To
participate in AST 195 ON-LINE you must have a good telescope:
Students who enroll in AST 195 will be using a specific telescope:
the Meade
Polaris 70mm German Equatorial Refractor (SKU 216001), shown at
right—click
here for information from Meade about this telescope. All students taking AST 195 are required to use this specific telescope.
The JCTC bookstores are selling the Meade
Polaris 70mm. Some students will want to
get their telescope through the bookstore—for example, the bookstore can work
with students who will be using financial aid money to purchase their
telescope, and of course the bookstore is convenient
for cash purchases. However, if you do
not specifically wish to use the bookstore to purchase your telescope, many
vendors sell this telescope, and you can save money by looking elsewhere.
You
also need solar filter film:
You will make a solar filter in this class,
and you need a piece of safe solar filter film in order to do that. You should be able to find this for under $25
– and maybe under $15. Choose from one
of these options:
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Baader AstroSolar® ECO-size Safety Film
5.0, 140x155 mm #2459286 (shown above—click
here for information from Baader about this
film). It is available through various
vendors. You can buy larger pieces,
but they will be expensive. |
Thousand Oaks Optical SolarLite
Solar Filter Film (ND 5), at least 4”x4” square. (shown above—click
here for information from Thousand Oaks Optical about this film). It is available through various vendors,
and often in small, less expensive pieces |
Thousand Oaks Optical Silver-Black Polymer Sheets, at least
4”x4” square. (shown above—click
here for information from Thousand Oaks Optical about this film). It is available through various vendors,
and often in small, less expensive pieces.
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If you get a good deal on the telescope and
filter film, your total cost for AST 195 will be no more than a typical science
text book!
An
optional piece of equipment:
In AST 195 you will
take a lot of photos through your telescope using a smart phone. The standard way of doing this is to hold the
phone by hand. However, some students
like to have a phone adapter to hold the phone for them, and Meade makes an
adapter that is not too expensive (shown below—click here for
information from Meade about this adapter).
This is optional equipment.
