Understanding and improving the telescope in the early seventeenth century

Liste des Contributions

1. Understanding and improving the telescope in the early seventeenth century

M. Tiemen Cocquyt (Rijksmuseum Boerhaave Leiden and Utrecht University)

In my talk, I will present findings from recent artefact and archival research on the early history of the telescope. In the past decades, the debate about the invention of the telescope has shifted from a discussion about lens combinations to a discussion about lens quality. In particular, in 2007, historian of optics Rolf Willach posited that the telescope was invented when an artisan masked...