3D Printed Newtonian Telescope for Less Than $100

If you have access to a 3D printer, you can make this telescope for less than $50.

According to the author, his mission was to make an attractive alternative to the shoddy, hard-to-use "hobby-killer" scopes in the $100-200 range, with the hope that more people will find an open door to planetary observation and entry-level astrophotography.

The Hadley telescope is a 114/900mm (f/8) reflector with a spherical primary mirror, which is effectively a perfect parabola at this size. This telescope really shines for visual and photographic astronomy of the planets and the moon.

The 3D files available for printing this telescope are calculated for a primary mirror that has 114mm of diameter and 900mm of focal distance. 

Ideally, you want the primary mirror to be a parabolic mirror; however, at this focal ratio a spherical mirror behaves almost identically to a parabolic mirror and it is a lot cheaper.

You can buy a mirror set that includes a spherical primary and a secondary for approximately $35 USD at Amazon.

All the files required to 3D print this telescope with some additional information are available at PRINTABLES.

If you are feeling lazy or if you don't have access to a 3D printer, you can buy a kit from the author of this design on his website. Just visit the page and scroll to the bottom for instructions on how to buy some of the parts or the entire kit.