[AstroNet] Cost reduction : IYA2009 Galileoscope

[Lolan Naicker]

Hello,

The Galileoscope is a cornerstone project of IYA2009: "Ideally, every 
participant in an IYA2009 event should be able to take home one of these 
little telescopes, enabling them to observe with an instrument similar 
to Galileo's " - www.astonomy2009.org

To reduce the cost of galileoscopes distributed in Africa, the SAAO is 
evaluating local manufacturing capabilities.

The biggest hurdle to this plan is the cost of lenses, typically:

Objective 40mm diameter/Focal length 273mm
Eyepiece focal length: 18.2 mm/Magnifying power 15x

Does anyone know if there are any local manufacturers for such lenses?

Please reply to me at ln at saao.ac.za

Regards,
Mr Lolan Naicker