![]() ![]() The 200 in (508 cm) diameter reflecting telescope at Mt. The reason for this occurrence is that larger telescopes can see further because they can collect more light. However, there are many telescopes around the world with diameters several times this value. As will be seen below, resolution limits on telescopes would not call for an aperture much larger than about 30 in (76 cm). The primary function of a telescope is that of radiation gathering, in many cases light gathering. Computers are now used to aid in the design of large, complex telescope systems. Since then, telescopes have increased in size and improved in image quality. With this telescope and several following versions, Galileo made the first telescopic observations of the sky and discovered lunar mountains, four of Jupiter ’s moons, sunspots, and the starry nature of the Milky Way galaxy. The following year, Italian astronomer and physicist Galileo Galilei (1564 – 1642) built the first astronomical telescope, from a tube containing two lenses of different focal lengths aligned on a single axis (the elements of this telescope are still on display in Florence, Italy). The first optical telescope was probably constructed by German-born Dutch lensmaker Hans Lippershey (1570 –1619), in 1608. ![]() The word telescope is derived from the Greek tele meaning far, and skopein meaning to view. The one characteristic all telescopes have in common is the ability to make distant objects appear to be closer. In a broader sense, telescopes can operateĪt most frequencies of the electromagnetic spectrum, from radio waves to gamma rays. The most common type is the optical telescope, a collection of lenses and/or mirrors that is used to allow the viewer to see distant objects more clearly by magnifying them or to increase the effective brightness of a faint object. Galileo's contribution to the human understanding of the universe could not be overstated.The telescope is an instrument that collects and analyzes the radiation emitted by distant sources. His pioneering work in astronomy resonated for centuries, in the sciences of optics, navigation, astronomy and physics. Despite the official reprimand, his alliances with wealthy and powerful Tuscan and Florentine enabled him to continue working. A poorly executed Inquisition procedure against other adherents of Copernicanism forced Galileo to recant his assertions. This earned him enemies in Rome, as Copernicanism was considered heretically inconsistent with Holy Scripture. He was an adherent of the Copernican heliocentric view of the universe, which stated that the Earth and other planets revolved around the sun. In 1610, he discovered several of Jupiter's moons and realized that his telescope showed many more stars than were visible to the naked eye. He discovered the moon's surface was not smooth, as most thought, but rough and uneven. With it, he observed the heavens and drew the phases of the moon. In late 1609, he developed a telescope that magnified up to 20 times. They awarded him a life tenure and doubled his salary, making him one of the highest paid professors at the University of Padua, where he taught from 1592 until 1610. After teaching himself the art of lens grinding, he created increasingly powerful telescopes, and in August of that year he presented an eight-powered instrument to the Venetian Senate. Though others did the same, what distinguished Galileo was that he figured out ways to improve the instrument. Galileo quickly figured out the secret of the invention and made his own three-powered spyglass from lenses purchased at a spectacle maker's shop. In 1609, he caught wind of a device in the Netherlands that could show distant things as though they were close by. Contrary to popular belief, Galileo Galilei, the noted Italian astronomer and physicist, did not invent the telescope. ![]()
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