Unique in the Netherlands: the library telescope

Starting 1 May, 2021, the Anton Pannekoek Institute (API) and the Amsterdam public library (OBA) will begin lending the first ever Dutch Library Telescope. The telescope, a portable so-called “Dobsonian telescope” with an 11 cm mirror, can be borrowed free of charge from the Oosterdok branch by library members 18 years old and older. The loan period is 3 weeks, to allow for the chance that there will be nights clear enough to use the telescope. The telescope comes with a zoom-lens, a manual, and a list of astronomical objects easily seen with a relatively small telescope, even within the light pollution of Amsterdam.