The Telescope: A Short History

by Richard Dunn

The first telescopes were made in Holland in 1608. A year later, Galileo built his own, and modern astronomy was born! In the blink of an eye (so to speak) telescopes went to sea and started exploring planet Earth. The whole spellbinding story is here, from the early instruments through the many developments over the centuries: reflectors, achromatic lenses, silver-coated mirrors…and then radio, infrared, x-ray, and space-based telescopes. Profusely illustrated with exquisite prints, drawings, and photographs, The Telescope will appeal to all who love the mind-blowing adventure called science.
 

Genres: Science, History, Astronomy, Nonfiction

192 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2009

About the author

Richard Dunn (1966-) is the Senior Curator and Head of Science and Technology at Royal Museums Greenwich. Richard is Keeper of Technologies and Engineering at the Science Museum, London, which involves managing a team of curators, as well leading on content and delivery of galleries, exhibitions and research and on the development of the collections. He has worked in the museum sector since 1992 in a range of curatorial and interpretation roles at the Whipple Museum of the History of Science in Cambridge, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Ragged School Museum, the British Museum, English Heritage and Royal Museums Greenwich.

Reviews

[Deandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

The telescope delivers exactly what it promised to deliver - a brief history on the telescope. As a scientist I would have appreciated if there were more science explanations to the development of different telescopes. However as a reader, I loved the satirical and comical reaction of the public as the telescope was still finding its place into this world. I also found it fascinating how the author put a small reference to quotes/comments by people that, I believe are still applicable to this day. Not a lot of people appreciate the spin-offs arising from looking up and wonder, but the majority accept the final product. I would love the read the research that the author conducted, in more depth. Nonetheless, it is a great book to get going and learning how society embraced or otherwise the use of tools that were aspired for star gazing, but had to be promoted as terrestrial advancements, and rightly so.

[Mike Parkes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very high-level history of the telescope. The unique niche this book has over other telescope histories is that it also includes some discussion of the non-astronomical uses of the telescope, how the invention contributed to social life, and some great contemporary illustrations and photos of historical telescopes. However, in the basics you probably want in a telescope history – how telescopes work and improvements over time, key astronomical discoveries – this falls a bit short. I’d recommend “The Telescope” by Geoff Andersen, “An Acre of Glass” by J.B. Zirker, or “Stargazer” by Fred Watson over this one.

[Jrobertus · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short history of the telescope you say? Wow, when is the movie coming out? Actually, for a science nerd like me this is a delightful book written by an astronomer at the Greenwich observatory. The use of glass to magnify images is ancient but the use of lenses as a telescope dates from 1604. Galileo made them famous with his observation of the moon and the moons of Jupiter. The telescope played a hugh role in reshaping thought in the 17th century and beyond. It deflated the ancient idea that man was the center of the earth and the earth was the center of the universe. Along with the discovery of the new world, the printing press, the reformation and the general scientific revolution (of which the telescope was a key part), the philosophy of argument from ancient authority was destroyed and the modern world was born. It was interesting to see how imperfections in the early lenses were used as an excuse by conservative forces to claim that the instrument created false impressions, how doubters o Galileo refuse to even look through the scope for fear of what they would see. Sadly, this anti-science superstition has not disappeared to this day, especially in the U.S. Another interesting aspecc of this book is the documenting of how the telescope affected literature, criticism, and even art. The world looked different through a telescope.

[Doug Farren · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting history of the telescope from its very early beginnings up until the present (well, present being defined by when the book was written). It is a bit dated as it lists the Webb Space telescope as being planned for launch in 2013. The historical accounts prior to that, however, are very well done. My only major complaint is that along with a lot of history, I would have hoped to have learned a bit about the different types of telescopes. They are briefly identified, but insufficient information is given to allow the reader to conceptualize how each type is constructed.

Overall, it's a good book for those who want to learn some history.

[Amanda Witt · Rating 5 out of 5]

A detailed history of how this instrument came to be created, invented to view the night sky. Includes some photos and diagrams.

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

An object you might take on a search of hunt. Wild Goose Chase 2017

[Eric in Ohio · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes a book is just a book. A coffee-table book - you know, about a city, a classical painter, or a particular type of flower - less about what information is conveyed within its pages than its presence as an object, a possession to complete the look of a bookshelf or room, a memento of a place or time. This book is that, only not in the typical oversize format of coffee-table books. It’s quite good at being that and still conveys some interesting content if you actually read it. I hadn’t thought about the distinction between astronomical and terrestrial telescopes before, and it was interesting to learn about Thomas Horner and the “graphic telescope,” developed to help landscape artists with their paintings. (Look him up later: great feat creating a 360^ view of London for display in Regent’s Park in 1829, followed by financial ruin and escape to America.) For me, the most interesting, and sadly also the least well developed, is the treatment of the social history of the telescope. Fascinating teasers about everything from its use to suggest insight, the inability to focus what’s important, or the voyeuristic and bawdy. Seems the magic of telescopes is what you can see through them or or what they can convey. Maybe the author, an historian of science at the Royal Greenwich Observatory, doesn’t explore this more because, well, sometimes a telescope is just a telescope.

[Don · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent short history of the telescope.

[Kadri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short and interesting with many illustrations. Good enough for a popular book :)