Truemors
is reporting from
Member
NP Rank:
NP Rank:
Galileo's Inventions: Telescope is Today's Google Doodle
Share: 
by Truemorist | August 25, 2009 at 06:38 am
4642 views | 0 Recommendations | 2 comments
Photos
Today is the 400th anniversary of Galileo's telescope, and so Galileo is given the second-highest possible honor: a Google doodle*. Who invented the telescope? Hans Lippershy, Zacharias Janssen and Jacob Metius, but Galileo pimped it out.
Galileo used his steampunk contraption to tell a disbelieving world all about Jupiter's moons, and about our own moon's rocky complexion.
Some of Galileo's other inventions include the first thermometer and the compound microscope, as well as methods of determining gunpowder charges and canon elevation for blasting the crap out of stuff. Because of Galileo, we have Destroyed in Seconds. In general Galileo was really good at improving stuff that other people invented. If he were alive today, he'd have a show on Discovery Channel.
Galileo also drew the ire of the Catholic Church for daring to support the then-radical theory that the Earth revolved around the Sun.
*Of course, the first-highest honor is to be the subject of an Indigo Girls song, which Galileo Galilei can already claim.
Exactly 400 years ago today, on 25 August 1609, the Italian astronomer and philosopher Galilei Galileo showed Venetian merchants his new creation, a telescope – the instrument that was to bring him both scientific immortality and, more immediately, a whole lot of trouble.
So here's to you, Galileo: king of night vision, king of insiiiiiiiight.
Advertisement
NowPublic on Facebook
What is NowPublic?
NowPublic lets people work together to cover news events around the world.
Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (2)
at 07:18 on August 25th, 2009
Thats an interesting fact to know. I am wondering why this is not in the news. Invention of telescope opened doors to other inventions to and it really changed many things.Thanks for sharing this information.
at 13:18 on August 25th, 2009
I think this is one of the most important inventions ever invented.Without it,we would NEVER be able to glance up the sky and see the beautiful stars and planets.