This simple lab enables students to build a telescope that is similar to Galileo’s.

• Build a telescope similar to a pinhole camera
• View inverted astronomical images
• Estimate the magnification power
• Find the focal length of a lens
• See how the moon looked to Galileo

Experiment with each element of a simple refracting telescope and see how the lenses work when put together without using an optical bench. Galileo’s first telescopes lacked precision and clarity. Nevertheless, he made astonishing discoveries with his crude instruments.