Post by Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe on Mar 28, 2007 16:39:16 GMT -6
Hanoi pub owner makes telescope
VietNamNet Bridge - The owner of a pub in Hanoi has succeeded in making a telescope, which now enables customers to simultaneously sip wine and contemplate the craters on the moon.
He is Trinh Van Hai, 41 years of age, and the owner of Tu Hai Pub in Hamlet 124/55 off Au Co Road. His pub is done in the style of a wine restaurant of ethnic minorities. Customers sip wine on a flowery mat under a thatched roof. Waiters wear traditional clothes of ethic minorities.
A few months ago, it occurred to Mr. Hai to organise an Astronomy Night for customers to enjoy the taste of wine and the sight of the moon. But telescopes imported from the US or Europe are too expensive; Chinese telescopes are cheap, but not of the right sort. So Mr. Hai, a former mechanical engineer at Hanoi Polytechnics University, was determined to make a telescope of his own.
After many days of surfing the Internet for info about how to make a telescope, Mr. Hai became acquainted with Dang Vu Tuan Son, Chairman of the Vietnam Astronomy Club. The 30-year old chairman of the Astronomy Club immediately accepted an offer to be Mr. Hai’s adviser in the process of making a telescope.
The two visited shops selling used objects to search for the right types of lenses and lens holders. To reduce costs, they chose a light PVC plastic tube as the holder, rather than the usual metal holders as used in imported telescopes.
The greatest difficulty they encountered was how to turn their telescope in all directions. Mr. Hai said that most imported telescopes were limited: their necks can only turn in the upward and downward directions. Mr. Hai and another friend, who is also an engineer, however, succeeded in creating a revolving neck for the telescope which was completed after 6 months and has the same features as Chinese telescopes and other imported products. It is even superior to them since observers can look at the sky from all directions without having to move the whole telescope. The telescope is 120 cm long, 185 cm high, and can be adjusted to the different heights of observers.
Mr. Dang Vu Tuan Son said this telescope could provide a decent view of the moon, especially from the 6th to the 10th of every lunar month. Observers can see many large-sized craters on the moon's surface as well as nearby planets in the solar system like Venus, Mars, and Jupiter. Mr. Son and Mr. Hai can even see the 4 moons moving around Jupiter. They are the 4 satellites Galileo Galilei observed with the first telescope in the world.
According to Mr. Son, the Vietnam Astronomy Club wants to preserve this made in Vietnam product as a gesture to encourage further studies of astronomy in Vietnam.
Asked why they didn’t buy a Chinese telescope, Mr. Hai said, "In Vietnam, at present, there isn’t any company or private organiasation which directly imports and sell telescopes in the Vietnamese market. There are only individuals who buy and sell them for VND 1.5 million (US $ 100) each. European telescopes are more expensive, costing more than US $ 300 each.” Mr. Hai’s telescope cost him VND 1 million.
Mr. Hai added, “I really want customers to have a chance to immerse themselves in the universe. But unfortunately, for the past several days, Hanoi’s sky has been cloudy and rainy and a perfect Astronomy Night is yet to come.”
Source: www.dailyastronomy.com/story.asp?ID=182751&Title=Hanoi%20pub%20owner%20makes%20telescope
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I don't see a focuser, so I assume it's just a slide in/slide out deal with the eyepiece. The mount looks just a little shaky and I bet vibrations last awhile.
I can't make out the R.A. lock, but the Dec axis seems to have a tension bar to secure elevation.
What is that contraption under his right arm by the table? It almost looks like a Soyuz mock up model.
Good for Trinh Van Hai...This is quite a nice thing to do for his customers...
Mow Diddy Mow!