During the 2002-2003 school year Kingston Junior High School students, especially Danny Glushko and Jayson Stemmler, were involved in the construction of the KJH telescope.  We spent 9 months on the construction.  Funding was provided by grants from the Washington State Teachers Association, NASA, the KJH ASB and the KJH PTSA.  North Kitsap High School alumnus Bob Mathews generously provided a mirror blank and taught the students how to grind, polish and figure the mirror.  First light for the telesocpe was on August 25, 2003.  Since that time, over 8000 people have looked through the telescope.  The telescope weighs about 105 pounds.  Mr. Goar recently completed a larger telescope -- a 20 inch Dobsonian called Draco.

 

For students who are interested in learning to use the telescope independently, the Kingston Observers Group provides

training and an observation project.  For those who complete the project, an attractive certificate is awarded.  Students

get to observe whenever there is a favorable moon phase and no clouds -- minimum of two students working on the

project supervised by Mr. Goar at the KMS football field.  Parents and siblings are always welcome.

 

The moon is a fascinating target for the telescope, but its light makes the view of other things poorer.  For that reason, I tend to use the telescope when the moon is absent from the sky, such as near the new moon phase.

 

You can see planets and their moons, asteroids, comets, double and multiple stars, nebulae (clouds of dust and gas in space), planetary nebulae (exploded stars), supernova remnants (a bigger explosion of a star), open star clusters, globular star clusters and galaxies of many shapes.