Daily Archives: February 6, 2017

Celestial Navigation 101: The Sextant

The purpose of the sextant is to measure the angle between an astronomical object and the horizon, and ultimately get … More Continue reading

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Galileo’s Telescope

Most people credit Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) with building the first telescope.  He did not, but he made great improvements and ingenious use of the instrument. Before the telescope were lenses.  In the 13th century, Italian artisans created lenses for glasses to be worn by scholars with failing eyesight.  The process of making glass was difficult, as unrefined … Continue reading Galileo’s Telescope Continue reading

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