Timeline of telescopes, observatories, and observing technology
Encyclopedia
3500s BC
- The earliest sundialSundialA sundial is a device that measures time by the position of the Sun. In common designs such as the horizontal sundial, the sun casts a shadow from its style onto a surface marked with lines indicating the hours of the day. The style is the time-telling edge of the gnomon, often a thin rod or a...
s known from the archaeological record are the obelisks ancient Egyptian astronomyEgyptian astronomyEgyptian astronomy begins in prehistoric times, in the Predynastic Period. In the 5th millennium BCE, the stone circles at Nabta Playa may have made use of astronomical alignments...
and Babylonian astronomy
1900s BC
- Xiangfen Astronomical Observatory, Xiangfen County, LinfenLinfen-Administrative divisions:The prefecture-level city of Linfen is divided in one district, two cities and fourteen counties. The information here presented uses the metric system and data from 2010 Census.-Pollution:...
City, ShanxiShanxi' is a province in Northern China. Its one-character abbreviation is "晋" , after the state of Jin that existed here during the Spring and Autumn Period....
Province, China
600s BC
- 11th-7th century BC, Zhou dynastyZhou DynastyThe Zhou Dynasty was a Chinese dynasty that followed the Shang Dynasty and preceded the Qin Dynasty. Although the Zhou Dynasty lasted longer than any other dynasty in Chinese history, the actual political and military control of China by the Ji family lasted only until 771 BC, a period known as...
astronomical observatory (灵台) in today's Xian, China
100s BC
- 206-220 BC, Han dynastyHan DynastyThe Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang...
astronomical observatory (灵台) in Chang'anChang'anChang'an is an ancient capital of more than ten dynasties in Chinese history, today known as Xi'an. Chang'an literally means "Perpetual Peace" in Classical Chinese. During the short-lived Xin Dynasty, the city was renamed "Constant Peace" ; yet after its fall in AD 23, the old name was restored...
and LuoyangLuoyangLuoyang is a prefecture-level city in western Henan province of Central China. It borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the southeast, Nanyang to the south, Sanmenxia to the west, Jiyuan to the north, and Jiaozuo to the northeast.Situated on the central plain of...
. During East Han dynastyHan DynastyThe Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang...
, astronomical observatory (灵台) built in YanshiYanshiYanshi is a county-level city administered by the prefecture-level city of Luoyang in western Henan province, People's Republic of China. The ancient Erlitou culture existed in the area. Yanshi lies on the Luo River. The ruins the first Shang Dynasty capital, Xibo, are located in Shixianggou...
, HenanHenanHenan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan...
Province, China
400s
- 5th century - Observatory at UjjainUjjainUjjain , is an ancient city of Malwa region in central India, on the eastern bank of the Kshipra River , today part of the state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the administrative centre of Ujjain District and Ujjain Division.In ancient times the city was called Ujjayini...
, IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world... - 5th century - Surya SiddhantaSurya SiddhantaThe Surya Siddhanta is one of the earliest siddhanta in archeo-astronomy of the Hindus by an unknown author. It describes the archeo-astronomy theories, principles and methods of the ancient Hindus. This siddhanta is supposed to be the knowledge that the Sun god gave to an Asura called Maya. Asuras...
written in India - 499 - AryabhatiyaAryabhatiyaĀryabhaṭīya or Āryabhaṭīyaṃ, a Sanskrit astronomical treatise, is the magnum opus and only extant work of the 5th century Indian mathematician, Āryabhaṭa.- Structure and style:...
written by AryabhataAryabhataAryabhata was the first in the line of great mathematician-astronomers from the classical age of Indian mathematics and Indian astronomy...
