An Artful Observation of the Cosmos
Galileo and the Telescope
In the Starry Messenger (1610), Galileo published the first observations of the heavens made with the telescope. His report caused a sensation, as he claimed to discover mountains on the Moon, vast numbers of previously undetected stars and four satellites of Jupiter. The planet Jupiter moves through the heavens without leaving its satellites behind. The Earth and Moon both have mountains, seas, atmospheres, and both shine by reflected light. All of these discoveries might suggest that the Earth is also a wandering planet.
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Starry Messenger Galileo, (1610) Featuring Galileo's Handwriting. When Galileo heard news of telescopes invented in the Netherlands he worked out the underlying geometry and crafted one of his own design. In this work, Galileo published the first observations of the heavens made with the telescope. |
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The Works of Giorgio Vasari, vol. 1 Vasari , Giorgio (1878-85) Astronomers and artists alike studied the science of perspective. The title page of the Sidereus nuncius refers to the telescope as a little “perspective tube” (perspicilli). |
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The Works of Giorgio Vasari, vol. 2 Vasari
, Giorgio (1878-85) Astronomers and artists alike studied the science of perspective. The title page of the Sidereus nuncius refers to the telescope as a little “perspective tube” (perspicilli). |
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The Works of Giorgio Vasari, vol. 3 Vasari
, Giorgio (1878-85) Astronomers and artists alike studied the science of perspective. The title page of the Sidereus nuncius refers to the telescope as a little “perspective tube” (perspicilli). |
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The Works of Giorgio Vasari, vol. 4 Vasari
, Giorgio (1878-85) Astronomers and artists alike studied the science of perspective. The title page of the Sidereus nuncius refers to the telescope as a little “perspective tube” (perspicilli). |
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The Works of Giorgio Vasari, vol. 5 Vasari
, Giorgio (1878-85) Astronomers and artists alike studied the science of perspective. The title page of the Sidereus nuncius refers to the telescope as a little “perspective tube” (perspicilli). |
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The Works of Giorgio Vasari, vol. 6 Vasari
, Giorgio (1878-85) Astronomers and artists alike studied the science of perspective. The title page of the Sidereus nuncius refers to the telescope as a little “perspective tube” (perspicilli). |
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The Works of Giorgio Vasari, vol. 7 Vasari
, Giorgio (1878-85) Astronomers and artists alike studied the science of perspective. The title page of the Sidereus nuncius refers to the telescope as a little “perspective tube” (perspicilli). |
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The Works of Giorgio Vasari, vol. 8 Vasari
, Giorgio (1878-85) Astronomers and artists alike studied the science of perspective. The title page of the Sidereus nuncius refers to the telescope as a little “perspective tube” (perspicilli). |
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Galileo Telescope replica ( ) The optics, leather and gold tooling of the telescope suggest how scientific instruments were crafted with a combination of engineering expertise and bookbinding arts. Galileo’s telescope included two lenses, an ocular lens near the eye, and an objective lens at the far end of the tube. |
