Build Your Own Pinhole Camera and Telescope!
(Recommended for ages 12+)
In this lab, students learn the basics of how telescopes work, first by building a camera obscura (or a ‘Pinhole Camera’) to visualize the paths of light rays through an aperture, then by constructing miniature telescopes to see how lenses are used to magnify images.
THE DYNAMIC RADIO SKY DEMO
(All ages)
In this demo, you can explore the wide range of transient radio phenomena we observe from our Galaxy and beyond. Below is a screen-capture of the graphic interface, which shows the Milky Way overlaid with pulsar, magnetar, and Fast Radio Burst (FRB) positions. When the mouse hovers over an object it will display its name. When clicked, the program will play a sound wave that is transposed from radio signals (either real or simulated models) we have detected from that object. Click on “Linear”, “Circular”, or “Intensity” to hear how the light’s polarization affects the sound. The demo is available for download at https://github.com/mbsherma/dynamicradiosky. The figure below shows the user interface for this demo.
Myles B. Sherman 