Papercraft Dobsonian telescopes and more

Patti Schiendelman, our indexer for the upcoming Illustrated Guide to Astronomical Wonders, was poking around at the site of the German science novelty catalog who carries the Stirling Engine coffee cup, and noticed that they have a bunch of very cool working papercraft astronomy gear, including the Newtonian reflector pictured above. These look like they would be a blast to build.

Robert Bruce Thompson, author of the upcoming Illustrated Guide, wrote in with this translation (much better than Google’s):

Now what many of our customers have long been waiting for:

A cardboard kit for a fully-functional Newtonian mirror telescope with a
Dobson mounting for the price of a good quality shaving mirror.

Tube length: 440 mm
Tube opening: 60 mm

The heart of this kit, the main mirror, is of polished glass with a diameter
of 70 mm and a focal length of 450 mm, made specially for us by BAADER
Planetarium, the prominent German specialist in telescopes and astronomical
accessories. It is also individually available, just like the secondary mirrors.

2 eyepieces with lenses made of plastic provide 16X and 30X magnification, and
make it possible to see Lunar craters and, with careful alignment of the main
mirror, the moons of Jupiter.

For observing sunspots, a sun filter with BAADER solar film is available as an
accessory, both individually and as a discounted set together with the
telescope.

Sturdy, punched cardboard, with lovely accents in gold foil.

Papercraft Dobsonian – Link (translated to English)