| The High School Challenge |
| 1. Design and build a telescope that is suitable for observing in detail, the moon. Using mainly recycled materials along with a budget of no more then $20.00 (for purchasing other required materials), you must team up in groups of 4 to 6 students and design and build your own telescope. The scope can be as big or as small as you deem necessary for adequate viewing of the moon. The structure of the telescope must be unique and somewhat attractive and should be mounted on a stable and manoeuvrable stand. The scope can include some kind of finding/spotting device and focusing unit. Materials that can be used include wood, plastic or heavy cardboard tubes, nuts and bolts, screws, nails, paint, magnifying glasses, eyeglass lenses and various other recycled or reclaimed materials. Components not allowed are major components from old telescopes, manufactured tripods from cameras or telescopes, purchased or otherwise acquired kits and/or design plans for telescopes. You must first investigate and identify different types and designs of telescopes. What are the advantages and disadvantages of the various models? Which design would be most practical for viewing only the moon, considering cost, complexity in design and manoeuvrability? You must also research and understand how the magnification and more importantly, the resolution of a telescope work. How can you magnify an image and still keep perfect, crisp resolution? What kinds of lenses work best? Concave? Convex?. How much magnification is required to make the details on the moon adequately visible? Once you have established the requirements of your telescope you must decide what components are required in order to build it. What will you use for a mount? Is a tripod practical or would a solid base be preferable? Do you need the telescope to swivel and tilt in order to follow the moon as it moves across the sky? How long and wide does the tube have to be? Most importantly, what colour should you paint it and what name will you give it?! Now that you have a basic list of components required and a good idea of what design you will be using, your next task is to go out and find the product. Magnifying glass can be found at the Dollar Store, Zellers and Walmart. You might want to ask an optician if they have any old lenses to donate. Can your budget afford to buy actual telescope eyepieces? You can build a stand out of wood, or simply use a modified stool. Maybe your stand could simply be a cardboard box but what ever you decide to use, remember that it should be easy to transport, very stable, and be a serious candidate for the most attractive telescope too! You telescope tube could be a paper towel tube but is that big enough? How about the tubes from the big rolls of brown paper used at Montana’s? Will a sheet of Bristol board do the job or would that be too flimsy? Now that you have a big pile of junk in front of you, you can begin construction. Before making any irreversible constructional moves, you should test out your theories by loosely fastening components together. Record a log of specific dimensions and components used. Include in the log, details such as materials used, where and how you acquired them and any costs involved, sizes of the tube and lenses, distance between the lenses etc. 2. Explain how the telescope works, what makes the image larger? How can you keep resolution along with magnification? Why a reflector turn an image upside down, but a refractor does not? 3. Observe the moon over a one week period and choose a specific, small section to make notes on. Make note of the shadow on a certain crater and explain how and why this shadow differs from night to night. Also, observe the position of the moon in the sky and explain why it also changes its position. 4. Write a short essay on how the moon came to be in the earth’s orbit. Where did it come from? How does it stay a certain distance from earth? What effect does it have on our planet? What practical use does mankind have for visiting the moon in future years? Available Resources There are many websites available that contain useful information pertaining to this project. A complete list of recommended links will be distributed before the project begins. The TBAG website will also have a specific page designated to the High School Challenge with info and updates, along with an email address and message board for discussions and questions. Books are available from both the school and public library. Chapters also has a large selection of astronomy books for sale. Competition Results On April 2005 (Exact day yet to be announced) Astronomy Day will once again take place. This year it will be held in the Chapters parking lot on Memorial Avenue. Here, the finished telescopes will be displayed and presented by their creators along with any essays and information/stats sheets on the scopes. The scopes will be judged by members of the *Royal Astronomy Society of Canada, Thunder Bay Astronomy Group, *Thunder Bay Observatory and *Lake Head Education. Categories for which the scopes will be judged under include appearance, originality, stability, structure, and observation capabilities. The winner will be decided on the day and will be awarded a trophy/plaque and/or medals. *There will also be a prize donated to the school of the winning team. The telescopes will then be put on display for the public to view at *______________. After that, the scopes will be returned to the team members for their own viewing pleasure. * Confirmation of the judges from RASC, TBO and LHE and still pending. *The prize for the winning school is yet to be established. *A location for displaying the scopes after Astronomy Day has yet to be decided. |