How to: Build a Totally Functional DIY Telescope for ~$200 in Hardware Store Parts

Thanks to some epic solar flares and the resulting auroras last month, the annual time for me to procrastinate by downloading the NASA Astronaut Application came a little early this year. If the requisite 1,000 hours piloting a jet and/or relevant PhD isn’t exactly your jam, you might try exploring the universe through one of these spectacular homemade telescopes.   

This award-winning, Newtonian-Dobsonian telescope design was built by Ken Slater for the 75th Stellafane convention and is now open-sourced on the Stellafane website. The site features endless design variations and how-to’s as well as links to all your additional telescopic needs. Ken made his telescope (pictured above) for around $200 with most materials found at Home Depot, although you can also get fancy like the one pictured below if that’s more of what you’re about.

It’s a hearty project to be sure, but it’d definitely look good on that astronaut application…

Click here to view the complete instructions: Build a Dobsonian Telescope