Astronomical Community Members 3D Print a Telescope

Members of the IKBFU Astronomical Community Vladimir Bashkirov and Sergey Borokhov 3D printed а telescope under the Student Startup programme.

Such a large 3D printed telescope is the first of its kind in the Kaliningrad region. Previously, IKBFU students have already created an astrograph with an aperture of 130 mm, whereas the new model has an aperture of 200 mm. Currently, the necessary documentation is being processed to obtain a patent.

The new telescope has a number of significant advantages over its analogues. Extensive use of additive technologies, high-strength plastics and lightweight aluminium support structures allowed to reduce the weight of the device and make it portable. By replacing several removable parts, the finished product can be transformed into an astrograph — a specialised instrument for astrophotography. The telescope supports standard aperture filters, which allows it to be used for daytime observations of the Sun . At night, the large diameter of the parabolic mirror and the focal length of one metre provide sufficient luminosity to observe and photograph dim astronomical objects — small bodies of the solar system or distant scattered clusters.