600s
- 8-century - BrahmasphutasiddhantaBrahmasphutasiddhantaThe main work of Brahmagupta, Brāhmasphuṭasiddhānta , written c.628, contains ideas including a good understanding of the mathematical role of zero, rules for manipulating both negative and positive numbers, a method for computing square roots, methods of solving linear and some quadratic...
by BrahmaguptaBrahmaguptaBrahmagupta was an Indian mathematician and astronomer who wrote many important works on mathematics and astronomy. His best known work is the Brāhmasphuṭasiddhānta , written in 628 in Bhinmal... - 632-647 - CheomseongdaeCheomseongdaeCheomseongdae is an astronomical observatory in Gyeongju, South Korea. Cheomseongdae means star-gazing tower in Korean. Cheomseongdae is the oldest surviving observatory in East Asia, and one of the oldest scientific installations on Earth. It dates to the 7th century to the time of kingdom of...
observatory is built in the reign of Queen Seondeok at GyeongjuGyeongjuGyeongju is a coastal city in the far southeastern corner of North Gyeongsang province in South Korea. It is the second largest city by area in the province after Andong, covering with a population of 269,343 people according to the 2008 census. Gyeongju is southeast of Seoul, and east of the...
, then the capital of Shilla (present day South KoreaSouth KoreaThe Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
) - 618-1279 - Tang dynastyTang DynastyThe Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
-Song dynastySong DynastyThe Song Dynasty was a ruling dynasty in China between 960 and 1279; it succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, and was followed by the Yuan Dynasty. It was the first government in world history to issue banknotes or paper money, and the first Chinese government to establish a...
, observatories built in Chang'anChang'anChang'an is an ancient capital of more than ten dynasties in Chinese history, today known as Xi'an. Chang'an literally means "Perpetual Peace" in Classical Chinese. During the short-lived Xin Dynasty, the city was renamed "Constant Peace" ; yet after its fall in AD 23, the old name was restored...
, KaifengKaifengKaifeng , known previously by several names , is a prefecture-level city in east-central Henan province, Central China. Nearly 5 million people live in the metropolitan area...
, HangzhouHangzhouHangzhou , formerly transliterated as Hangchow, is the capital and largest city of Zhejiang Province in Eastern China. Governed as a sub-provincial city, and as of 2010, its entire administrative division or prefecture had a registered population of 8.7 million people...
, China
700s
- 700-77 - The first ZijZijZīj is the generic name applied to Islamic astronomical books that tabulate parameters used for astronomical calculations of the positions of the Sun, Moon, stars, and planets. The name is derived from the Middle Persian term zih or zīg, meaning cord...
treatise, Az-Zīj ‛alā Sinī al-‛Arab, written by Ibrahim al-FazariIbrahim al-FazariAbu Ishaq Ibrahim ibn Habib ibn Sulaiman ibn Samura ibn Jundab al-Fazari was an 8th-century Muslim mathematician and astronomer of Persian background....
and Muhammad al-FazariMuhammad al-FazariAbu abdallah Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Fazari was a Muslim philosopher, mathematician and astronomer. He is not to be confused with his father Ibrāhīm al-Fazārī, also an astronomer and mathematician.... - 700-96 - Brass astrolabeAstrolabeAn astrolabe is an elaborate inclinometer, historically used by astronomers, navigators, and astrologers. Its many uses include locating and predicting the positions of the Sun, Moon, planets, and stars, determining local time given local latitude and longitude, surveying, triangulation, and to...
constructed by Muhammad al-FazariMuhammad al-FazariAbu abdallah Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Fazari was a Muslim philosopher, mathematician and astronomer. He is not to be confused with his father Ibrāhīm al-Fazārī, also an astronomer and mathematician....
based on HellenisticHellenistic civilizationHellenistic civilization represents the zenith of Greek influence in the ancient world from 323 BCE to about 146 BCE...
sources - ca. 777 - Yaqūb ibn TāriqYaqub ibn TariqYaʿqūb ibn Ṭāriq was an 8th-century Persian astronomer and mathematician who lived in Baghdad.- Works :Works ascribed to Yaʿqūb ibn Ṭāriq include:...
wrote Az-Zij al-Mahlul min as-Sindhind li-Darajat Daraja based on BrahmaguptaBrahmaguptaBrahmagupta was an Indian mathematician and astronomer who wrote many important works on mathematics and astronomy. His best known work is the Brāhmasphuṭasiddhānta , written in 628 in Bhinmal...
and Surya SiddhantaSurya SiddhantaThe Surya Siddhanta is one of the earliest siddhanta in archeo-astronomy of the Hindus by an unknown author. It describes the archeo-astronomy theories, principles and methods of the ancient Hindus. This siddhanta is supposed to be the knowledge that the Sun god gave to an Asura called Maya. Asuras...
