The principle of the telescope was first developed by a Dutch spectacle-maker, Hans Lippershey (1570-1619). He used his first telescope, made in 1608, for observing grounded objects from a distance, rather than astronomy. His invention was not openly...

The telescope is a device that intensifies and magnifies the image of distant objects. The telescope enables astronomers, scientists, and amateurs alike, to observe and study planets, stars, galaxies, and other features of the universe. The observation...

Astronomical observation has its roots in antiquity. Ever since the citizens of ancient Babylonia, China, Egypt, and Greece designed crude wood tools to measure the movement of the stars and planets across the heavens, humankind has been improving those...

Viewpoint: Yes, the emphasis on the construction of large telescopes is a poor allocation of resources, as smaller telescopes offer accessibility and affordability that larger telescopes cannot match. Viewpoint: No, the emphasis on the construction of...

A telescope is an instrument designed for the observation of remote objects and the collection of electromagnetic radiation. The earliest known telescopes are credited to three individuals, Hans Lippershey and Zacharias Janssen, spectacle-makers in...

The author provides a brief historical and technological review of different types of telescopes, and how they were developed and improved. When you stop and think about it, virtually all of astronomy is applied spectroscopy. As the happy recipient of a new Meade...

[PUBLISHED CORRECTION - DATE: Thursday, August 4, 2005: Correction: Because of an editing error, a story in Sunday's Ideas section misstated the cost of a membership in the online telescope service Slooh.com. The cost is $49.95 a year, not $49 a month.) Serious...

One of the world's most powerful telescopes will be trained on the skies on Friday, searching for planets similar to our own from a mountaintop on one of Spain's Canary Islands.Perched 2,400 meters up on the Roque de los Muchachos peak in the Atlantic island...

One of the world's most powerful telescopes began spying on the universe on Friday, using its 34-foot wide mirror to search for planets similar to our own from a mountaintop on one of Spain's Canary Islands.Perched atop a 7,800 foot peak on the Atlantic island...