The Telescope

Curated by Jackson

(Image 18)

This image shows a 200 mm refracting telescope that is located at the Poznań Observatory (Image 19)

What is a Telescope?

The telescope, a marvel of physics and optics. While a telescope may look like a simple device the amount of science that goes in to understanding it is astonishing. There are 2 main types of telescope, the Refracting telescope and the Reflecting telescope, and the type that was developed in the renaissance was the refracting telescope. A refracting Telescope works by having 2 lenses positioned at the ends of a tube, the one opposite to where the eye is is called the objective lens. and that lens bends light towards the focal point then the image is flipped is 180 degrees then is sent through the eyepiece and is magnified. (Willach)

The man depicted in the image above is the aforementioned Hans Lipperhey. (Image 21)

Who Invented The Telescope?

Hans Lipperhey, He filed the first patent for the telescope and was the first to demonstrate it at the Hague which was the place a sort of convention spot of scientific innovation for the early 1600s (Willach p.98-99). Between the time of 1608 to 1609 there were many claims to the invention of the telescope but had evidence to back up said claim. The first telescope lenses were made of crystals such as quartz and were slowly grind ed down to get the right shape.

This is a model of the Refracting telescope (Image 20)

How Does The Telescope Work?

The refracting telescope, unlike its counterpart the reflecting telescope, uses no mirrors and relies entirely upon the lenses to function. As light enters the front of the telescope it hits the first of the 2 lenses called the objective lens where the light is bent towards the focal point where it is then sent awarded the eye piece and is promptly magnified. Now while it may sound simple there are many problems with this form of telescope. as light reaches the focal point the image is inverted 180 degrees, so if you look at someone with a refracting telescope the will look as thought they are upside-down.

This image shows the phases of Venus (Image 22)

What Was The Telescope Used For?

The telescope during the renaissance was used for many things from warfare to sea travel to even magnifying distant celestial bodies. Galileo was the main figure of using the telescope for the 3rd option. He used it to observe the phases of Venus and the moons of Jupiter. These discoveries aided in the idea of the Heliocentric universe.

This Image shows the scientific method, a very basic processes of this was used during the scientific revolution. (Image 23)

Modern Science

In today's world, when you hear the word telescope, you probably think about the stars or far away universes. But the telescope has done more for modern science than what is seen on the surface. The telescope was a crucial tool in what is known today as the scientific revolution. The scientific revolution was a period of time from the 1540's to the 1680's where science evolved in a way. It went from a scene of tradition to one of observation and reasoning while giving non biased data. This time also kick-started many significant discovery's that would be extremely important for us going forward. (Rufus)

Other Websites

https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/telescopes/en/ - This website gives you further knowledge into how the a telescope works and why telescopes with mirrors work better than ones without one.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Lipperhey - This Page will tell you more about Hans Lipperhey.
https://www.britannica.com/science/optical-telescope - this website will give you a more in depth view of both kinds of telescope.

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