800s
- 9th century - quadrantQuadrant (instrument)A quadrant is an instrument that is used to measure angles up to 90°. It was originally proposed by Ptolemy as a better kind of astrolabe. Several different variations of the instrument were later produced by medieval Muslim astronomers.-Types of quadrants:...
invented by Muhammad ibn Mūsā al-KhwārizmīMuhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi'There is some confusion in the literature on whether al-Khwārizmī's full name is ' or '. Ibn Khaldun notes in his encyclopedic work: "The first who wrote upon this branch was Abu ʿAbdallah al-Khowarizmi, after whom came Abu Kamil Shojaʿ ibn Aslam." . 'There is some confusion in the literature on...
in 9th century BaghdadBaghdadBaghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
and is used for astronomical calculations - 800-33 - The first modern observatoryObservatoryAn observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geology, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed...
research institute built in in BaghdadBaghdadBaghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
, IraqIraqIraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, by Arabic astronomers during time of Al-Mamun - 800-50 - Zij al-SindhindZijZīj is the generic name applied to Islamic astronomical books that tabulate parameters used for astronomical calculations of the positions of the Sun, Moon, stars, and planets. The name is derived from the Middle Persian term zih or zīg, meaning cord...
written by Muhammad ibn Mūsā al-KhwārizmīMuhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi'There is some confusion in the literature on whether al-Khwārizmī's full name is ' or '. Ibn Khaldun notes in his encyclopedic work: "The first who wrote upon this branch was Abu ʿAbdallah al-Khowarizmi, after whom came Abu Kamil Shojaʿ ibn Aslam." . 'There is some confusion in the literature on...
(Algorismi) - 825-35 - Al-Shammisiyyah observatory by Habash al-Hasib al-Marwazi in Baghdad, Iraq
- 869 - MahodayapuramKodungallurKodungallur is a municipality in Thrissur District, in the state of Kerala, India on the Malabar Coast. Kodungallur is located about 29 km northwest of Kochi city and 38 km Southwest of Thrissur, on National Highway 17 . Muziris the ancient seaport at the mouth of the Periyar River was...
Observatory in KeralaKeralaor Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
, IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, by SankaranarayanaŚaṅkaranārāyaṇaŚaṅkaranārāyaṇa was an Indian astronomer and mathematician in the court of King Sthanu Ravi Varman of the Kulasekhara dynasty in Kerala. He is believed to have established the first astronomical observatory in India at Kodungallur in Kerala...
900s
- 10th century - Large astrolabeAstrolabeAn astrolabe is an elaborate inclinometer, historically used by astronomers, navigators, and astrologers. Its many uses include locating and predicting the positions of the Sun, Moon, planets, and stars, determining local time given local latitude and longitude, surveying, triangulation, and to...
of diameter 1.4 meters constructed by Ibn YunusIbn YunusIbn Yunus was an important Egyptian Muslim astronomer and mathematician, whose works are noted for being ahead of their time, having been based on meticulous calculations and attention to detail.The crater Ibn Yunus on the Moon is named after... - 10th century - The first reference to an "observation tube" is found in the work of Al-BattaniAl-BattaniAbū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Jābir ibn Sinān al-Raqqī al-Ḥarrānī al-Ṣābiʾ al-Battānī was a Muslim astronomer, astrologer, and mathematician...
