At one point in time, the stars and the moon held mysteries that mankind could only guess at. Knowledge only came with observation and study, yet this was nearly impossible when the objective was far away. By providing magnified views of distant objects, telescopes allowed mankind to learn about the night skies and the planets around us.

Other areas of study, including land and sea navigation, have prospered from the invention of the telescope. Binoculars, microscopes, camera lenses, and binocular spotting scopes, binoculars cameras , monoculars to name a few, are all here today because of telescopes.

telescopes
The earliest known telescope was created in 1608, and Galileo Galilei built his in 1609. Galileo is credited with the first astronomical uses of the telescope. Initially, it was used to spot ships. Johannes Kepler further improved upon Galileo's design in 1611. From its modest creation from a pair of lenses, the telescope of today bears little resemblance to its ancient ancestor.

The telescope falls into three categories: reflecting, refracting and catadioptric. A reflecting telescope uses an arrangement of mirrors, a refracting telescope uses an arrangement of lenses, while a catadioptric telescope uses a combination of lenses and mirrors.

Telescopic research is an area where technology has advanced. When presented with the limitations of the refracting telescope, development of the reflecting telescope commenced. Initially designed in 1616, it wasn't until 1668 that Sir Issac Newton developed the first practical reflecting telescope.

compact binoculars
As with other telescopes, the larger the primary reflector, the better the image will be. Today's optical systems range from less than 2 meters to over 11 meters. Unfortunately, the atmosphere of the earth limits the effectiveness of ground based systems because of atmospheric distortion. Several solutions to this problem have been found, including the Hubble Space Telescope.

Since its beginning in renaissance Venice, the telescope has assisted or directly contributed to numerous advances or discoveries. Ocean navigation depended upon it. Astronomy was born from it. Cameras were developed from it.

Just to name a few. And we haven't finished learning yet. There is still a lot left to learn about these miraculous inventions, and mankind has, and will continue, to benefit immensely from these discoveries.

binocular rangefinders
Technology keeps improving telescopes and other optical systems. This new technology will push for the development of additional orbital platforms, which will help to eliminate atmospheric distortion plaguing other telescopic systems.

Newer optical systems are in the works that can correct for atmospheric distortion. When you think about how far the telescope has come from its initial, humble beginnings, it is an amazement unto itself.