Group 70
Encyclopedia
Group 70 is a non-profit education
al organization of people from many countries all around the world and many walks of life seeking to make astronomy
available to the peoples of the world.
They began in 1988 with the goal of building a large amateur telescope
, a 70 inch astronomical instrument
. Upon completion it would be the largest telescope in the world built by and for amateur astronomers. Beyond building a large aperture telescope, they offer related instrumentation and services to those in amateur, professional and educational fields of astronomy.
As of mid-2008, the project has moved from San Jose, CA to Fremont CA and work has moved from the mirror to the steel and other optics.
Use of a comparable telescope in California is very expensive: a rental must be scheduled well in advance and the weather may not cooperate.
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
al organization of people from many countries all around the world and many walks of life seeking to make astronomy
Astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
available to the peoples of the world.
They began in 1988 with the goal of building a large amateur telescope
Amateur telescope making
Amateur telescope making is the activity of building telescopes as a hobby, as opposed to being a paid professional. Amateur telescope makers build their instruments for personal enjoyment of a technical challenge, as a way to obtain an inexpensive or personally customized telescope, or as a...
, a 70 inch astronomical instrument
Optical telescope
An optical telescope is a telescope which is used to gather and focus light mainly from the visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum for directly viewing a magnified image for making a photograph, or collecting data through electronic image sensors....
. Upon completion it would be the largest telescope in the world built by and for amateur astronomers. Beyond building a large aperture telescope, they offer related instrumentation and services to those in amateur, professional and educational fields of astronomy.
As of mid-2008, the project has moved from San Jose, CA to Fremont CA and work has moved from the mirror to the steel and other optics.
Use of a comparable telescope in California is very expensive: a rental must be scheduled well in advance and the weather may not cooperate.
See also
- The Liverpool TelescopeLiverpool TelescopeThe Liverpool Telescope is a fully robotic telescope that observes autonomously, i.e. it operates without human intervention. Professional astronomers and other registered users submit observation specifications to be considered by the telescope's robotic control system at any time of the day or...
, Faulkes Telescope NorthFaulkes Telescope NorthThe Faulkes Telescope North is a clone of the Liverpool Telescope, and is located at Haleakala Observatory in the U.S. state of Hawaii.The telescope is owned and operated by LCOGT. This telescope and its sister telescope Faulkes Telescope South are used by research and education groups across the...
and the Faulkes Telescope SouthFaulkes Telescope SouthThe Faulkes Telescope South is a clone of the Liverpool Telescope and is located at Siding Spring Observatory. It is a Ritchey-Chrétien telescope....
are 2 metres (6.6 ft) telescopes available for use over the internet by school children and other amateur astronomy groups - Optical telescopeOptical telescopeAn optical telescope is a telescope which is used to gather and focus light mainly from the visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum for directly viewing a magnified image for making a photograph, or collecting data through electronic image sensors....
- Amateur telescope makingAmateur telescope makingAmateur telescope making is the activity of building telescopes as a hobby, as opposed to being a paid professional. Amateur telescope makers build their instruments for personal enjoyment of a technical challenge, as a way to obtain an inexpensive or personally customized telescope, or as a...
- List of optical telescopes
External links
- The Group70 website
- Article from August 31, 2004 in the San Jose Mercury NewsSan Jose Mercury NewsThe San Jose Mercury News is a daily newspaper in San Jose, California. On its web site, however, it calls itself Silicon Valley Mercury News. The paper is owned by MediaNews Group...
- Introduction to telescope optics including NasmythJames NasmythJames Hall Nasmyth was a Scottish engineer and inventor famous for his development of the steam hammer. He was the co-founder of Nasmyth, Gaskell and Company manufacturers of machine tools...
design.