(Albatenius) (853-929). Though these early observation tubes did not have lensesLens (optics)A lens is an optical device with perfect or approximate axial symmetry which transmits and refracts light, converging or diverging the beam. A simple lens consists of a single optical element...
, they "enabled an observer to focus on a part of the sky by eliminating lightLightLight or visible light is electromagnetic radiation that is visible to the human eye, and is responsible for the sense of sight. Visible light has wavelength in a range from about 380 nanometres to about 740 nm, with a frequency range of about 405 THz to 790 THz...
interference." These observation tubes were later adopted in LatinLatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
-speaking Europe, where they influenced the development of the telescopeTelescopeA telescope is an instrument that aids in the observation of remote objects by collecting electromagnetic radiation . The first known practical telescopes were invented in the Netherlands at the beginning of the 1600s , using glass lenses...
. - 900-29 - Az-Zij as-SabiZijZīj is the generic name applied to Islamic astronomical books that tabulate parameters used for astronomical calculations of the positions of the Sun, Moon, stars, and planets. The name is derived from the Middle Persian term zih or zīg, meaning cord...
written by Muhammad ibn Jābir al-Harrānī al-Battānī (Albatenius) - 994 - First sextantSextant (astronomical)Sextants for astronomical observations were used primarily for measuring the positions of stars. They are little used today, having been replaced over time by transit telescopes, astrometry techniques, and satellites such as Hipparcos....
constructed in Ray, IranRay, IranRey or Ray , also known as Rhages and formerly as Arsacia, is the capital of Rey County, Tehran Province, Iran, and is the oldest existing city in the province....
, by Abu-Mahmud al-Khujandi. It was a very large muralMural instrumentA mural instrument is an angle measuring device mounted on or built into a wall. For astronomical purposes, these walls were oriented so they lie precisely on a meridian. A mural instrument that measured angles from 0 to 90 degrees was called a mural quadrant.-Construction:Many older mural...
sextant that achieved a high level of accuracy for astronomical measurements.
1000s
- 1000 - MokattamMokattamMokattam and the Moqattam Hills, , also Muqattam and Moqattam Mountain, is the name of a hill range and a suburb in them, located in southeastern Cairo, Egypt.-Landform:...
observatory in EgyptEgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
for Al-Hakim bi-Amr AllahAl-Hakim bi-Amr AllahAbu ‘Ali Mansur Tāriqu l-Ḥākim, called Al-Hakim bi Amr al-Lāh , was the sixth Fatimid caliph and 16th Ismaili imam .- History :... - 1000 - VolvelleVolvelleA volvelle or wheel chart is a type of slide chart, a paper construction with rotating parts. It is considered an early example of a paper analog computer. Volvelles have been produced to accommodate organization and calculation in many diverse subjects. Early examples of volvelles are found in the...
, an early paper analog computerAnalog computerAn analog computer is a form of computer that uses the continuously-changeable aspects of physical phenomena such as electrical, mechanical, or hydraulic quantities to model the problem being solved...
, invented by Arabic physicians and improved by Abu Rayhan Biruni for use in astronomy. - 11th century - PlanispherePlanisphereA planisphere is a star chart analog computing instrument in the form of two adjustable disks that rotate on a common pivot. It can be adjusted to display the visible stars for any time and date. It is an instrument to assist in learning how to recognize stars and constellations...
invented by Biruni - 11th century - Universal latitude-independent astrolabeAstrolabeAn astrolabe is an elaborate inclinometer, historically used by astronomers, navigators, and astrologers. Its many uses include locating and predicting the positions of the Sun, Moon, planets, and stars, determining local time given local latitude and longitude, surveying, triangulation, and to...
invented by Abū Ishāq Ibrāhīm al-Zarqālī (Arzachel) - 1015 - Equatorium invented by Arzachel in Al-AndalusAl-AndalusAl-Andalus was the Arabic name given to a nation and territorial region also commonly referred to as Moorish Iberia. The name describes parts of the Iberian Peninsula and Septimania governed by Muslims , at various times in the period between 711 and 1492, although the territorial boundaries...
