The Telescope - A Simple Invention That Changed Our World

Four hundred years ago, in August of 1609, Galileo Galilei an obscure Math professor from the University of Padua in Italy, revolutionized the world with a simple invention called the 'optik tube'.

His simple version of what we now call the telescope, comprised of two lenses aligned inside a tube, providing a 9X magnification. While not very extraordinary by today's standard, it was considered amazing during the 1600's when the best telescope in the market was one with a 2x magnification.

However, unknown to most people, the professor had not created the instrument to look up into the skies, but simply as a way to earn more money by selling it to the Venetian authorities as a 'spyglass', to track pirates who were hijacking their trade ships.

But when Galileo pointed his invention up to the skies he made a myriad of amazing discoveries - the most revolutionary being, that all planets revolved round the Sun, not our Earth, which had been the widely held theory until then.

He reached the conclusion by observing the changing phases of our closest Planet, Venus,

A slightly more sophisticated version the following year allowed Galileo to spot the stars of the Milky Way, Jupiter's four Galileans or satellites and, dispel the myth that the surface of the Moon was smooth.

However, all these amazing discoveries brought the brilliant mathematician very little fame or money. That's because the leaders of the Catholic Church were not ready to accept such heresy. He was warned to stop spreading his views around. When Galileo persisted on continuing his research and theories, he was tried and placed under house arrest, which is where he spent the rest of his life, until he passed away in 1642.

Today, the Italian is being hailed among other things, a genius and the Father of Modern Observational Astronomy. Even the Vatican is celebrating his life achievements with an exhibition set to open in November 2009.

sources: telegraph.co.uk