Expand this Topic clickable element to expand a topic
Skip to content
Optica Publishing Group

Telescopes of Galileo

Not Accessible

Your library or personal account may give you access

Abstract

The Florentine Istituto e Museo di Storia della Scienza houses two complete telescopes and a single objective lens (reconstructed from several fragments) that can be attributed to Galileo. These optics have been partially dismantled and made available for optical testing with state-of-the-art equipment. The lenses were investigated individually; the focal length and the radii of curvature were measured, and the optical layout of the instruments was worked out. The optical quality of the surfaces and the overall performance of the two complete telescopes have been evaluated interferometrically at a wavelength of 633 nm (with a He–Ne laser source). It was found in particular that the optics of Galileo came close to attaining diffraction-limited operation.

© 1993 Optical Society of America

Full Article  |  PDF Article
More Like This
Galileo's telescope and the birth of instrumental optics: a review note

Giuseppe Molesini
Appl. Opt. 49(16) D1-D5 (2010)

Optics of human eye: 400 years of exploration from Galileo’s time

Pablo Artal and Juan Tabernero
Appl. Opt. 49(16) D123-D130 (2010)

Seventeenth-century telescope optics of Torricelli, Divini, and Campani

Mara Miniati, Albert Van Helden, Vincenzo Greco, and Giuseppe Molesini
Appl. Opt. 41(4) 644-647 (2002)

Cited By

You do not have subscription access to this journal. Cited by links are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an Optica member, or as an authorized user of your institution.

Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Login to access Optica Member Subscription

Figures (11)

You do not have subscription access to this journal. Figure files are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an Optica member, or as an authorized user of your institution.

Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Login to access Optica Member Subscription

Tables (2)

You do not have subscription access to this journal. Article tables are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an Optica member, or as an authorized user of your institution.

Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Login to access Optica Member Subscription

Select as filters


Select Topics Cancel
© Copyright 2024 | Optica Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved