Abstract
Having heard about a newly invented optical instrument that made distant objects appear larger, Galileo Galilei (1564–1642), a professor of mathematics at Padua University, ground and polished his own lenses to make small, simple telescopes of his own. Although a number of people had made and used telescopes in the months before Galileo placed his own eye to the eyepiece, Galileo is acknowledged by most to have been the first to turn the telescope to the skies to make scientific observations.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2014 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Grego, P. (2014). The Telescopic Era. In: Blazing a Ghostly Trail. The Patrick Moore Practical Astronomy Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-01775-4_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-01775-4_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-01774-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-01775-4
eBook Packages: Physics and AstronomyPhysics and Astronomy (R0)