Student builds telescope for city school

Himanshu, Kalyan Nagar resident and engineering student, built the device to make astronomy accessible for school students

Eighteen-year-old engineering student Himanshu K H has built a Newtonian telescope for a school in Rajajinagar.

Interested in astronomy since his childhood, Himanshu believes that the natural science must be made available to more youngsters. “It is not part of the school curriculum but if given an opportunity it can be of interest to many across the city. Astronomy opens up a whole new world, it’s exciting and there’s so much to learn and discover,” he tells Metrolife.

Himanshu built the telescope after a faculty head of SSV School in Rajajinagar got in touch with him about making one for the students.

“Last month, I built the telescope at my home and then dismantled it to take it to the school. Over two weeks, I held workshops at the school to teach the kids how to build a telescope using my dismantled model. The students not only learnt how to use the telescope but also to build it themselves,” he says.

The Newtonian telescope is a type of reflecting telescope, invented by the English scientist Isaac Newton.

Himanshu’s telescope has a focal length of 35 inches — its reach and magnification depends on the kind of eyepiece used.

He explains, “Eyepieces that are 32 mm and 20 mm are used for this telescope. Using this telescope you can see many celestial objects like the rings of Saturn, and the moons of both Jupiter and Saturn.”

Himanshu took 12 hours (spread over four weeks) to complete the telescope, which is mounted on a wooden base.

“You need two kinds of mirrors, a parabolic one and a flat one. Both of them are aluminised and high-precision mirrors. In addition, you need a PVC pipe to create the structure, and eyepieces, a few mirror and eyepiece holders, and wood to create the mount,” explains the Kalyan Nagar resident.

Once a telescope is built, it must be stored in a dust-free, sterile environment, he adds.

Himanshu is a member of the Association of Bangalore Amateur Astronomers (ABAA) and is open to help other schools introduce astronomy to their students.

“It is an eye-opening subject. ABAA also has various outreach programmes through which we take astronomy to schools in the city,” he adds.