"Wheelchair Users and Children Can Comfortably Observe Constellations"

National Gwacheon Science Museum Installs Korea's First Relay Focusing Device on Observatory Telescope

Installation of Relay Eyepiece Observation Facility for the Main Telescope at the Gwacheon National Science Museum Observatory

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] Observatory telescopes are usually positioned high, making it difficult for wheelchair users or short children to look through them. For the first time among domestic observatories, the National Gwacheon Science Museum has installed a relay eyepiece device that allows users to look through the telescope while seated.

On the 17th, the National Gwacheon Science Museum announced that it has developed a relay eyepiece device enabling physically disadvantaged individuals, such as wheelchair users and short children, to safely and conveniently observe celestial bodies. The relay eyepiece device is designed to extend the focal point of the astronomical telescope toward the observer’s direction without changing the magnification, allowing observation in a comfortable and stable posture.

Since its opening in 2008, the observatory at the National Gwacheon Science Museum has been one of Korea’s representative astronomical observation facilities, visited by approximately 450,000 people. In particular, its main 1-meter telescope is the largest among telescopes in the Seoul metropolitan area. It can observe celestial bodies more than 20,000 times fainter than the naked eye, vividly capturing not only nebulae and star clusters thousands or tens of thousands of light-years away but also galaxies hundreds of millions of light-years distant.

However, the main telescope at the National Gwacheon Science Museum observatory is 9 meters in total length, and the eyepiece is positioned high, requiring visitors to use a movable staircase to observe. Therefore, wheelchair users and short children have not been able to directly observe stars with their own eyes. To solve this problem, the National Gwacheon Science Museum formed an astronomical observation research group in 2020 and began studying the relay system. Through data collection and expert consultation, a prototype was produced and presented at the International Science Museum Symposium (ISSM). In 2021, several test observations identified issues with the prototype, and funding was secured for actual production. This year, with the participation of experts in science museums, optics, and mechanical design, the relay eyepiece device was completed after addressing the identified problems.

With the development of this relay eyepiece device, the National Gwacheon Science Museum plans to develop and operate various astronomical observation programs accessible to physically disadvantaged individuals, including people with disabilities. It also intends to encourage widespread adoption of the relay eyepiece device by providing technical support for production and utilization to domestic astronomical facilities equipped with large telescopes.

Park Dae-young, head of the Astronomy and Space Team who planned and developed the relay eyepiece device, stated, “The desire to see stars through a celestial telescope is the same for adults, children, people with disabilities, and those without.” He added, “With this development, everyone visiting the Gwacheon Science Museum observatory can see the mysterious and beautiful stars without discrimination, and I hope other observatories actively adopt the relay eyepiece device as well.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.