Galileo: 400 Years of the Telescope
In 1609, Galileo constructed the first powerful telescope and started observing the heavens, which led to many monumental discoveries. He published his initial findings on the moon and the stars in 1610 in a brief treatise titled "Sidereus Nuncius" ("Starry Messenger").
An original printing of this publication is held by the Rare Book and Special Collections Division of the Library of Congress.
Michelle Thaller is assistant director for science communication and higher education at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.
| Galileo: 400 Years of the Telescope |
| Related Links |
| Galileo Galilei A collection of links to eBooks and films about Galileo Galilei who was an Italian physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher. |
| The Ascent of Man: The Starry Messenger This episode looks at astronomy, tracing the origins of the scientific revolution in the conflict between truth and religious dogma, symbolized by the trial of Galileo. |
| 400 Years of the Telescope This lecture coincides with the 400th anniversary of the first use of a telescope to observe the heavens by Galileo Galilei in 1609. |
| Watchers of the Skies How our knowledge and understanding of the universe has increased over the centuries so that we now have a surprisingly accurate idea of its size, age and makeup. |
| Hunting the Edge of Space This is a two-part PBS documentary examining how a simple instrument, the telescope, has fundamentally changed our understanding of our place in the universe. |