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Hans Lippershey, of German-Dutch descent, is generally credited with the earliest recorded design for the optical lens. His device enabled people to see things "far away as if they were nearby." He received a patent for his work, which was instrumental to the future of the telescope. http://www.robinsonlibrary.com/science/astronomy/instruments/graphics/lippershey.jpg
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Galileo did not first invent the telescope (as he is often credited) but he was the first to use it to study celestial bodies in the sky. His model used a crude refracting scope and, when later refined, could magnify up to 20x. Galileo was able to make observations of the heavens and view supernovas. http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/images/object_images/535x535/10315150.jpg
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Kepler used Galileo's discoveries in optics to refine the refracting telescope. He used primarily mathematics to make adjustments. He then invented several laws based on his observations. http://www.praguepost.com/pictures/1-20090826-2089-1277-pic.jpg
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Huygens altered the lens of Galileo's telescope into a plano-convex lens. His scope was 57 mm in diameter and 3.4 mm thick. His lens was accurate for its time. http://content.answcdn.com/main/content/img/scitech/HSchrist.jpg
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Gregory's scope used a method different than previous opticians. Gregory used a mirror rather than a pure lense to cut down spherical and chromatic aberrations, therefore increasing clarity. He was able to find the approximate distance of the Earth to the Sun with his intsrument. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/25/James_Gregory.jpeg
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Newton, a famous inventer at the time, decided to simplify Gregory's version of the telescope by using a concave lens reflecting onto a small, flat mirror. Newton's version decreased chromatic aberration. This resulted in additional clarity. http://www.it-is-funny.com/images/isaac_newton_old.jpg
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Hooke was a famous scientist. He collaborated with James Gregory on his improvements on the telescope. Hooke used this telescope to observe the heavens and Saturn's Rings. http://birthstory.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Robert-Hookes-microscope-287x300.jpg
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John Hadley decided to use trial and error rather than pure mathmatics to improve the telescope. Through tedious experimentation, Hadley implemented a parabolic mirror which was easy to adjsut and manuever. The mirror was 6 inches in diameter. http://www.telescopesinhistory.com/downloads/Scope%20Types/Herschel6inch.jpg
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A scottish instrument-maker, James Short made an incredibly accurate telescope for his time. It was considered a "perfect" model. He used the parabolic and elliptic methods do decrease aberrations. http://www.antiquetelescopes.org/short_reflector.jpg
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An optician, Carl Kellner worked little on telescopes. He was more concerned with lenses. In 1849, he introduced the compound eye-piece, which was revolutionary at the time and would later be improved upon. http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRYeD0UFRPvwDlUTzfcOoTzy5o6ui0IRfbQfaIKqQH6KtFM3z1Y
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Ernst Abbe, a brilliant mathmatic mind, improved the telescope through trigonometry. He invented the Abbe Sine condition which was a formula that could measure clarity of a scope. He primarily used it for microscopes but it also applied to telescopes. http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSgimFkSsdKkSuNB_AjTR5T_XyasnHVDaJnfK6yVVALRA1uzWbmTw
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At the time, most telescopes were rather small. Ritchey and Chretien wanted to make a larger telescope with a larger field of view. Although they succeeded with their model, it faced new problems such as astigmatism and field curvature. However, it is very clear and some models are still used today. http://www.telescopereviews.org.uk/images/ritchey-chretien-telescope1.jpg
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John Strong was a physicist at Cal Tech and a sharp mind. With new and improved technology in the world, Strong was able to make additions to the telescope that improved clarity and magnification. His telescope models would be surpassed to a great degree. http://img.qbd.com.au/product/l/9780486432625.jpg
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A Russian built "super telescope," the BTA telescope was a massive, 6 meter wide scope. It was supposed to offer deep space observation but it was so huge that it had problems. However, it opened the door for other huge telescopes and telescope observatories. http://arkhiz.com/images/BTA01_large.jpg
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The Hubble was the first telescope that the U.S. launched into space to orbit the planet. It is nearly the size of a school bus. Becuase its view is not distorted by our atmosphere, it produces amazing images. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3f/HST-SM4.jpeg/300px-HST-SM4.jpeg
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In 2008, Tegmark and Zaldarriaga published a paper about a computer-based digital telescope. This model is far cheaper than its predesesors with incredible resolution. However, this is still being developed. http://www.acceleratingfuture.com/michael/blog/images/maxtegmark.jpg
