Telescope

Around 1450, Dutch spectacle makers realized that by combining a convex and concave lens in a tube, they could create a device that allowed distant objects to be seen as if they were nearby.

Hans Lippershey invented the telescope in 1608, which revolutionized astronomy by allowing people to see distant objects more clearly.

The earliest written description of a telescope dated September 25, 1608, was found in a letter from the provincial government of Zeeland, Netherlands, directing the Dutch States General to assist spectacle maker Hans Lipperhey. Lipperhey's design led to the invention of binoculars.

Italian physicist Galileo Galilei builds his own telescope based on Lippershey’s design, making significant improvements. He uses this new telescope to observe the sky, marking a milestone in the history of astronomy.

In 1616, Niccolo Zucchi experimented with a concave bronze mirror in an attempt to create a reflecting telescope.

In 1655, Christiaan Huygens discovered Saturn's moon Titan using a telescope with an objective diameter of 2.24 inches and a 12 ft focal length. This discovery was significant in expanding our knowledge of the solar system.

In 1659, Christiaan Huygens published 'Systema Saturnium', providing a true explanation of Saturn's rings based on observations made with his telescope. This publication marked a milestone in the understanding of Saturn's ring system.

Scottish mathematician James Gregory designed a reflecting telescope in 1663, known as the 'Gregorian', with a paraboloid primary mirror and ellipsoid secondary mirror.

In 1666, Isaac Newton discovered that chromatic colors in lenses were caused by uneven refraction of light through glass, leading to the development of achromatic refracting telescopes.

In 1668, Isaac Newton built the first reflector telescope incorporating a small flat diagonal mirror to reflect light to an eyepiece. This innovation marked a significant development in telescope technology.

Laurent Cassegrain creates a design for a reflecting telescope with a paraboloid primary mirror and a hyperboloid secondary mirror, known as the 'Cassegrain' design, which is still utilized in astronomical observatories.

In 1684, Cassini discovered Saturn's third and fourth moons using aerial telescope objectives made by Giuseppe Campani. These telescopes, with focal lengths of 100 and 136 feet, played a crucial role in expanding our understanding of Saturn's moon system.

John Hadley pioneers ways to create accurate parabolic mirrors, enhancing the Gregorian telescope.

John Hadley experiments with the Newtonian telescope design and showcases a 6-inch parabolic mirror to the Royal Society.

Chester Moore Hall invents the achromatic lens, a significant advancement in lens technology.

John Dollond reinvents and patents the achromatic lens, further improving optical instruments.

Sir Isaac Newton discovers that reflecting light within a telescope provides a clearer view of the universe by reducing the spectrum colors that obstructed the view.

On August 28, 1789, using his 40-foot telescope, William Herschel discovered Saturn's sixth known moon, Enceladus, marking a significant astronomical achievement.

On September 17, 1789, William Herschel discovered Saturn's seventh known moon, Mimas, with his 40-foot telescope, further contributing to his astronomical discoveries.

The 'Observatorio Astronómico Nacional de Colombia (OAN)' is established as the first observatory in the Americas, located in Bogotá, Colombia.

In 1845, William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse, built the 'Leviathan of Parsonstown,' a 72-inch Newtonian reflector telescope with which he discovered the spiral form of galaxies.

Carl Kellner designs and manufactures the first achromatic eyepiece, a significant contribution to optical instrument advancements.

William Herschel creates a new telescope using shiny metal instead of traditional mirrors or lenses. With this telescope, he observes the Milky Way, nebuli (unidentified at the time), and discovers Uranus and its moons.

George Hale oversaw the construction of Mt. Wilson Observatory, which housed the largest reflecting telescope in the world at that time.

In 1931, Karl Guthe Jansky made the serendipitous discovery of an astronomical radio source, marking the birth of the era of radio telescopes and radio astronomy.

Astronomers Penzius and Wilson discovered Cosmic Background Radiation, providing evidence for the Big Bang Theory.

The Hubble Space Telescope was launched on April 24th, 1990. It is one of the largest telescopes used today, capturing incredible images of the universe.

The Spitzer Space Telescope (SST), previously known as the Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF), was launched in 2003 as an infrared space observatory, marking the final mission of the NASA Great Observatories program.

The Kepler telescope was launched into space on March 7, 2009 with the purpose of providing a broader view of the universe and discovering Earth-like planets. Despite its mission, no Earth-like planets have been identified yet.

Astronomers presented the largest Hubble image to date, featuring a sweeping view of a portion of the Andromeda galaxy. The image includes over 100 million stars and thousands of star clusters within the galaxy’s disk.

Hubble images were released capturing light from the first-ever predicted supernova explosion. Astronomers predicted the supernova’s appearance by studying how a galaxy cluster’s immense gravity was bending and magnifying the light from the supernova.

Astronomers using Hubble announced that they had shattered the cosmic distance record by measuring the farthest galaxy ever seen in the universe at that time. The bright, infant galaxy, named GN-z11, was seen as it was 13.4 billion years in the past.

Scientists announced that they had used Hubble to discover a small, dark moon orbiting Makemake, the second brightest icy dwarf planet in the Kuiper Belt (after Pluto).

Astronomers announced the discovery of seven Earth-sized planets orbiting a star called TRAPPIST-1 using the Spitzer Space Telescope and that Hubble had examined the atmospheres of four of the planets.

Scientists presented Hubble images showing light from a source of gravitational waves produced when two neutron stars merged in the galaxy NGC 4993.

Astronomers released Hubble images of the farthest star ever seen, nicknamed Icarus, residing in a very distant spiral galaxy.

Astronomers unveiled the Legacy Deep Field, the largest portrait of the distant universe ever assembled with the Hubble Space Telescope.

Hubble detected water vapor in the atmosphere of a planet called K2-18b, which orbits a small red dwarf star about 110 light-years away.

Hubble viewed a still-forming, Jupiter-sized planet feeding off material surrounding a young star, one of only 15 exo-planets imaged to date.

Hubble detected the light of a star that existed within the first billion years after the big bang, surpassing the previous record by nearly 4 billion years.

Hubble determined the size of the largest comet nucleus ever seen, about 50 times larger than most known comet nuclei.