I still remember the day I first learned about telescopes. It was in first grade, and I was flipping through a library book about planets, mesmerized by the thought of seeing distant worlds up close. Back then, a telescope seemed like nothing more than a pair of supercharged binoculars—something to zoom in on the moon or a faraway mountain. But as I would soon discover, telescopes are so much more. They’re time machines, offering glimpses into the distant past of the universe, and windows into the cosmos, revealing the vastness beyond what the naked eye can perceive.
What fascinated me the most wasn’t just how telescopes worked, but the story of their invention—the dawn of discovery when humanity first dared to gaze beyond the horizon of the visible world and into the great unknown.
The Humble Beginnings of the Telescope
It all began with a simple device, far less sophisticated than the high-tech marvels we see today. In 1608, a Dutch eyeglass maker named Hans Lippershey*, also known as Hans Lipperhey or Johann Lippershey, reportedly stumbled upon a design that could magnify distant objects using two lenses.
This early creation was the prototype of what would become one of the most revolutionary inventions in human history—a device that would one day allow us to peer into distant galaxies, capture the first-ever image of a black hole, uncover hidden exoplanets, and reveal the very age of the universe itself. At the time, it wasn’t even called a telescope—it was just a “spyglass,” primarily used for military and navigational purposes. Sailors employed it to spot distant ships, and soldiers used it to scout enemy positions.
Yet even this rudimentary device bore the seeds of something far more profound
When I think about those early days, I imagine the excitement that must have filled the air. Before the telescope, the night sky was a static canvas. The stars were distant pinpricks of light, the planets vague wanderers in the dark. With the invention of the telescope, the cosmos began to come into focus, revealing secrets that had been hidden for millennia.
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Early depiction of a ‘Dutch telescope’ from 1624
Galileo’s Leap into the Stars
Of course, no story about the birth of the telescope is complete without mentioning Galileo Galilei. To this day, Galileo feels like a kindred spirit—someone with a deep, almost childlike curiosity about the universe. He wasn’t the first to invent the telescope, but was the first to turn it towards the skies. In 1609, after hearing about Lippershey’s device, Galileo built his own telescope—one that magnified objects up to 30 times. And then, the true magic began.
Galileo’s first observations were nothing short of extraordinary. He discovered mountains and valleys on the Moon, showing that it wasn’t a smooth, perfect sphere as people had believed for centuries. He spotted four moons orbiting Jupiter, now known as the Galilean moons. This was perhaps his most controversial discovery because it directly challenged the long-held belief that everything in the universe orbited the Earth. Galileo’s telescope didn’t just magnify the heavens—it magnified the possibilities for humanity’s understanding of the universe.
When I first read about Galileo’s discoveries, I felt like the ground beneath me had shifted, much as it must have for those living in the early 17th century. It was as if the universe had suddenly become larger, more complex, and infinitely more mysterious.
The eyepiece of a model of the telescope made by Galileo (1564-1642) c. 1608
The Telescope: A Revolution in Thought
To truly appreciate the impact of the telescope, we have to consider the context of the time. The early 1600s were a period of great philosophical and scientific upheaval. Most people still believed in a geocentric model of the universe, where Earth sat immovably at the center, and everything else—the Sun, planets, and stars—revolved around it. The telescope was not just a tool; it was an instrument of revolution.
Galileo’s observations, made possible by his telescope, provided evidence that the heliocentric model proposed by Copernicus was correct: the Earth was not the center of the universe. For someone like me, who grew up reading about space exploration and modern science, this might seem like a given. But back then, it was a radical idea. It challenged the teachings of the Church and centuries of philosophical tradition. Galileo was even brought to trial for his ideas, forced to recant his findings under the threat of imprisonment. But in the end, he refused to let the stars be silenced, choosing instead to swim against the tide of dominant beliefs and let the universe speak for itself.
Once opened, the telescope’s lens could never again be closed
Isaac Newton and the Reflecting Telescope
As telescopes grew in popularity, so did the desire to improve them. One of the biggest issues with early telescopes was something called chromatic aberration—the colors around objects would blur, making it difficult to see them clearly. Enter Isaac Newton, one of history’s greatest minds, who solved this problem in the 1660s by inventing the reflecting telescope. Instead of using lenses, Newton’s design used a curved mirror to focus light, eliminating the issue of chromatic aberration and producing much clearer images.
Newton’s reflecting telescope was a breakthrough. It allowed astronomers to see farther and more clearly than ever before, leading to discoveries that would shape our modern understanding of the universe.
The Telescope as a Time Machine
As I grew older and began to understand more about astronomy, I realized that a telescope isn’t just a magnifying glass for distant objects — it’s a literal time machine. The light we see through telescopes, even today, has traveled for millions or even billions of years to reach us.
When we peer through a telescope at a distant galaxy, we’re not seeing it as it is now—we’re seeing it as it was when that light first left the galaxy, long before humans even existed
This is the magic of the telescope: it allows us to look backward through time, offering us glimpses of the universe in its youth. The Andromeda Galaxy, for example, is about 2.5 million light-years away. When I look at it through my telescope, I’m seeing Andromeda as it was 2.5 million years ago, long before humanity had even evolved!
The Dawn of Discovery and the Infinite Frontier
The story of the telescope is, in many ways, the story of human curiosity. It represents our insatiable desire to see beyond the known, to uncover the mysteries of the universe, and to challenge our own understanding of reality. From the early days of Lippershey’s spyglass to Galileo’s groundbreaking observations and Newton’s reflecting telescope, the telescope has always been more than just a tool. It’s been a symbol of discovery and wonder.
And while the telescopes of the 17th century were basic compared to the modern marvels we use today—like the Hubble Space Telescope or the James Webb Space Telescope—the spirit behind them remains the same. Each time we peer through a telescope, whether it’s a child with their first backyard instrument or a scientist at a state-of-the-art observatory, we are continuing a legacy of curious exploration that began over four centuries ago.
The telescope may have started as a simple tool, but it became humanity’s window to the stars—and through that window, we’ve glimpsed the infinite. And who knows what else awaits us in the ever-expanding frontier?
Author
Dhara Parekh, a business professional with an unwavering passion for science and astronomy, found her true calling as a science fiction author. She melds her diverse experiences from living like a nomad into writing novels. When her fingers aren’t prancing on the keyboard, she’s either learning about the next fresh interest she has stumbled upon or reading fiction in a painful position, or finding hacks to understand humans. An alien on the pale blue dot converting her bizarre thoughts into Times New Roman.
Illustrator and Guest Editor
Pranav Satheesh is a graduate student in physics at the University of Florida, where he studies the evolution of supermassive black holes using cosmological simulations. He is passionate about science communication and works with Astrobites as a writer. His favorite hobby is drawing, and he is working on improving his digital drawing skills, aiming to incorporate them into science communication through science comics. In his free time, you will likely find him catching up on the latest indie release at the movie theatre and logging it on Letterboxd. He also enjoys cooking, reading, and playing board games with friends. Follow Pranav’s comics at https://x.com/SmbhComics
Editor
Roopsha Sengupta is the Editor-in-Chief at Club SciWri. She completed her Ph.D. at the Institute of Molecular Pathology, Vienna, and pursued post-doctoral research in epigenetics at the Gladstone Institutes, UCSF, and the University of Cambridge U.K. During her research, she contributed to exciting discoveries and had the privilege of working with many inspiring scientists. At Club SciWri, she trains and collaborates with scientists, artists, and writers to bridge science, art, and literature, making science accessible and engaging for everyone.
Cover Illustration- Pranav Satheesh
Inset images- Early depiction of Telescope, Galileo telescope eyepiece
