We're celebrating Galileo's birthday with a great deal on the iconic Galileoscope!

Monday is the birthday of the legendary Galileo, and we're celebrating all weekend long with a great deal on the iconic Galileoscope build-your-own refractor kit.

Created as a cornerstone project for the 2009 International Year of Astronomy (IYA), the Galileoscope telescope kit solved a long-standing problem: the lack of a high-quality, low-cost kit suitable for both optics education and celestial observation. The Galileoscope was also a cornerstone project of the 2015 International Year of Light (IYL).

Over the course of the project managed by volunteers and promoted mainly through word-of-mouth, more than a quarter-million Galileoscope kits have been distributed to teachers, students, and other enthusiasts in more than 110 countries for science education and public outreach.

The Galileoscope telescope kit includes all of the parts and instructions needed for a 50mm refractor. Assembly is quick and requires no tools or adhesives.

The kit includes a 20x eyepiece and a custom accessory that can be assembled as a 2x Barlow lens for a power of 50x or a 17x Galilean eyepiece with a right-side-up field of view less than 1/2° wide so the user can experience the views Galileo had of the the expansive night sky.

In addition to providing revealing views of the lunar surface, planetary features like Jupiter's Galilean moons and bright deep sky treats like the Orion Nebula, the Galileoscope helps users learn basic optical concepts, including how lenses form images and how magnification affects field of view.

Act now to grab a Galileoscope kit for yourself or the explorers in your life at a discount of 20% through February 16th!

This is a perfect weekend to tip your telescope to the man largely considered to be “the father of modern observational astronomy.” Galileo Galilei was born on February 15th in 1564 in Pisa, Italy, as the eldest of six children. Influenced by his father, a musician who had gained fame but not financial security, he began his university career with the intent to earn a degree in the more profitable discipline of medicine, However, he quickly discovered a passion for mathematics and the gears for his spectacular achievements in math, physics and astronomy were set in motion.

Galileo’s list of scientific accomplishments and inventions is daunting and covers a wide range of disciplines. In terms of astronomy, his most astounding contributions began in 1609 when he made remarkable improvements to a simple Dutch spyglass that was at the time awaiting patent.

Even though he had not seen the rumored device, he reasoned out how it would operate and created his own 3x telescope. Eventually his experiments led to larger magnification capabilities.

Using the scopes he designed, Galileo made many notable observations including discovering four of Jupiter’s largest moons, providing proof that Venus had phases and revealing that the Moon’s surface was not smooth but was instead a topographical treat that he went on to chart. He observed sunspots and confirmed that the heavens held vast amounts of stars that the naked eye could not discern. Throughout his life, he chipped away at the geocentric beliefs of the time that stated the Earth was at the center of the universe and all objects in space orbited it. At great personal risk, he championed the less-than-popular heliocentric theory, which held that the Sun was at the center of the solar system and the Earth and other planets revolved around it.

*Offer ends at 11:59 p.m. on Feb 28, 2021. While supplies last.

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