Galileo
02-20-2009, 02:28 PM
Galileoscopes go on sale!
Posted: Friday, February 20, 2009 11:50 AM by Alan Boyle
Dean Coppola / Contra Costa Times
Astronomer Stephen Pompea peers through the low-cost Galileoscope at the
University of California at Berkeley. The $15 telescope kit is now on sale.
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Astronomers have launched a commercial venture aimed at putting low-cost telescopes in the hands of a million people around the world. The Galileoscope Web site, one of the cornerstone projects for the International Year of Astronomy, began taking orders for the simple yet powerful scopes Thursday night. Within hours, the site was taken offline temporarily to fix a disconnect in the online payment system.
The Galileoscope has been designed as a tribute to Galileo Galilei, who lofted his telescope toward the heavens 400 years ago and started a revolution in the way we see the universe.
This telescope would have knocked Galileo's stockings off: It is made to more exacting 21st-century standards, is easier to put together and shows the night sky's wonders more clearly than they were ever seen back in 1609.
One of the best things is the price: $15 for one, and a bulk rate of $12.50 per kit for 100 or more (not including shipping). That price point is aimed at making the kits affordable for students and educators as well as folks in less developed regions of the world.
Groups in Norway, Brazil and the state of Wyoming are gearing up for bulk purchases of tens of thousands of the telescopes, said the National Optical Astronomy Observatory's Stephen Pompea, who is U.S. project director for the International Year of Astronomy.
The telescope already has gotten great reviews from tryouts at recent scientific meetings.
"Everybody who's looked through it has been very excited about it," Pompea told me.
READ THE REST AND WATCH THE GALILEOSCOPE VIDEO!
http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2009/02/19/1802032.aspx
Posted: Friday, February 20, 2009 11:50 AM by Alan Boyle
Dean Coppola / Contra Costa Times
Astronomer Stephen Pompea peers through the low-cost Galileoscope at the
University of California at Berkeley. The $15 telescope kit is now on sale.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Astronomers have launched a commercial venture aimed at putting low-cost telescopes in the hands of a million people around the world. The Galileoscope Web site, one of the cornerstone projects for the International Year of Astronomy, began taking orders for the simple yet powerful scopes Thursday night. Within hours, the site was taken offline temporarily to fix a disconnect in the online payment system.
The Galileoscope has been designed as a tribute to Galileo Galilei, who lofted his telescope toward the heavens 400 years ago and started a revolution in the way we see the universe.
This telescope would have knocked Galileo's stockings off: It is made to more exacting 21st-century standards, is easier to put together and shows the night sky's wonders more clearly than they were ever seen back in 1609.
One of the best things is the price: $15 for one, and a bulk rate of $12.50 per kit for 100 or more (not including shipping). That price point is aimed at making the kits affordable for students and educators as well as folks in less developed regions of the world.
Groups in Norway, Brazil and the state of Wyoming are gearing up for bulk purchases of tens of thousands of the telescopes, said the National Optical Astronomy Observatory's Stephen Pompea, who is U.S. project director for the International Year of Astronomy.
The telescope already has gotten great reviews from tryouts at recent scientific meetings.
"Everybody who's looked through it has been very excited about it," Pompea told me.
READ THE REST AND WATCH THE GALILEOSCOPE VIDEO!
http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2009/02/19/1802032.aspx