Collimation Race

Race the clock to collimate a telescope with a simulated laser collimator. Drag-to-turn screws, animated mirrors, the same logic you need under the sky — with no risk of pinching a finger.

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What you'll do

A simulated laser collimator shines down the optical path. Two laser dots sit off-centre: one on the primary mirror, one returning to the collimator's target. Your job is to bring both dots to the centre by turning three screws per mirror (A, B, C). Drag a screw head in a small circle to turn it — each detent is one turn. Lower score is better.

What it trains

Which screw to turn next — the dot is high-left, so the mirror needs to tilt down-right. Translating the visible error into a screw choice is the whole skill, and it builds with repetition.
Push-pull discipline — on a real Newton each screw both tilts the mirror and changes its tension. Tightening one means easing another. The game mirrors that: turn three screws as a system, not in isolation.
Avoiding wobble — in Newton mode a screw that gets too loose lets the mirror wobble, and you can't hold collimation until you tighten it. Same lesson as the workshop: never finish on a loose screw.
Speed under pressure — the clock starts on your first screw turn. Doing it well in 30 seconds at home means doing it well in 90 seconds in the dark.

Two modes: SCT and Newton

The mode radio at the top of the page sets the telescope type. Pick the one that matches your scope — or use SCT as a warm-up before the timed Newton run.

SCT — only the secondary is adjustable (the primary on a real SCT is set at the factory). Smaller initial misalignment, no wobble, no leaderboard. Use it to learn the controls.
Newton — both mirrors are adjustable, the initial misalignment is wider, and wobble is enabled. Every finished run is submitted to the leaderboard. This is the competition mode.

The mode chip under the canvas tells you whether you're in practice or on the leaderboard track. Switching modes restarts the game.

How to play

Pick a mode — SCT to learn, Newton to compete.
Read the canvas — two laser dots show the current alignment of each mirror. Centre = collimated.
Turn a screw — drag the screw head in a small circle to turn it. Each detent counts as one turn. Coarse and fine buttons work for users who'd rather not drag.
Watch the rosette — each mirror has a rosette showing screw tension. A screw that runs into the red zone is dangerously loose; the wobble warning will tell you to tighten it.
Finish — the game ends the moment both dots are centred and the quality light goes green. Score is shown at the end.

Scoring

Score = elapsed seconds + 0.5 × screw turns. Lower is better.

The penalty for turns nudges you toward small, deliberate adjustments. Spamming the coarse buttons gets you to centre fast but pays for it in turns — a thoughtful run on the fine controls usually beats it.

Tips

Collimate the secondary first, then the primary. The order matters: the secondary defines where the optical axis points.
Coarse for the first pull, fine for the last 10%. Mixing the two costs less than you think.
If a dot stops moving when you turn a screw, the mirror is past its useful range — you're now driving tension, not tilt. Back off and use a different screw.
Watch the rosette while you turn. If one slice goes deep red, that screw is loose — tighten it before the wobble warning fires.
Practice on SCT until the controls feel automatic, then jump to Newton for a leaderboard time.