We would love to help you make a telescope. It’s a great chance to learn the history of astronomy and astrophysics. Many significant discoveries have been made with amateur telescopes—going back to Galileo.
Aldrich has had many members of our club win awards at Stellafane for telescopes they have made and mirrors they have ground.
See below for some of these accomplishments.
Fran was awarded a first place ribbon at the 2012 Stellafane Convention for Best Optical Performance—an outstanding achievement.
Another member Charlie Stevenson won a 2nd place ribbon with his 8″ f/5.7 string telescope during the 2016 Stellafane Convention optical competition in the Newtonians 12.5″ and Smaller category.
At the 2021 Stellafane convention Aldrich member Steve Bodine won 1st place in Craftsmanship, 3rd Place Optical (Tie), and 2nd Place for Mechanical Design.
Steve tied with Optical design with another Aldrich member Jim Tully with his 8-inch f/7 Newt Poncet.