Wonder of the Day #1606
How Was the Telescope Invented?
TECHNOLOGY — Inventions
Have You Ever Wondered...
How was the telescope invented?
Who invented the telescope?
Can you make a homemade telescope?
Do you ever like to go outside for a few minutes to gaze up at the stars in the sky? Do you
ever WONDER how far away those stars are or if there's anyone
else out there? If so,
you're not alone. The stars have always amazed human beings and beckoned to be explored.
Up until several hundred years ago, and without scientific tools to study the stars, all early
humans could do was stare at the sky and let their imaginations take them to the outer
reaches of the galaxy.
Today we have all sorts of advanced scientific technology to see the farthest reaches of
galaxies unimaginable distances away from us. From simple telescopes to space
telescopes that fly through our solar system sending images back to Earth, modern
scientists know more about the stars than ever before.
Even though the stars have probably captured human imaginations since our species
began, we've really only been able to study the stars with scientific tools for the last 400
years or so. In fact, the first telescopes weren't even inspired by a desire to study the
heavens, but instead came about from attempts to improve vision for people in daily life.
We don't know for sure who the first person was to notice that pieces of convex transparent
glasscould magnify objects. As early as the late 13th century, Italian glassmakers were
producing magnifying glasses and lenses to help those with vision problems.
These early lenses were the building blocks of what would become the first telescopes.
Hand-crafted by glassmakers rather than scientists, the focus of early magnification lenses
was on correcting vision problems that tended to develop with age.
Although all the pieces — concave and convex mirrors and lenses — were available as early
as 1450 or so, it doesn't appear that anyone assembled them together into the first
telescope until the early 1600s.
In 1608, eyeglass maker Hans Lippershey filed the first patent in the Netherlands for a
"certain instrument for seeing far." Although he might not have been the first person ever to
build a rudimentary telescope, Lippershey is generally considered the inventor of the
telescope because he was the first to file a patent application.
Lippershey's device, as well as those of other contemporaries, such as Jacob Metius, only
magnified objects about three times (3X). It took the efforts of a famous Italian scientist —
Galileo Galilei — to build a better telescope and put it to use studying the stars.
Galileo learned about the new device in 1609 and, without ever seeing one, built his own
version. Recognizing its possibilities, Galileo spent considerable time building different
versions of telescopes, improving its design along the way. By the end of 1609, Galileo had
improved magnification to 20-30X and became the first scientist to use the device to study
the heavens.
Galileo popularized the use of the telescope for scientific purposes. Its impact on science
can't be overstated. Revealing previously-unknown phenomena in the skies, the telescope
was the primary scientific tool that led the Scientific Revolution of the 17th century.
Wonder Contributors
We’d like to thank:
Rebecca for contributing questions about today’s
Wonder topic!
Keep WONDERing with us!
Wonder Words (18)
GAZE, STAR, SKY, TOOL, STUDY,
GLASS, GALAXY, CONVEX,
VISION, FOCUS, CONCAVE,
MIRROR, BECKONED,
UNIMAGINABLE,
MAGNIFICATION, RUDIMENTARY,
CONSIDERABLE, POPULARIZED
Wonder What's Next?
Tomorrow’s spooky Wonder of the Day may have you saying, “Nevermore!”
Try It Out
Point your eyes toward the stars and check out the following activities with a friend or family
member:
Have you ever used a telescope? Find one today and have fun checking it out. If you have a
telescope at home, you're really lucky. If not, you might ask your friends and family members
to see if anyone you know has one. If you can't find anyone who owns a telescope, you could
either save up your money to purchase one, or you could use one at school or a local
museum. Ask an adult friend or family member to help you find a telescope to have some
fun stargazing!
Chances are, if you like telescopes or astronomy, you've probably heard plenty about the
Hubble Space Telescope. Jump online and see for yourself the incredible images the Hubble
has captured on its way through outer space in the Hubble Site's Picture Album
(http://hubblesite.org/gallery/album/) . Which pictures do you find the most fascinating? Share
your favorite pictures with a friend or family member.
Up for a challenge? Jump online to check out NASA's Building a Telescope
(https://www.nasa.gov/pdf/350504main_Optics_Building_a_Telescope.pdf) activity. You'll need several
pieces of equipment, as well as the help of an adult friend or family member. Make sure you
can get the materials and help you need before you get started. Have fun making your own
homemade telescope!
Wonder Sources
http://www.space.com/21950-who-invented-the-telescope.html
http://www.universetoday.com/41889/who-invented-the-telescope/
http://amazing-space.stsci.edu/resources/explorations/groundup/lesson/scopes/galileo/
http://galileo.rice.edu/sci/instruments/telescope.html
http://wonderopolis.org/wonder/how-was-the-telescope-invented
© National Center for Families Learning (NCFL)