Galileo Essay

A refracting telescope works by using lenses to refract light. The main parts are the objective lens, which gathers light from a distant object and focuses it to create an image, and the eyepiece lens, which makes the image larger for the viewer. Light enters through the objective lens, and as it passes through the curved surfaces of the lenses, it bends, where a clear image is formed. The eyepiece then allows the viewer to see a magnified version of the image, making distant objects appear closer and more detailed.

One topic that Galileo was interested in was the motion of moons, particularly the moons of Jupiter. In 1610, using his refracting telescope, Galileo found four moons orbiting Jupiter, now known as the Galilean moons. Galileo’s observations supported the heliocentric theory proposed by Copernicus, which argued that the planets, including Earth, orbit the Sun.

I hope you enjoyed this essay.

This essay was written for my Classical Conversations Co-op.