The mystery of what lies beyond our vision will
forever haunt us. But the telescope is the invention that has helped put all of
it in perspective-our place and purpose as a species in the universe, the size
of our world, and the space around it. Considered one of the central
instruments of the scientific
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| Telescope |
revolution of the 17th century, the
telescope has brought within our grasp, the solar system and everything beyond
the barriers of the earth, providing that the earth is nothing but a big
circular rock. It has radically changed who we, as a species, think we are. It
has helped prove/disprove various theories related to earth and the stars.
Credited for the invention of the telescope is Dutch
eyeglass maker, Hans Lippershey, who applied for its patent first. However,
Galileo Galilee was the first use it to observe the heavens, and made great improvements in its technology, later finding craters on the moon, and
discovering the four largest moons of Jupiter. The first practical telescope though,
is credited to Newton since previous telescope designs were rather large and
not so easy to use. Over the years, the ability of telescope to gaze deeper
into space has grown exponentially. The famous Hubble telescope (named after
Edwin Hubble) orbits the earth once every 96 minutes, and has led to
discoveries such as the age of the universe, or the fact that the expansion of
the universe is speeding up, contrary to popular belief. The telescope keeps
unravelling the mysteries of the universe and reminds us as to how minuscule we
are in this staggeringly huge cosmos, and thus is definitely one of the
greatest inventions of mankind.
