Exam Review: Ancient Rome and the Scientific Revolution |
The one name that stands out in popular histories of the early reflecting telescope is Isaac Newton. Galileo has a similar honour in histories of the refracting telescope. In more serious histories, one name would not stand out for either the reflecting or refracting telescope. There were at least a dozen other scientists from the seventeenth century who made equally important contributions to Galileo and Newton (see Fathers of the Telescope). Some of those that are neglected are well-known to us. Rene Descartes' work on the geometry of spherical mirrors is critical to the design of reflecting telescopes. Johannes Kepler wrote the most important work of optics from his day and proposed the design of the modern astronomical telescope. In both cases as well, the contributions of church scientists are also ignored.
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