History of discovery

The History of the Telescope

From Galileo first turning a spyglass on the sky in 1609 — finding craters on the Moon and moons around Jupiter — through William Herschel's reflecting telescopes, one of which discovered Uranus, to the segmented giants and space telescopes of today. Each leap in aperture opened new depths of the universe.

Galileo Galilei
William Herschel

Across the history of discovery

Instrumentation-Driven Discovery

Knowledge connections

Associated withInstrumentation-Driven Discovery
Associated withGalileo Galilei
Associated withWilliam Herschel

Sources

Facts on this topic will be cited from these primary and reference sources.

NASANational Aeronautics and Space Administration
Mission data, planetary science, space telescopes, and public-domain imagery.
Most NASA-produced imagery is in the public domain; individual items are checked for usage terms before publication.

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The History of the Telescope

Astronomers, eras & methods

Across the history of discovery

Knowledge connections

Sources

The History of the Telescope

Astronomers, eras & methods

Across the history of discovery

Knowledge connections

Sources