- 1023 - Hamedan observatory in PersiaIranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
- ca. 1030 - Treasury of OpticsBook of OpticsThe Book of Optics ; ; Latin: De Aspectibus or Opticae Thesaurus: Alhazeni Arabis; Italian: Deli Aspecti) is a seven-volume treatise on optics and other fields of study composed by the medieval Muslim scholar Alhazen .-See also:* Science in medieval Islam...
by Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen) of Iraq and Egypt - 1074-92 - Malikshah observatory at Isfahan used by Omar KhayyámOmar KhayyámOmar Khayyám was aPersian polymath: philosopher, mathematician, astronomer and poet. He also wrote treatises on mechanics, geography, mineralogy, music, climatology and theology....
- 1086 - Northern Song dynasty astronomical observatory
1100s
- 1100-50 - Jabir ibn AflahJabir ibn AflahAbū Muḥammad Jābir ibn Aflaḥ was a Muslim astronomer and mathematician from Seville, who was active in 12th century Andalusia. His work Iṣlāḥ al-Majisṭi influenced Islamic, Jewish and Christian astronomers....
(Geber) (c. 1100-1150) invented the torquetumTorquetumThe torquetum or turquet is a medieval astronomical instrument designed to take and convert measurements made in three sets of coordinates: Horizon, equatorial, and ecliptic...
, an observational instrument and mechanical analog computerAnalog computerAn analog computer is a form of computer that uses the continuously-changeable aspects of physical phenomena such as electrical, mechanical, or hydraulic quantities to model the problem being solved...
device - 1114–87 - Tables of ToledoTables of ToledoThe Toledan Tables, or Tables of Toledo, were astronomical tables which were used to predict the movements of the Sun, Moon and planets relative to the fixed stars...
based on Arzachel and published by Gerard of CremonaGerard of CremonaGerard of Cremona was an Italian translator of Arabic scientific works found in the abandoned Arab libraries of Toledo, Spain.... - 1115-16 - Sinjaric Tables written by al-KhaziniAl-KhaziniAbu al-Fath Abd al-Rahman Mansour al-Khāzini or simply Abu al-Fath Khāzini was a Muslim astronomer of Greek ethnicity from Merv, then in the Khorasan province of Persia .-References:...
- 1119-25 - CairoCairoCairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
al-Bataihi observatory for Al-Afdal ShahanshahAl-Afdal Shahanshahal-Malik al-Afdal ibn Badr al-Jamali Shahanshah was a vizier of the Fatimid caliphs of Egypt.- Ascent to power :He was born in Acre, the son of Badr al-Jamali, an Armenian who became Muslim. Badr was vizier for the Fatimids in Cairo from 1074 until his death in 1094, when al-Afdal succeeded him... - cs. 1020 - GearGearA gear is a rotating machine part having cut teeth, or cogs, which mesh with another toothed part in order to transmit torque. Two or more gears working in tandem are called a transmission and can produce a mechanical advantage through a gear ratio and thus may be considered a simple machine....
ed mechanical astrolabeAstrolabeAn astrolabe is an elaborate inclinometer, historically used by astronomers, navigators, and astrologers. Its many uses include locating and predicting the positions of the Sun, Moon, planets, and stars, determining local time given local latitude and longitude, surveying, triangulation, and to...
invented by Ibn Samh
1200s
- 1206 - Al-JazariAl-JazariAbū al-'Iz Ibn Ismā'īl ibn al-Razāz al-Jazarī was a Muslim polymath: a scholar, inventor, mechanical engineer, craftsman, artist, mathematician and astronomer from Al-Jazira, Mesopotamia, who lived during the Islamic Golden Age...
invented his largest astronomical clockAstronomical clockAn astronomical clock is a clock with special mechanisms and dials to display astronomical information, such as the relative positions of the sun, moon, zodiacal constellations, and sometimes major planets.-Definition:...
