish would boost their capabilities in radio astronomy. This clever repurposing of an old telecommunications dish led to an inevitable question: Can anyone build their own radio telescope? After a series of refurbishment and upgrades, the new dish is finally a bonafide radio telescope, though it still needs a bit more work to give it the capabilities astronomers at Auckland University of Technology want. Receive emails about upcoming NOVA programs and related content, as well as featured reporting about current events through a science lens. Technology Review details their struggles in getting the 30-meter dish operational: What they inherited was a far cry from a state-of-the-art radio telescope. So the team’s first task was to clean the dish service and replace rusty bolts and equipment. In 2010, on the far northern part of New Zealand’s North Island, a satellite dish was unceremoniously decommissioned and scheduled for demolition. You, too, can avoid astronomical costs by watching stars through a tricked-out cardboard tube. This replica of Newton’s second reflecting telescope was presented to the Royal Society in 1672. Mark Spencer, WA8SME Figure 1 — Radio telescope system based on TV dish antenna. A home-built radio telescope may not be as sensitive as the Very Large Array, but you’ll still be able to study the stars in ways few people can. With all the parts in place, you can do things like observe radio waves emitted by the sun or study how the ionosphere affects those same emissions. Lewis Woodburn, who is in charge of maintenance for Auckland University of Technology’s radio telescope, and his colleagues smelled opportunity when they heard of the decommissioning and convinced Telcom New Zealand to transfer ownership of the dish over to their department. At 30 meters, Telcom New Zealand’s dish was substantially larger than the 12-meter dish already operated by the university. Figure 2 — Dual LNB mount. Being only five kilometers from the sea, salt corrosion was significant issue, particularly given the lack of recent maintenance. Note two coax connectors. In particular, the motors that move the dish had become rusted and in any case were old and inefficient. Junior Home Scientist Diagonal Mirror Eyepiece Parabolic Mirror Newtonian Reflector Telescope Lens Lens Eyepiece Objective Lens Refractor Telescope Most astronomical telescopes are reflectors. National corporate funding for NOVA is provided by Draper. It wasn’t easy, though. pdf Build a Homebrew Radio Telescope Explore the basics of radio astronomy with this easy to construct telescope. PM builds one and speaks to John Dobson, the man behind the plans, about the joys of DIY astronomy. software developed at MIT Fortunately, Jeff Lashley goes into great detail in a chapter titled “Microwave Radio Telescope Projects.” ( Howard Ignatius/Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND). Objective mirrors are easier to make than objective lenses. Using a 3D printer, you can now build your own powerful telescope at home. 41 (a) Making a hand-held telescope 41 (b) Making a tripod-mounted terrestrial telescope. The Secret Life of Scientists and Engineers. A home-built radio telescope may not be as sensitive as the Very Large Array, but you’ll still be able to study the stars in ways few people can. There are a few blog posts that detail people’s experiments with refitting old satellite TV dishes for radio telescope duty, but they vary in their level of detail. Onward, to the epic homemade telescope inspirations! .