Ayush Raj, a class 10th student has successfully built a telescope under the guidance of teachers of ‘Praadis Education’. Ayush is a big fan of nature. He likes to do bird watching and star gazing. So, one day he decided to make a telescope by himself to watch nature more closely. His parents supported him in this task and teachers of Praadis Education provided the necessary guidance to build the telescope.
Ayush explained the concept of a telescope in his own words which he learned under the expertise of his Praadis teacher. According to him, ‘Telescope works on the principle of refraction and focusing of light through the help of lenses of varying focal length’. He further explained that light rays coming from infinity are considered parallel. When these light rays fall on a lens, they form an inverted and virtual image on the focal point on the other side of the lens. This image can be made to form on a viewing lens by adjusting the effective focal length of the first lens using another lens. This way an observer is able to see a faraway object through the telescope.
Through the guidance of his Praadis teacher and his own efforts, Ayush managed to procure materials for his telescope locally and at less cost. To build the telescope Ayush used the following materials –
Praadis teachers stood in support with Ayush in every step of the telescope making just in case he faced any challenges. Next, he executed the following steps to build the telescope. In his own words, "on one of the ends of a 50 mm diameter PVC pipe, I placed a lens and fitted it with a 50 mm jointer pipe. On the other hand of the first PVC pipe, I fixed a 40 mm diameter PVC pipe and a 40 mm jointer. Then I placed a reducer in the 40 mm jointer and fitted a 25 mm diameter PVC in it. Then I joined the 25 mm PVC with a 25 mm jointer and placed eyepieces at the end. I applied paper tape on every joint of the telescope." Thus, in this way, the building of the telescope was completed.
The end result was fascinating. The telescope worked excellently and Aayush was finally able to see nature more closely. In his words, the feeling of seeing the moon for the first time from his self-made telescope was unforgettable. Both his parents and teachers at Praadis Education were very proud of him. The approximate cost of building this telescope was around ₹1600-2000. Aayush wants to further make improvements in his telescope under the guidance of his teachers at Praadis Education.