Astrosetz
sage
Reged: 10/05/03
Posts: 338
Loc: Wisconsin
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Does anyone know the status of the Galileoscope Cornerstone Project? Pedro, any insight? I haven't seen anything new on it for some time at the .org or .us websites.
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-Astrosetz
www.astrosetz.com
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hbh
newbie
Reged: 09/18/08
Posts: 2
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Here is the status in the US as of Date: Mon, 29 Sep 2008
To: "Heidi B. Hammel" <hbh@alum.mit.edu>
From: "Stephen M. Pompea" <spompea@noao.edu>
Heidi:
Right now we are working very hard on getting the Galileoscope into production. We have had meetings with a number of donors and are awaiting word on a major donor we met with a while back. I don't have pricing information until we know the size of the order. If we place a large order the telescopes will be $10 without tripod. We have located some inexpensive tripods. The telescopes will have a tripod mounting 1/4 20 nut in them. Our last design modification was to reinforce the tripod mounting area.
If we do not get the funding we hope for we can place a smaller order. However the mold cost ($100K) would greatly add to the cost, if amortized over a smaller number of units. So we are also working on a sponsor for the mold work. Production will take 4 months to get units rolling out.
Best regards,
Steve
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mpai
journeyman
Reged: 09/18/08
Posts: 6
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Its barely a month to go for the IYA2009. May we have the status of the Galileo Scope status now?
Manoj
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GJJim
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 09/09/06
Posts: 907
Loc: Western CO
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I'm not sure I understand why this simple effort would require $100K mold tooling and such. Our astronomy club is building three Galilean refractors from surplus parts for less than $100 total.
The views through these telescopes are dreadful. Educational yes, but let's face it they are just a curiosity.
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Astrosetz
sage
Reged: 10/05/03
Posts: 338
Loc: Wisconsin
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The idea is to make and distribute *hundreds of thousands* of these things and keep the unit price close to $10 US. The optics are pretty good from what I've been told from people who have looked through the prototype.
They are meant to enable people, especially children, to observe what Galileo did. Considering the entire planet Earth, there are huge populations of people who simply don't have access to more capable instruments. Remember this is a world-wide project.
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-Astrosetz
www.astrosetz.com
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GJJim
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 09/09/06
Posts: 907
Loc: Western CO
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Quote:
They are meant to enable people, especially children, to observe what Galileo did. Considering the entire planet Earth, there are huge populations of people who simply don't have access to more capable instruments. Remember this is a world-wide project.
I applaud you egalitarian sentiment, but do you really think it's wise for an ad hoc organization on a shoestring budget to distribute large quantities of telescopes to children around the world? Who will pay the legal fees for the inevitable lawsuits when unsupervised kids (or dimwit adults) damage their eyes looking at the sun?
Why not make plans available, with careful instructions about what NOT to view, and let interested parties build their own Galilean telescopes?
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Globularnut
member
Reged: 06/30/05
Posts: 79
Loc: Southeastern, WI
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It's my understanding that these are for educational purposes. This means, for example that if my astronomy club gets these, we will work with the people to assemble them and show them how to use these. And of course, part of that is to educate them, not to point the scope at the sun.
I personally think it's a great idea to put these scopes into the hands of people who may not ever get to use one.
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Globularnut
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10" Meade Dob
6" Celestron SPC6 reflector
Star party junkie
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Astrosetz
sage
Reged: 10/05/03
Posts: 338
Loc: Wisconsin
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In addition to what Globularnut said, the telescopes will be bought and paid for by organizations and educators. It's the economy in numbers: these scopes, at $10 to $15 each, will cost a fraction of what your home-brewed scopes cost, even figuring for the tooling. And they will be much more widely available.
Regarding liability, I'm not sure why the Galileoscope would be any different from any other optical device. It will have instructions just like other scopes, including warning against viewing the sun directly.
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-Astrosetz
www.astrosetz.com
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GJJim
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 09/09/06
Posts: 907
Loc: Western CO
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Quote:
In addition to what Globularnut said, the telescopes will be bought and paid for by organizations and educators. It's the economy in numbers: these scopes, at $10 to $15 each, will cost a fraction of what your home-brewed scopes cost, even figuring for the tooling. And they will be much more widely available.
Regarding liability, I'm not sure why the Galileoscope would be any different from any other optical device. It will have instructions just like other scopes, including warning against viewing the sun directly.
The Galileo telescopes will be sold, OK, I did not know that. The earlier post indicated they would be given away.
