Project ASTRO Galileoscope workshop resources, Summer 2010
Instructor: Dr. Philip Blanco. Email: pblanco@sciences.sdsu.edu.
What's up in the sky?
- Remember you can make your own planisphere by copying Universe at Your Fingertips activity F-5 onto card stock paper.
- Sky &
Telescope Observing Highlights - weekly sky guide, news headlines,
and interactive sky chart. Sky & Telescope Observing Highlights - weekly
sky guide, news headlines, and interactive sky chart. There is also a Guide
to observing Jupiter's moons, which includes a link to a Javascript
program which shows where the moons are on any given day. For the
Galileoscope in Keplerian mode, select "Inverted View" to simulate what
you would see. The planetarium program Stellarium (see below) will also
do this, of course, and much more.
- Skywatching - daily chart from Earth & Sky. Sometimes you have to look forward and backward a few days to see the chart you need for observing, but they are all well done.
- Stellarium - FREE
PLANETARIUM SOFTWARE for your PC or Mac. Once downloaded, easy to use
with most commands only a couple of clicks away. First task - set your
location on the Earth. To zoom in on a selected object, use the "/" key.
Then click the left/right and top/bottom "flip" buttons to simulate the
view you would get through the Galileoscope (Keplerian eyepiece).
- The Star
Gazer Weekly video segments (1-minute and 5-minute versions) by Jack
Horkheimer, shown on some PBS stations and available for download at
this site. He usually profiles events one or two weeks in advance, so to
see what's up tonight you may have to look back a week or two in the
list.
- Space Weather, including
current images of the Sun (DO NOT use the Galileoscope to observe the
Sun - use one of our loaner Sunspotters instead), night sky phenomena,
and a list of potentially hazardous asteroids (click on any one to see
their orbit).
Galileoscope Resources
- Assembly
instructions. The 4-page color instructions that come with the
Galileoscope are OK, but a more recent version (same steps, just
improved wording) is available at this site, along with "pictures only"
instructions, and an instructional video. These might be useful for
international students or parents. There is also a set of instructions in
Spanish.
- Teaching With
Telescopes main site. Overkill on information including an observing
guide, lesson plans, how to host a build workshop, etc. Definitely look
under "Downloads" for the 2010 observing guide, and the Galileoscope
Optics Guide with activities that can be used during the daytime.
- Teachers
only - get up to 5 more Galileoscopes for just the shipping cost.
- Galileoscope "Test" patterns for daytime use: PNG format, can be enlarged for
poster-size printing (for viewing from across a school yard) or PDF 8.5x11" version for viewing
across a classroom or assembly room.
Tripods
You will need a tripod to use the Galileoscope effectively. Any standard
photo tripod mount will work. Many parents have one, or you can search
for cheap deals at Fry's, Best Buy, or online at Amazon.com or
craigslist. Brand names to search for are Sunpak, Vanguard, Sakar, and
Tiffen (Davis & Sanford). Try to find a tripod with the mount on a central "tower" that
can be raised to at least 5 feet and lowered down to child level.
Avoid "mini" table-top tripods as they don't allow you to point the
telescope up very far.
As a cheap alternative using only a sturdy cardboard box and a 1/4-20
thumb screw from a hardware store, check out: Shannon's
astronomy blog for instructions.
Workshop Presentation materials:
Additional Local Resources
Project ASTRO San Diego