, the "castle clockCastle clockA castle clock is a clock whose face is mounted outside a castle or perhaps a church tower. They may be elaborate or simple.Al-Jazari constructed an elaborate clock and described it in his Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices in 1206. It was about 3,3 metres high , and had multiple...
", which is considered to be the first programmableComputer programmingComputer programming is the process of designing, writing, testing, debugging, and maintaining the source code of computer programs. This source code is written in one or more programming languages. The purpose of programming is to create a program that performs specific operations or exhibits a...
analog computerAnalog computerAn analog computer is a form of computer that uses the continuously-changeable aspects of physical phenomena such as electrical, mechanical, or hydraulic quantities to model the problem being solved...
. - 1252-72 - Alfonsine tablesAlfonsine tablesThe Alfonsine tables provided data for computing the position of the Sun, Moon and planets relative to the fixed stars....
recorded - 1259 - Maragheh observatoryMaragheh observatoryMaragheh observatory is an astronomical observatory which was established in 1259 CE by Nasir al-Din al-Tusi, an Iranian scientist and astronomer...
and library of Nasir al-Din al-TusiNasir al-Din al-TusiKhawaja Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad ibn Ḥasan Ṭūsī , better known as Naṣīr al-Dīn al-Ṭūsī , was a Persian polymath and prolific writer: an astronomer, biologist, chemist, mathematician, philosopher, physician, physicist, scientist, theologian and Marja Taqleed...
built in Persia under Hulagu KhanHulagu KhanHulagu Khan, also known as Hülegü, Hulegu , was a Mongol ruler who conquered much of Southwest Asia... - ca. 1270 - Terrace for Managing Heaven 26 observatory network of Guo ShoujingGuo ShoujingGuo Shoujing , courtesy name Ruosi , was a Chinese astronomer, engineer, and mathematician born in Xingtai, Hebei who lived during the Yuan Dynasty...
under Khubilai Khan - 1272 - Zij-i IlkhaniZij-i IlkhaniZīj-i Īlkhānī or Ilkhanic Tables is a Zij book with astronomical tables of planetary movements. It was compiled by the Persian astronomer Nasir al-Din al-Tusi in collaboration with his research team of astronomers at the Maragha observatory...
written by Nasir al-Din al-TusiNasir al-Din al-TusiKhawaja Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad ibn Ḥasan Ṭūsī , better known as Naṣīr al-Dīn al-Ṭūsī , was a Persian polymath and prolific writer: an astronomer, biologist, chemist, mathematician, philosopher, physician, physicist, scientist, theologian and Marja Taqleed... - 1276 - Dengfeng Star Observatory PlatformGaocheng Astronomical ObservatoryGaocheng Astronomical Observatory, also known as the Dengfeng Observatory, is a World Heritage Site in Duke Zhou Gong's shrine, Gaocheng Town, near Dengfeng in Henan Province, China. This site has a long tradition of astronomical observations, from the time of the Western Zhou up to the early Yuan...
, GaochengGaochengGaocheng is a county-level city belonging to Shijiazhuang, Hebei, China. The city has an area of 836 km² and a population of 743,000. It is located between and .-Administrative Divisions:There are 13 towns and 1 township.Towns:...
, DengfengDengfengDengfeng is a county-level city in Zhengzhou, Henan province. In ancient times, it was known as Yangcheng .Dengfeng has an area of 1220 square kilometers and a population of 630,000....
City, HenanHenanHenan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan...
Province, China
1300s
- 1371 - The idea of using hours of equal time length throughout the year in a sundialSundialA sundial is a device that measures time by the position of the Sun. In common designs such as the horizontal sundial, the sun casts a shadow from its style onto a surface marked with lines indicating the hours of the day. The style is the time-telling edge of the gnomon, often a thin rod or a...
was the innovation of Ibn al-ShatirIbn al-ShatirAla Al-Din Abu'l-Hasan Ali Ibn Ibrahim Ibn al-Shatir was an Arab Muslim astronomer, mathematician, engineer and inventor who worked as muwaqqit at the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, Syria.-Astronomy:...
