Galileo's+Telescope

= __**Galileo Galilei's Telescope**__ =

The Renaissance was more than just the rebirth of art; the sciences were undertaking ground breaking discoveries as well. Galileo, one such scientist of the Renaissance, lived from 1564 to 1642. Among many other things, he is accredited with the invention of the telescope. In 1609, Galileo heard of a device made in the Netherlands that allowed things to be viewed as if they were closer. He was able to figure out the secret of this "spyglass" and recreate it using optics from eyeglass makers. He was not the first or only person able to do this: what made Galileo one of the leading minds of the Renaissance was the way he was able to take the ideas available to him and improve them into more and more powerful telescopes. The telescope seen here is the one he used in 1610, to discover four moons orbiting Jupiter. The discovery of these moons was instrumental in reintroducing the idea that the universe revolves around the sun and not the earth. I think the best thing illustrated with this telescope is the way that it is elaborately decorated on the ends with gold gilding. This shows the influence of the arts in every aspect of Renaissance life. Even the tools that the masters used to make their amazing discoveries have the attention to detail that makes Renaissance the marvel that it was.

This marvel of science is located in the Institute and Museum of the History of Science in Florence. It is easy to find from the Ponte Vecchio. From the north entrance of the bridge walk east (up river) up the street named Lugarno degli Acciaioli that goes alongside the river for a block and you will see the museum on the lefthand side with a big sculpture of the Zodiac in front of it.

This is the pointer finger of Galileo's right hand. It is also located in the Museum of the History of Science. The creation of this wiki was made possible by the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program. This program offers scholarships for undergraduate study abroad programs. For more information on how you can apply for study abroad scholarships please visit the [|Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Home page].

__**Work Cited**__ "**Galileo**." __Encyclopædia Britannica__. 2010. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 08 May. 2010 <[]>.