Galileo Galilei and the telescope
The telescope was invented in the early 1700th century and was first found in Holland. Galileo Galilei was not the person who invented the telescope but he was the one who introduced it to the modern society. It helped him to prove that in our solar system all the planets orbit the sun (heliocentric) instead of the planets orbiting around the earth (geocentric).
What importance did the telescope have during the 1700th century? How important is it today? Is it more or less important than during the 1700th century? Has it changed much since it was first invented?
As stated earlier the telescope had very much importance for Galileo in order to prove his thoughts about the heliocentric solar system. It also enabled further studies of our solar system. With the telescope Galileo found that the surface of the moon was not smooth but very rough with many craters and mountains. This finding meant that he could disprove Aristotle’s theory of a completely smooth moon.
Today the telescopes are very important since we strive to get more and more knowledge of other galaxies and solar systems. I would say that it is of more importance today since now we can see so much further away than before. Previously one could see the moon clear with a telescope, but now we can see into other galaxies. The telescope has also changed from when it was first invented, the lenses which were used to capture images are now replaced by mirrors which are used to increase the length of vision. For example we have Hubble, which is up in space and can be used to see very great distances.
/Daniel S Wong