1400s
- 1400-29 - Khaqani ZijZijZīj is the generic name applied to Islamic astronomical books that tabulate parameters used for astronomical calculations of the positions of the Sun, Moon, stars, and planets. The name is derived from the Middle Persian term zih or zīg, meaning cord...
by Jamshīd al-KāshīJamshid al-KashiGhiyāth al-Dīn Jamshīd Masʾūd al-Kāshī was a Persian astronomer and mathematician.-Biography:... - 1417 - Speculum Planetarum by Simones de Selandia
- 1420 - Samarkand observatoryUlugh Beg ObservatoryThe Ulugh Beg Observatory is an observatory in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. Built in the 1420s by the Timurid astronomer Ulugh Beg, it is considered by scholars to have been one of the finest observatories in the Islamic world at the time and the largest in Central Asia before it was destroyed in 1449...
of Ulugh BegUlugh BegUlugh Bek was a Timurid ruler as well as an astronomer, mathematician and sultan. His commonly-known name is not truly a personal name, but rather a moniker, which can be loosely translated as "Great Ruler" or "Patriarch Ruler" and was the Turkic equivalent of Timur's Perso-Arabic title Amīr-e... - 1437 - Zij-i-SultaniZij-i-SultaniZīj-i Sultānī is a Zij astronomical table and star catalogue that was published by Ulugh Beg in 1437. It was the joint product of the work of a group of Muslim astronomers working under the patronage of Ulugh Beg at Samarkand's Ulugh Beg Observatory...
written by Ulugh BegUlugh BegUlugh Bek was a Timurid ruler as well as an astronomer, mathematician and sultan. His commonly-known name is not truly a personal name, but rather a moniker, which can be loosely translated as "Great Ruler" or "Patriarch Ruler" and was the Turkic equivalent of Timur's Perso-Arabic title Amīr-e... - 1442 - Beijing Ancient ObservatoryBeijing Ancient ObservatoryThe Beijing Ancient Observatory is a pretelescopic observatory located in Beijing, China. The revolutionary tools used within this ancient observatory were built in 1442 during the Ming Dynasty, and later amended during the Qing....
in China - 1467-71 - Observatory at OradeaOradeaOradea is the capital city of Bihor County, in the Crișana region of north-western Romania. The city has a population of 204,477, according to the 2009 estimates. The wider Oradea metropolitan area has a total population of 245,832.-Geography:...
, Hungary for Matthias Corvinus - 1472 - NurembergNurembergNuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...
observatory
1500s
- 1540 ApianPetrus ApianusPetrus Apianus , also known as Peter Apian, was a German humanist, known for his works in mathematics, astronomy and cartography.The lunar crater Apianus and minor planet 19139 Apian are named in his honour....
"Astronomicum Caesareum" - 1560 - KasselKasselKassel is a town located on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Kassel Regierungsbezirk and the Kreis of the same name and has approximately 195,000 inhabitants.- History :...
observatory under Landgrave Wilhelm IV of Hesse - 1574 - Taqi al-Din Muhammad ibn Ma'ruf describes a long-distance magnifyingMagnificationMagnification is the process of enlarging something only in appearance, not in physical size. This enlargement is quantified by a calculated number also called "magnification"...
device in his Book of the Light of the Pupil of Vision and the Light of the Truth of the Sights, which may have possibly been an early rudimentary telescopeTelescopeA telescope is an instrument that aids in the observation of remote objects by collecting electromagnetic radiation . The first known practical telescopes were invented in the Netherlands at the beginning of the 1600s , using glass lenses...
. - 1575-80 - Istanbul observatory of Taqi al-Din under Sultan Murad IIIMurad IIIMurad III was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1574 until his death.-Biography:...
