Sky & Telescope - November 2019 - 73

taught himself how to make printable
3D models on a computer. The result is a
large black cradle that was printed with
high-impact plastic yet looks like it could
be part of the original tripod.
Buoyed by that success, Kit designed
the ﬁnder brackets on his computer and
had them cut out of 5/8-inch sheet brass
using a commercial CNC water jet.
The result is a beautiful telescope
that combines telescope-making
techniques from the very beginning of
metalworking to the current day. As Kit
said, "To have constructed an antiquelooking replica - yet with state-of-theart modern optics - is a dream come

Sky & Telescope's

Mini Globes
Mars Globe

The editors of S&T
collaborated with
planetary specialists
to produce a base map
showing details as
small as 2 miles
in size.
15 cm across
120 feature labels

SRN: R5293
Price: $24.99 (Can $27.99)

Share in the

Moon Globe

WONDER

Like S&T's original
Moon globe, this
smaller version uses
a surface map based
on more than 15,000
photographs.
15 cm across
190 feature labels
p The 3D-printed mounting cradle fits in beautifully with the rest of the scope.

true. I learned many skills along the
way. The ﬁnal touch was spinning the
brass lens caps, another process I had
never tried before."
As you might suspect from the photos, the scope and mount are heavy. The
scope weighs 38 pounds, and the mount
63. Kit reports that "Even separating the
tripod and the optical tube assembly is
really a two-person job."
Sadly, Kit didn't get to use the scope
much after he completed it. He died just
days after sending me his submission
letter. But in that letter he said something that still makes me smile, for it's
true of every ATM project I've ever done
and sums up so well why we build our
own telescopes. Kit said, "The project
was a long time coming, but the fun
was in the journey."
Indeed it is. Many thanks, Kit, for
taking this journey and sharing it with
the rest of us.

■ Contributing Editor JERRY OLTION
also has a few (dozen) long-term projects in various stages of completion.

TOURS

SRN: R5294
Price: $24.99 (Can $27.99)

2020
FEBRUARY
Costa Rica Southern Sky Party

Venus Globe
obe
Even though Venus
us
is covered by dense
se
clouds, radar reveals
als
a wonderland of
craters and other
geologic features
shown on this globe.
be.
15 cm across
150 feature labels

JUNE
Ethiopia Annular Solar Eclipse

FPO
F
PO

SRN: R9933
.99)
Price: $24.99 (Can $27.99)

DECEMBER
Argentina & Brazil Total Solar Eclipse
South Paciﬁc Cruise to Totality
Wonders of Chile Total Solar Eclipse

2021
FEBRUARY
Costa Rica Southern Sky Party

Mercuryy Globe
NASA scientists
ts used
thousands of images
mages
from the Messenger
enger
spacecraft to produce
roduce
a custom-colorr map
that reveals amazing
mazing
details on the innermost planet.
15 cm across
200 feature labels
ls

SEPTEMBER
Northern Iceland Aurora

DECEMBER
Antarctic Expedition to Totality

FPO
F
PO

SRN: R9932
Price: $24.99 (Can $27.99)

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TravelQuestTours.com
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Sky & Telescope - November 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Sky & Telescope - November 2019