Introduction

Galileo first turned his telescope toward the heavens in 1609. His observations revolutionized our understanding of our place in the universe. Galileo found craters on the Moon, observed the phases of Venus, and discovered the four largest Moons of Jupiter, which are now known as the Galilean Moons in his honor.

The Galileoscope lets students and amateur astronomers recreate Galileo's famous observations. Its optics are far superior to those Galileo could make thanks to modern optical design.

The Galileoscope is a 50mm refractor with a 500mm focal length. The main eyepiece included is a modern 20mm Plossl eyepiece that gives a magnification of 25x. The kit also includes a Galilean eyepiece that gives a magnification of 17x and simulates the views Galileo had through his original telescope. You can build a Barlow lens which will give you magnification of 50x. The Galileoscope can accept any standard 1.25" eyepiece as well. The Galileoscope was designed to give maximum flexibility in how you observe.

The Galileoscope needs a stable mount for observing. The included 1/4-20 nut will attach the Galileoscope to any standard camera tripod.

The Galileoscope was designed to have a wide field of view. The field of view is 1.5 degrees (about the width of three full Moons) with the Plossl lens or 0.75 degrees with he Barlow lens. A large field of view makes it easier to find objects in the sky and you can more easily observe objects that cover a large area of the sky.

The Galileoscope comes disassembled. Through the assembly process you can learn the arrangement of lenses in a telescope. No tools are required to assemble the Galileoscope and it can easily be disassembled as well.

The Galileoscope is priced at U.S. $30 each plus shipping, or U.S. $25 each plus shipping in boxes of 6. They can be ordered online at http://www.galileoscope.org.