Is this good for educators?

Yes — this version of "Telescope Designer for a vaccine rollout" is framed for educators teaching it to a class. Drop a live demo into a lecture or assign it as a shareable link — no lab installs.

Do I need to install anything?

No. It runs in any modern browser, free, with no account required.

For Educators · Telescope Designer

Telescope Designer for a vaccine rollout

Built for educators teaching it to a class. Drop a live demo into a lecture or assign it as a shareable link — no lab installs. Simulate a vaccine rollout live below — adjust the inputs and watch it respond, right in your browser.

Telescope

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Telescope OpticsLive

resolution · magnification · light grasp

Controls

Presets

Aperture (mm)

Objective focal length (mm)

Eyepiece focal length (mm)

Wavelength (nm)

Aperture rules everything: resolving power is θ = 1.22·λ/D (Rayleigh criterion), light-gathering scales as D², and the faintest visible star climbs with aperture. Magnification is just objective focal length divided by eyepiece focal length — and is useless beyond what the aperture can resolve.

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Data Inspector

Resolution0.69″

Magnification120×

Light vs eye816×

Limiting mag14.2

Governing equation

M = \frac{f _{o}}{f _{e}} = 120 \times, θ = \frac{1.22 λ}{D} = 0.6 9^{''}, grasp \propto D^{2}

Reading this result: Well matched: 120× sits under the 400× ceiling, so the 0.69″ resolving power of this aperture actually shows real detail.

Runs locally in your browser — free forever. Scale to the cloud when reality gets heavy.

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Also for:Students Researchers Engineers Hobbyists & Makers K-12 Students First Responders General version →

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Frequently asked questions

Is this good for educators?: Yes — this version of "Telescope Designer for a vaccine rollout" is framed for educators teaching it to a class. Drop a live demo into a lecture or assign it as a shareable link — no lab installs.
Do I need to install anything?: No. It runs in any modern browser, free, with no account required.