The innovation in our lives is solely due to technology. And what led to this technological evolution? Education and research. The ways to obtain knowledge and see things have also changed over time. One of the inventions which helped us to know more is a telescope.
The microscope and telescope were invented at the same time and has affected the way people learn things, and also, our idea on what people could learn has changed. These two are the first tools to shape our senses and broaden our views. Now science has given us an idea to use sensors for what we cannot sense ourselves, and this has given us a wild idea to extend our approach in Space and Earth and sense those things which cannot be sensed directly. Science has led us to places where we haven’t even imagined going. Only through Chinese lodestone and static electricity, mysterious forces like electricity and magnetism were known. To measure these forces, tools were invented. And an example of the invention of tools is the telescope which made us believe in depending on other tools.
Scientific View About the Universe
The invented telescopes have changed the perspective from which we look at the world. How? Our eyes became open to the world by telescope. We eventually found out from its use, that the old myths which we used to hear about the Universe rarely held much truth in them. Previously, it was believed that Earth was the centre of the Universe, but with the invention of early telescopes, this view changed completely. We knew that our world was huge but didn’t have any idea about how much bigger it is. Through telescopes we found out that there are more stars than we had thought. The telescopes were able to show mountains and craters on the moon. With the advances in every upcoming telescope, it was made easier to find out the weather and geography of the planets revolving in the solar system. Asteroids and new planets were discovered, thanks to the telescope. The speed of light is one of the basis of physical sciences. New hypotheses are solved using it, and it arises new phenomena. Finding of speed of light was made possible due to telescopes and we were able to get the first valid measurement. Other fundamental laws like gravity, etc. are best understood with the telescope. Even the light radiating from the sun and stars can be understood using telescopes.
It costs quite an amount of time to develop even better telescopes and the ways to use them. Proper learning is required to use the telescope. Using Parallax we found out about how far the stars are, but it took way longer work for that. We also learned where we fit in the Milky Way, our galaxy. The dust in space hid our view so it was believed that we were in the middle but in truth, it is the edge. The story of all these findings is long, but it widened our view and it’s still broadening. Now we can see back to when the galaxies started forming.
Advances Without the Telescope?
No one would have thought in previous centuries that man would extend his hands out of Earth. The Earth has much to explore, but man even took flight to discover and explore the Universe. All this with only one instrument named telescope.
If telescopes weren’t used in new technological inventions and research, would our world stay behind all of this? The answer is simple. Just ponder on the fact that if we didn’t have our telescopes with us right now, what would our world be like? Would we be able to find out about stars and perform research on special objects and entities? No, the telescopes have made it all possible to be where we are. In earlier times, ideas about the Universe and our world were based on different myths and religious beliefs. Telescopes have stated all the facts which are discovered drawing the line between myth and reality. They have a large portion of contribution in our thinking and beliefs which are molded with each discovery. The surprising thing is the awe which struck us on finding out what’s beyond the skies. With the world progressing with each day, scientific discoveries are becoming more accepted which is leading to more acceptance to the technology, ultimately leading to the acceptance of science.
Advances in Telescopes
Now, the question arises, what do newer and better versions of telescopes hold for us to know? NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, the most advanced and most known to us all, states the evidence of a billion galaxies found in this Universe with billions of stars in them like our sun. With the help of new telescopes, we can study the newer objects in the Universe by studying the X-rays, radio waves or the heat they emit. Now, telescopes are discovering new planets waiting to be discovered around other stars. There’s a new desire arising in scientists to answer the question gaining popularity in human minds and thoughts as a result of technological innovations, that question is, “Are we alone in this Universe?” Only hot and large planets have been discovered so far, but the future telescopes will have the credibility to answer this question as well and planets similar to Earth, supporting life, will be discovered in the coming few years.