5 facts about telescope that you didn’t know
Have you ever glanced at the sky and thought what a glistening ball of light could be like? Astronomers use telescopes to see objects that are far away. Curved mirrors gather and focus light from the sky in most telescopes, including all large ones. Hans Lippershey, a Dutch spectacle maker, is credited with inventing this device. He was the first person to have applied for a patent for telescope in 1608. However, it was Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei who revolutionised astronomy by using a telescope to study about extra-terrestrial bodies in the 17th century.
Like any other scientific invention, the telescope too, has undergone a lot of changes and evolved over time. In fact, it would not be wrong to say that astronomy has come a long way due to the invention and modifications of the telescope. Right from Lippershey’s refracting telescope to Newton’s reflecting telescope to the Hubble Space telescope launched in 1990 telescopes have changed the way we view space. Hubble Space telescope found out that objects earlier thought to be clouds of gas and dust were in fact, galaxies beyond the Milky Way. The modern telescopes collect data from an electromagnetic spectrum which extends far beyond the visible light spectrum. Telescopes that look at radio, X-ray, and gamma-ray wavelengths have greatly expanded our knowledge of the universe. Let us take you through some unknown facts about telescopes.
Merchants used telescopes to beat the competition
Yes, you read that right. In the early days, telescope was apparently used for more than just gazing at the skies or simply looking at birds. They were sold for another reason altogether. Merchants used them to spot approaching trade ships in order to beat the competition!
Leviathan of Parsonstown was the largest telescope of all times
The Leviathan of Parsonstown, also known as the Rosse six-foot telescope, is a historic reflecting telescope with a 72-inch aperture that served as the world's largest telescope from 1845 until the 100-inch Hooker Telescope was built in California.
The Hubble Space Telescope takes only black and white images
The spectacular pictures of nebulae, supernovae and galaxies captured by the Hubble Space Telescope are usually released after a colour correction process. Since Hubble’s onboard digital cameras can only produce grayscale images, astronomers take numerous exposures of the same object using different filters, usually red, blue and green, to capture different wavelengths of light.
The all-new James Webb Telescope has a golden mirror
Having succeeded the ageing Hubble Space Telescope, the James Webb Telescope was built and launched by NASA on December 25, 2021 in collaboration with official space agencies of the European Union and Canada. The new telescope is said to be 100 times more powerful than its predecessor, the Hubble Space Telescope. Astronomers have pinned their hopes on the telescope’s golden mirror to help them view never-seen-before images of the universe.
China has sent the first robotic telescope to the moon
The telescope is said to be operational since 2013. According to experts, it might last up to 30 years!