Now back to my original question, all the more relevant since the scopes are being sold for money - who will pay the legal fees in the event of a lawsuit? Companies or organizations that offer a product for sale usually purchase product liability insurance. Does this ad hoc project also plan to purchase insurance or is it covered by a general liability policy?
I know this sounds hypothetical and extreme, but believe me it becomes all too real if you've ever been on the receiving end of a lawsuit and faced the legal fees required to contest it.
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Astrosetz
sage
Reged: 10/05/03
Posts: 338
Loc: Wisconsin
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Sombody from UNESCO want to chime in here? I'm kinda thinking they have this covered  but I can't speak for them.
For our part, our Foundation has coverage up to a million dollars per incident for any activity we do.
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-Astrosetz
www.astrosetz.com
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George N
professor emeritus
Reged: 05/19/06
Posts: 672
Loc: Binghamton & Indian Lake NY
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Quote:
.....- who will pay the legal fees in the event of a lawsuit? ...
I don’t think all of the details are worked out on this project, but here is the relevant web link: http://tinyurl.com/688qm9
As I see it these scopes will be purchased by organizations holding an IYA 2009 related event, and the scopes will be provided to attendees as either a free item, a purchased item, or as something covered in the fee for attending the event – at the event sponsor’s discretion. It seems that the scopes will need to be assembled, with the idea that the event organizers will lead the new owners thru the assembly steps, and provide other related info on what to observe, how do it, etc. I would be surprised if the scopes were not provided with relevant printed material that would cover the subject of safe solar observing.
Bottom line: I thing you have a good point that these scopes should be accompanied with a written warning about the dangers of unfiltered solar observing. I know that my Obsession 20 has a sticker near the eyepiece warning that the scope should not be pointed at or even near the sun, even though one would assume that the purchaser of a $10,000 telescope would know that already. With such a warning provided I don’t think any lawsuit would get very far particularly since the scope design is supported by NASA, etc.
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George N
Obsession 20
Optical Guidance Systems 10" F/9 R-C Cass
6" F/5 & 8" F/8 home-made Newts
MI-250 mount
SBIG STL-1301E CCD
Member, International Dark-Sky Association
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aquilla
journeyman
Reged: 09/18/08
Posts: 8
Loc: Ann Arbor & Ypsilanti, Michiga...
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I saw the initial materials at the AAS/ASP summer meeting. They will have extensive documentation, including warning stickers about not looking at the Sun.
The latest update I have is that they hope to have the order form up on the website by Christmas, and to have the first 'scopes ready to ship "early in the second quarter" of 2009.
The intended target is clubs, museums, schools, etc. The idea is that groups would be able to use them for outreach to teach about optics and telescopes, possibly giving the 'scopes away, or including them in the cost of an event. The 'scope can double as an optical bench for lens experiments too, and the optics are amazing for a $10 'scope. Resale to the public is an option, but not as a profit making venture.
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George N
professor emeritus
Reged: 05/19/06
Posts: 672
Loc: Binghamton & Indian Lake NY
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Quote:
I saw the initial materials at the AAS/ASP summer meeting. They will have extensive documentation, including warning stickers about not looking at the Sun.
The latest update I have is that they hope to have the order form up on the website by Christmas, and to have the first 'scopes ready to ship "early in the second quarter" of 2009.
The intended target is clubs, museums, schools, etc. The idea is that groups would be able to use them for outreach to teach about optics and telescopes, possibly giving the 'scopes away, or including them in the cost of an event. The 'scope can double as an optical bench for lens experiments too, and the optics are amazing for a $10 'scope. Resale to the public is an option, but not as a profit making venture.
This is what was said on the recent (Dec 11th) “NASA Night Sky Network” Telcon on IYA 2009:
The latest design uses a glass doublet and I believe they said two eyepieces and a Barlow lens. The scope will include a standard quarter/20 screw mounting plate because the scope will need to go on a tripod. It will have a high power of 80x with included eyepiece & Barlow. They hope to keep the cost at $10, but it could be $15. There will be a lot of documentation that should be printed out to go with the scope. They hope to have 100,000 of these scopes purchased and recommend that clubs consider buying 2 or 3 years’ supply because the larger the initial order the lower the unit price. They had no expected order date, except “soon”.
