The College of Arts and Science holds an astronomy open house at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University a few times per semester. Touring the 1-meter telescope and giving lectures on its uses for studen..
The College of Arts and Science holds an astronomy open house at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University a few times per semester. Touring the 1-meter telescope and giving lectures on its uses for student research and its capabilities. The outreach parascope lets the guests observe what the telescope is pointed at, without having to use the onboard camera. The parascope is a 3D-printed optical system reflecting the light from the 1-meter telescope, down the tubes, and into the observers' eyes. There are 2 lenses inside the tube, one for light collimation and another for focusing that light, allowing the human eye to view the image. At the very end of the parascope, there is an eyepiece, giving more magnification and clarity to the image for the observer. At the first open house of the semester in September, the outreach parascope performed great and allowed over a thousand guests to observe the moon and Saturn. Though more upgrades will be needed, giving a better image and a more comfortable observing time.
