Here's one for the geeks and makers:
Ultrascope - an open-source Automated Robotic Observatory:
http://www.openspaceagency.com/ultrascope/
https://www.onshape.com/cad-blog/who...-for-asteroids
The Ultrascope project (currently in pre-Beta) aims to develop a kit-set robot telescope - or ARO (Automated Robotic Observatory), that will allow amateur astronomers to contribute to citizen science projects for a radically reduced cost - e.g. asteroid hunting, etc.
The first project is the Explorer Series Ultrascope, which is a 90 mm (3.5 inch) reflector ARO that is able to conduct celestial photography and photometry. The kit will be released as open-source plans for 3D printing or laser cutting, paired with an Arduino controller and a high-pixel smartphone (eg Lumia 1020 with 41 Megapixel CCD).
They are also working on a 200 mm (8") version, the Odyssey.