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George N
Obsession 20
Optical Guidance Systems 10" F/9 R-C Cass
6" F/5 & 8" F/8 home-made Newts
MI-250 mount
SBIG STL-1301E CCD
Member, International Dark-Sky Association
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SkyscraperJim
professor emeritus
Reged: 07/29/07
Posts: 537
Loc: Providence, RI
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q[The latest design uses a glass doublet and I believe they said two eyepieces and a Barlow lens. The scope will include a standard quarter/20 screw mounting plate because the scope will need to go on a tripod. It will have a high power of 80x with included eyepiece & Barlow. They hope to keep the cost at $10, but it could be $15.]q
I hate to be negative about these sort of things because I think the Galileoscope project is a great idea, but wouldn't it make more sense (and create a wider public appeal) if the scopes were simple, hand-held 10-30x scopes? If this is to foster worldwide interest in astronomy, I see issues with many parts of the developing world not being able to find a tripod to mount their scopes on, rendering them almost useless. It sounds like it's a recipe for disinterest in the same way that 400x department store scopes don't contribute much to the interest of astronomy.
Just my .02.
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Jim
TMB/APM 130/780 (#185) on G11
TMB/APM/Lomo 80/600
Tele Vue Pronto (#3533) on Half Hitch
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George N
professor emeritus
Reged: 05/19/06
Posts: 672
Loc: Binghamton & Indian Lake NY
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Quote:
.....wouldn't it make more sense (and create a wider public appeal) if the scopes were simple, hand-held 10-30x scopes? If this is to foster worldwide interest in astronomy, I see issues with many parts of the developing world not being able to find a tripod to mount their scopes on, rendering them almost useless. .....
Good point. They said that they may have a source for a good 10 buck tripod that could be provided with the scope.
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George N
Obsession 20
Optical Guidance Systems 10" F/9 R-C Cass
6" F/5 & 8" F/8 home-made Newts
MI-250 mount
SBIG STL-1301E CCD
Member, International Dark-Sky Association
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Astrosetz
sage
Reged: 10/05/03
Posts: 338
Loc: Wisconsin
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I didn't know they were including extra eyepieces and a Barlow -- that seems like a lot to include for a $10-$15 telescope. My understanding was that the telescope was going to include a single eyepiece in the 15x range but be "inch and a quarter compatible" in case someone wants to use other eyepeices with it.
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-Astrosetz
www.astrosetz.com
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richard7
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 11/02/07
Posts: 1542
Loc: Sacramento
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I don't know if this will clear up anything or not.
A brief interview with the project director.
It does look about like an 1 1/4 EP but what type?
Click on pic 2 for a look at the scope.
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Richard Trost
Orion 130st, Ioptron e/r80
Meade 10x50, Konusvue 20x80, Zhumell Tachiyon 25x100
Coffee thermos and cup
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sarastro
sage
Reged: 08/12/04
Posts: 402
Loc: Seattle
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Quote:
I don't know if this will clear up anything or not.
A brief interview with the project director.
It does look about like an 1 1/4 EP but what type?
Click on pic 2 for a look at the scope.
Thanks for that link.
The eyepiece looks like a Kellner.
I would like to get some of those for my son's cub scout den. Looks like a great project.
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senortim
member
Reged: 12/27/08
Posts: 21
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Hey, just a quick word from a guy *without* a telescope and one who has a young, curious son.
I read in the paper that these would be powerful enough and sharp enough to observe Jupiter's moons. And I saw a sample photo of what the moon would look like through one. I read a couple of Galileo biographies last year and just the thought of experience what he did is quite exciting!
Let me just say that even at $15 each, I'd buy a bunch of them -- a couple for me and my son, and as many more as I could get for cousins, friend gifts, etc.
Sure, they're not the high-powered scope with computer that I covet (and will one day purchase), but they will offer a succulent taste of what's possible -- the same as what my dad's low-power refractor scope offered when I was a kid.
When my son is older, we're going to go to Chabot Space and Science Center near our home town and build a Newtonian reflector (for about $300) as part of a Friday night class they do there. But he's too young for that now, and a small scope will a great introduction. (I have some decent binoculars, but not enough power to see Jupiter's moons, I don't think -- I'll know better when I get my tripod adapter next week.)
So, naysayers, as an astro newbie, all I can say is that I'm jazzed about this project and can't wait till ordering information is available. 
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DblVision
professor emeritus
Reged: 10/11/06
Posts: 623
Loc: 29.99N 92.15W
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Like you, Senortim, we are waiting for word when the scopes will be available. Our kids go to a small school, and a dozen or so scopes could go a long way in the classroom. Scrounging enough cheap tripods from pawn shops will be a greater challenge!
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Neal
G.O. Sig 10.5x70
Swift 761 8X42
60mm Spotter
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