With this telescope, amateurs and citizen scientists- and professionals alike- will have unprecedented power to explore the cosmos, at incredibly low cost.
Project Hubble1474 continues in development of a low-cost, large aperture telescope. In this effort at least 2 patentable technologies have been developed and possible others on the way.
Surprisingly, the most innovative and perhaps most valuable elements of this telescope design seem resolved, based on testing to date. Most of the time and effort has been on simply learning and understanding basic optics, photography, and related best practices which it seems even some of the most novice photographers understand with ease. Examples: here, here, and here.
Furthermore here in Northeast Ohio we have had cloudy skies for most every night over the last 2 months. Also while this region has an enthusiastic number of astronomers of a wide range of skills, Covid-19 has really limited opportunities for collaboration across the spectrum, from hobbyists through the professional community.
These projects, at least for now, happen after day job and family life. For this reason progress will take time.
Below are pictures taken from a cellphone camera, with minimal post-processing, and using an 8 inch Dobsonian telescope. The picture on the right is the Orion nebula. While crude, as you can see it’s possible to take pretty decent shots with low skill and inexpensive equipment.
