A History Of The Telescope

* Our knowledge of the Universe has been obtained through the use over centuries of increasingly powerful astronomical telescopes. This document provides a survey of telescopes, including optical telescopes, radio telescopes, astronomical satellites, and cosmic particle detectors. This document only discusses ground-based astronomy; those interested in space-based astronomy may be interested in the companion document Space Astronomy.

[1.0] The Invention Of The Telescope

• [1.1] THE EYEBALL ASTRONOMERS
  
• [1.2] THE FIRST TELESCOPES
  
• [1.3] GALILEO'S TELESCOPIC OBSERVATIONS
  
• [1.4] THE KEPLERIAN TELESCOPE
  
• [1.5] THE LONG TELESCOPES
  
• [1.6] CLOCKS AND THE ASTRONOMERS
  
• [1.7] THE MICROMETER
  
• [1.8] MAPPING THE SKY WITH THE TELESCOPE
  

[2.0] Refining The Telescope

• [2.1] NEWTON & THE INVENTION OF THE REFLECTING TELESCOPE
  
• [2.2] PRACTICAL REFLECTORS / ACHROMATIC REFRACTORS
  
• [2.3] HERSCHEL'S REFLECTORS
  
• [2.4] FRAUNHOFER'S REFRACTORS / STELLAR PARALLAX
  
• [2.5] ADVANCES IN REFLECTORS
  
• [2.6] PHOTOGRAPHY & ASTRONOMY
  
• [2.7] THE INVENTION OF SPECTROSCOPY
  

[3.0] Giant Telescopes & New Technologies

• [3.1] THE ULTIMATE REFRACTORS
  
• [3.2] DOMINANCE OF THE BIG REFLECTORS
  
• [3.3] MAPPING THE SKY BY CAMERA
  
• [3.4] ADVANCES IN SPECTROSCOPY
  
• [3.5] THE MOUNT WILSON & HOOKER TELESCOPES
  
• [3.6] MICHELSON & THE ORIGINS OF OPTICAL INTERFEROMETRY
  
• [3.7] THE SCHMIDT TELESCOPE / THE CORONAGRAPH
  

[4.0] Advanced Technology Telescopes

• [4.1] THE HALE TELESCOPE
  
• [4.2] DIMINISHING RETURNS / NEW TOOLS
  
• [4.3] THE MMT & KECK TELESCOPES
  
• [4.4] ADAPTIVE OPTICS & MODERN OPTICAL INTERFEROMETRY
  
• [4.5] VERY LARGE TELESCOPE (VLT) / LARGE BINOCULAR TELESCOPE (LBT)
  
• [4.6] OTHER NEW TELESCOPES
  
• [4.7] COMPUTER REVOLUTION
  

[5.0] Radio Telescopes

• [5.1] THE ORIGINS OF RADIO ASTRONOMY
  
• [5.2] THE RISE OF RADIO ASTRONOMY
  
• [5.3] INTERPLANETARY RADAR
  
• [5.4] RADIO INTERFEROMETRY / APERTURE SYNTHESIS / THE VLA
  
• [5.5] NEXT GENERATION ARRAYS
  
• [5.6] VERY LONG BASELINE INTERFEROMETRY / THE VLBA
  
• [5.7] MILLIMETER & SUBMILLIMETER WAVE ASTRONOMY / ALMA
  

[6.0] Cosmic Ray Telescopes

• [6.1] THE DISCOVERY OF COSMIC RAYS
  
• [6.2] HUNTING COSMIC RAYS
  
• [6.3] COSMIC RAY AIR CERENKOV DETECTORS
  
• [6.4] COSMIC RAY PARTICLE DETECTORS
  
• [6.5] COSMIC RAY FLUORESCENCE DETECTORS
  

[7.0] Gravitational Wave Observatories

• [7.1] GRAVITATIONAL WAVES
  
• [7.2] BAR DETECTORS / LASER INTERFEROMETRY FOR GRAVITY WAVE DETECTION
  
• [7.3] LIGO
  
• [7.4] VIRGO / LGD FACILITIES / LISA
  
• [7.5] COMMENTS, SOURCES, & REVISION HISTORY