Amateur Astronomy and Telescope Making

No Tools Collimation

Instructions for how to collimate the primary and diagonal mirrors of a Newtonian telescope without the use of specialized tools.

Telescope Optical Parameters Calculator

Download this utility program to determine eyepiece magnification, image brightness, and field of view for your telescope.

(The webpage provides instruction for usage.)

Grinding an 8" Telescope Mirror

A pictoral guide (with descriptive text) to the mirror grinding process. Polishing and figuring are NOT covered.

Foucault Test Mirror Surface Profiler

Download this utility program to determine the actual surface height profile of a concave telescope mirror being examined with a slitless knife edge tester. A variation on the classic Foucault Mirror Test used for decades by amateur telescope makers.

(The webpage provides instruction for usage.)