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Highly commended: DIY Telescope

Congratulations to Eeshan from Heckmondwike Grammar School who won the Highly Commended Award for the Aged 14 category. Eeshan built a telescope in an attempt to explore and understand the mysteries of our universe . Take a look at his entry below:

The universe: An incomprehensibly vast space, filled with many mysteries. Even in this day and age, we cannot hope to understand all its ins and outs. However, an invention which uses some simple laws of physics can help us take a great leap in our understanding of what lies beyond our blue sphere of earth – the telescope. Through lenses, it utilizes the laws of refraction, magnifying the perspective of the person looking through the eyepiece and allowing us to witness what goes on in outer space.

How it works(overview): There are 2 lenses in most telescopes. The largest of which sits on the end of the telescope, furthest from the eye. As light rays pass through this lens, they converge (join) and focus on a point. After that point, they carry on in their path and diverge. This is when they meet the eyepiece lens. As the light rays pass through this lens, they converge again, enough to match the size of the viewer’s eye. This allows the viewer to clearly see things that they would normally not have known to exist, therefore enabling them see into outer space.