Galileo and the Telescope

How and Why did Galileo improve the Telescope?

Galileo and the Telescope

Introduction

The universe is huge, there are many unknown mysteries about space. Throughout history, scientists have slowly but surely improved the technology used to observe space. But who started the curiosity about space? His name was Galileo Galilei. So it leads to the main question, "Who was Galileo? How and why did he improve the telescope?" Galileo Galilei was a physicist and astronomer born in Pisa on February 15, 1564.

He improved the telescope by aiming it to the sky, and finding new uses for it, such as observing space and learning about other planets. Galileo changed how people viewed the Solar system after, letting us know that the Copernican Theory was actually real.

Evidence

First off, who was Galileo? Galileo Galilei was an Italian astronomer who was born in Pisa, Italy on 15 February 1564. In 1581, Galileo went to study in the University of Pisa. When he was there, he found out that he had a special talent in mathematics. Later on, in 1609, Galileo used his knowledge and technical skills to improve upon the spyglass and build a telescope. (Galileo Galilei 2017)

So, how did Galileo improve the telescope? The first telescope wasn't invented by Galileo, in fact, it was actually made by German-Dutch lensmaker Hans Lippershey. Its first purpose was for seeing things far away; as if they were close to you. He claimed that his "spyglass" was able to magnify up to 3 times the human eye. But instead of looking left, right, or down, Galileo aimed up with the telescope. And because of this decision, he made some discoveries that changed astronomy forever.(All About Space Magazine 2017).

But he was sentenced to house arrest to his villa in Arcetri where he died January 8, 1642 after suffering from fever and heart palpitations, without knowing that his theory would one day revolutionize astronomy. (Galileo 2017 Biography.com.)

According to the church, the Earth was the center to the universe, and everything else revolves around it. This was also known as the Ptolemaic models. But according to the Copernican Theory, the Sun was the center or the universe, and everything else revolves around it.(The Galileo Project, Copernican System, 2017)

Galileo supported this theory and decided to use (and improve) the telescope to help him with his studies. He enhanced the magnification of the original telescope to where it was 20 times the human eye.(Galileo's Telescope, n.d) With this telescope, he was able to look at the moon, discover the four satellites of Jupiter, observe a supernova, verify the phases of Venus, and discover sunspots. His discoveries proved the Copernican Theory.

One day, Galileo observed Venus and found out that in Ptolemaic models, Venus should always be between the Earth and the Sun. But Galileo noticed that Venus had a lit side and a dark side, which shows that Venus could be on the opposite side of the sun.(Michael J.I. Brown, 2017). There was no way the Ptolemaic models could have proved these observations wrong therefore these findings angered the Church.

Conclusion

So, Galileo was a scientist/physicist who became interested in the Copernican Theory and decided to research about it. He then spent the majority of his life devoting time and energy into the research of astronomy. He did what everyone thought was crazy and never looked back. He was brave enough to defy the church and share the information he discovered even during the Renaissance. If he didn't have this courage, astronomy would've followed the Ptolemaic models even to this day. Without him, there would be no Hubble Space Telescope, there would be no observatories, and astronomy could've been forgotten after the Renaissance.

Appendix

Ptolemaic Models

Copernican Theory

Galileo Galilei

The first telescope's blueprint

Bibliography

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Astronomy, S. (2017). Galileo Galilei: Biography, Inventions & Other Facts. Space.com. Retrieved 7 December 2017, from

(2017). Upload.wikimedia.org. Retrieved 10 December 2017, from (2017). Biography.com. Retrieved 10 December 2017, from Starry Messenger: Galileo's Telescope. (2017). Sites.hps.cam.ac.uk. Retrieved 10 December 2017, from