What are telescopes?
Telescopes are tools used by astronomers to see faraway objects. They work by using curved mirrors to gather and focus light. The first telescopes that were created focused light by using pieces of curved, clear glass, called lenses. Today we use mirrors because they are lighter and can be made perfectly smooth. Powerful telescopes can see things that are dim and far away. The bigger the mirrors or lenses, the more light the telescope can gather, which is what we see when we look into the telescope.
Lenses
A telescope made with lenses is called a refracting telescope. The mirrors and lenses in the telescope must be the right shape to concentrate the light. If they have any scratches or spots, the image gets warped or blurry and is difficult to see. Telescopes bend light, making faraway things seem closer.
How were they created?
We are not entirely sure who created telescopes. Dutch eyeglass maker Hans Lippershey was the first person to apply for a telescope patent. His device could magnify objects three times and had a concave eyepiece aligned with a convex objective lens. Some people argued at the time that he stole the design from Zacharias Jansen, another eyeglass maker.
Citiations:
Cox, Lauren. “Who Invented the Telescope?” Space.com, Space, 26 Oct. 2021, https://www.space.com/21950-who-invented-the-telescope.html.
“How Do Telescopes Work?” NASA, NASA, 30 Sept. 2021, https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/telescopes/en/.
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