AST 195 PROJECT – Purchasing and Assembling a Meade Polaris 70mm German Equatorial Telescope (Meade Polaris 70 EQ)

Your first project for AST 195 is to purchase a telescope. The purchase needs to be completed during the first week of lab.

When your telescope arrives, you will need to familiarize yourself with the telescope and the equipment that comes with the telescope. You do not need to teach yourself how to really use the telescope at this point, but you should be able to read the instructions, put it together, look through it at something, take it apart, and figure out where the various pieces and accessories go.

Click here for your professor’s 3-part AST 195 video showing how to assemble and disassemble the Meade Polaris 70.

To be graded on this project, you will need to be able to assemble the telescope, disassemble the telescope, and then make a video showing you assembling, using the telescope (just to see something down the road or across the yard), and disassembling the telescope. You will post that video on YouTube and send the link to your professor. The video must include all of the following, just like your professor’s video:

· The video must start with you facing the camera and saying “This is Jane/Joe in Astronomy 195 lab, and this is my video for the Purchasing and Assembling a Meade Polaris 70mm German Equatorial Telescope project”.
(OK, so your professor does not say this!)

· The video must show you assembling the telescope.

· The video must show you using the telescope (just to see something down the road or across the yard). You must actually be able to see something clearly through the telescope.

· The video must show you disassembling the telescope.

This will be graded on a simple, “all or nothing” basis. If you can set up the telescope, look through it to see something, and take it down—and show this in a video, you get a 100% A+. If not, you play around with it until you do.