Discoveries Using Telescope
Galileo’s Telescope
In 1609, Galileo heard that there was a Dutch man who created a “spyglass”, which is a device that made distant objects seem near. Today, we call this a “telescope”.
This spyglass that was created was a rumour at that time and there were no patent for the creation and with that, Galileo was determined to create his own spyglass. It took Galileo 24 hours of experimenting and even without knowing how the spyglass looked like and with limited information; he created a 3-power spyglass. After some more work, he created a 10-power telescope. His creation gave him a very honorable reputation.
Galileo Galilei using his own telescope
Galileo Galilei – The Moon
With his telescope, Galileo made his telescope focus on the Moon. During his time period, it was believed that the moon was smooth and a polished heavenly body. With his telescope, he was able to observe that the Moon is uneven, rough, and full of cavities and prominences. This discovery was ignored and many people, even mathematicians, believed that what he saw was wrong.
Galileo's drawing of the moon
Galileo Galilei – Jupiter
By January 7, 1610, Galileo was able to improve his telescope and got it to 30-power. This telescope let him see four small, bright stars near planet Jupiter. Two were off to the west, two were to the east and they were all in a straight line. Later that same day, Galileo observed that the four stars were now all to the west of the planet but were still in a straight line. Galileo continued to observe these small stars and then concluded that these “stars” were actually satellites that rotate about Jupiter. His conclusion made him question whether Earth was not the center of the universe (as everyone at that time believed) and it is actually the Sun that is the center of the solar system.
What Galileo actually discovered were 4 of the most massive moons out of the 67 moons that orbit around Jupiter. These four moons are now called "Galilean Moons" in his honour.
The four Galilean Moons that orbit Jupiter
Galileo Galilei – More Discoveries
Galileo’s telescope had him discover more such as his belief that there were companion stars next to the planet Saturn due to seeing bumps next to Saturn. This later was found that the companion stars were actually edges of Saturn’s rings. He also saw spots on the Sun’s surface. Another discovery he made was the phases of Venus. He made this discovery in 1610 as well and found out that Venus has different variations of lighting that is seen on its surface. These phases are similar to the lunar phases.
These discoveries he made with his telescope and his telescope itself is one of the major reasons why is so known even after many centuries. The contributions he has made helped many come to certain conclusions about the understanding of Space.
Phases of Venus