Green Astronomy: A Refractive Telescope Built from Recycled Materials

Overview

ABSTRACT Purpose: Telescopes, instruments that allow us to observe what is unseen to the naked eye, can be expensive and made from non-recycled materials. Using recycled materials, I constructed a refractive telescope with a tripod and compared it to a similar store-bought telescope (Celestron Explorascope 70AZ). Procedure: I constructed a refractive telescope out of PVC pipes and lenses. I also built a tripod entirely out of recycled materials. I tested the telescope for magnification and angular resolution (using arcseconds) mathematically. I tested the tripod for stability by using a vibration test. I also performed each test for the comparable store-bought telescope and tripod. Results: The telescope I constructed had a magnification of 12x, while the store-bought telescope had a magnification of 35x. As for angular resolution, the telescope I constructed had a range of 2.32-2.76 arcseconds. The store-bought telescope had a range of 1.66-1.99 arcseconds. Regarding the tripods’ stability, I found that the tripod I constructed vibrated for an average of 1.11 seconds, while the store-bought tripod vibrated for an average of 0.98 seconds. Conclusions: These results demonstrate that the telescope I constructed from recycled materials is comparable to a store-bought telescope. Its lower magnification (12x vs. 35x) provides a wider field of view. Furthermore, with a difference of less than one arcsecond in angular resolution and a 0.13-second vibration difference, the telescope I constructed is suitable for simple astronomy; setting the standard for more advanced recycled telescopes in the future.

Competition history

• CSEF 2026 Physics & Astronomy (Junior Division) · Entry J-17-07

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