19.6 Telescopes from the Ground Up

Kepler

Jan 1, 1600

First he replaced the concave eyepiece lens with a convex lens. This change let the telescope see a much larger area. Eventually, people stopped using the design made popular by Galileo and adopted Kepler’s two-convex lens design.
Link: http://amazingspace.org/resources/explorations/groundup/lesson/eras/early-refractors/index.php

Galileo

Jan 1, 1609

Galileo’s refracting telescope was made by him after hearing about newly invented spyglass used my the military. Link: http://amazingspace.org/resources/explorations/groundup/lesson/eras/galileo/index.php

Newton’s Reflectors

Jan 1, 1668

Newton made this telescope to study optics, not to observe the sky. Link: http://amazingspace.org/resources/explorations/groundup/lesson/scopes/newton/index.php

Hevelius’ Refractors

Jan 1, 1673

In the early 1600s, Galileo had built telescopes that were no more than 4 feet long. By 1647, Johannes Hevelius, a Polish brewer and councilor, had built a 12-foot-long telescope in an attempt to improve his view of the sky. That was just the beginning. Information and picture from: http://amazingspace.org/resources/explorations/groundup/lesson/scopes/hevelius/index.php

Huygens’ Refractors

Jan 1, 1686

Using his telescopes, Huygens discovered that Saturn's "bulges" were rings that were not attached to the planet at all. Information and Picture from: http://amazingspace.org/resources/explorations/groundup/lesson/scopes/huygens/index.php

Chester Moor Hall of England

Jan 1, 1729

Experimenting with lenses, realized he could use this effect to solve the problem of chromatic aberration. Link: http://amazingspace.org/resources/explorations/groundup/lesson/eras/great-refractors/index.php

Herschel’s Reflectors

Jan 1, 1789

Discovered the planet Uranus. Link: http://amazingspace.org/resources/explorations/groundup/lesson/scopes/herschel/index.php

Lord Rosse’s Reflectors

Jan 1, 1845

First telescope to view the spiral structure of the object the Whirlpool Galaxy. Link: http://amazingspace.org/resources/explorations/groundup/lesson/scopes/rosse/index.php

Ritchey’s 60-inch Reflector

Jan 1, 1908

Discovered that most stars at the same temperature have the same brightness and, surprisingly, contain the same amount of matter. Link: http://amazingspace.org/resources/explorations/groundup/lesson/scopes/ritchey/index.php

Hooker 100-inch Reflector

Jan 1, 1917

Galaxies outside our own Milky Way and that they are moving away from us. Link: http://amazingspace.org/resources/explorations/groundup/lesson/scopes/mt_wilson/index.php