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3500 BCE
Simple Sand Activity causes Phenomenon
Phoenicians cooking food on sand discover glass. -
First Documented Creation of the Telescope
Hans Lippershey discovers that holding two lenses up with a reasonable distance apart from each other will bring objects closer together. Lippershey's discovery means that this was the first documented creation of a telescope. -
Galileo gets involved
After being informed of the Telescope's existence, Galileo decides to build several prototypes of his own and points them toward space. He wanted to publish his findings and was nearly burned for doing so. -
The term 'Telescope' is invented.
As Galileo demonstrated his models, Prince Frederick Sesi adopted the name 'Telescope'. -
Concave to Convex
Johannes Kepler creates higher-end lenses for Telescopes to reach a greater field of view. -
Convex to Hyperboloidal
Johannes Kepler studies the human eye and notices that the eye's lens is hyperboloidal. He suggests the use of hyperboloidal lenses in the telescope. -
First Successful, functional and reflective Telescope created
Sir Isaac Newton produces the first successful reflecting telescope, most notably using a two-inch diameter concave mirror. Newton's telescope paved the way for future models to adopt his designs. Newton was one of the most influential minds of his generation. His work yet again paid dividends in the creation of the modern world. -
Sharper Image
Johannes Hevelius realised that the longer the telescope was, the closer together the different coloured points of light would be at the focal point, creating a sharper image. He constructs a telescope 140 feet long which gave very sharp images however it was impossible to keep the two lenses aligned because the supporting structure could not be made rigid enough. -
Supporting Structure no longer supported
Christian Huygens suggests to remove the supporting structure and instead places the objective lens on the top of a long pole. -
Sir William Herschel's Contribution
Sir William Hershel constructs a forty-foot long telescope with a four-foot diameter mirror, allowing for a much clearer picture. -
H. Dennis Taylor gets The Final Say
Dennis Taylor creates the modern day telescope through the 'triplet design', which eliminated all optical illusions.