- 1576 - Royal Danish Astronomical Observatory UraniborgUraniborgUranienborg was a Danish astronomical observatory operated by Tycho Brahe; built circa 1576-1580 on Hven, an island in the Øresund between Zealand and Scania, which at that time was part of Denmark. The observatory was shortly after its construction expanded with an underground facility,...
at HvenHvenVen is a small Swedish island in the Öresund strait, between Scania and Zealand . It is situated in Landskrona Municipality, Skåne County. The island has 371 inhabitants and an area of . During the 1930s, the population was at its peak, with approximately 1,300 inhabitants...
by Tycho BraheTycho BraheTycho Brahe , born Tyge Ottesen Brahe, was a Danish nobleman known for his accurate and comprehensive astronomical and planetary observations... - 1577 - Istanbul observatory of Taqi al-Din constructed for Taqi al-Din Muhammad ibn Ma'ruf
- 1577-80 - Unbored Pearl, a ZijZijZīj is the generic name applied to Islamic astronomical books that tabulate parameters used for astronomical calculations of the positions of the Sun, Moon, stars, and planets. The name is derived from the Middle Persian term zih or zīg, meaning cord...
treatise by Taqi al-Din - 1577-80 - Taqi al-Din invents a mechanical astronomical clockAstronomical clockAn astronomical clock is a clock with special mechanisms and dials to display astronomical information, such as the relative positions of the sun, moon, zodiacal constellations, and sometimes major planets.-Definition:...
that measures time in seconds, one of the most important innovations in 16th-century practical astronomy, as previous clocks were not accurate enough to be used for astronomical purposes. - 1577-80 - Taqi al-Din invents framed sextantSextant (astronomical)Sextants for astronomical observations were used primarily for measuring the positions of stars. They are little used today, having been replaced over time by transit telescopes, astrometry techniques, and satellites such as Hipparcos....
- 1581 - Royal Danish Astronomical Observatory StjerneborgStjerneborgStjerneborg was Tycho Brahe's underground observatory next to his palace-observatory Uraniborg, located on the island of Hven in Oresund....
at HvenHvenVen is a small Swedish island in the Öresund strait, between Scania and Zealand . It is situated in Landskrona Municipality, Skåne County. The island has 371 inhabitants and an area of . During the 1930s, the population was at its peak, with approximately 1,300 inhabitants...
by Tycho BraheTycho BraheTycho Brahe , born Tyge Ottesen Brahe, was a Danish nobleman known for his accurate and comprehensive astronomical and planetary observations... - 1589-90 - Celestial globe without seamsSeam (metallurgy)Hemming and seaming are two similar metalworking processes in which a sheet metal edge is rolled over onto itself. A hem is when the edge is rolled flush to itself, while a seam joins the edges of two materials....
invented in Mughal India by Ali Kashmiri ibn Luqman during Akbar the GreatAkbar the GreatAkbar , also known as Shahanshah Akbar-e-Azam or Akbar the Great , was the third Mughal Emperor. He was of Timurid descent; the son of Emperor Humayun, and the grandson of the Mughal Emperor Zaheeruddin Muhammad Babur, the ruler who founded the Mughal dynasty in India...
's reign.
1600s
- 1600 - Prague observatory in Benátky nad JizerouBenátky nad JizerouBenátky nad Jizerou is a town on the Jizera river in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic, between the cities Stará Boleslav and Mladá Boleslav.The city was the site of a castle and observatory built by astronomer Tycho Brahe.-External links:...
by Tycho BraheTycho BraheTycho Brahe , born Tyge Ottesen Brahe, was a Danish nobleman known for his accurate and comprehensive astronomical and planetary observations... - 1603 - Johann BayerJohann BayerJohann Bayer was a German lawyer and uranographer . He was born in Rain, Bavaria, in 1572. He began his study of philosophy in Ingolstadt in 1592, and moved later to Augsburg to begin work as a lawyer. He grew interested in astronomy during his time in Augsburg...
's UranometriaUranometriaUranometria is the short title of a star atlas produced by Johann Bayer.It was published in Augsburg, Germany, in 1603 by Christophorus Mangus under the full title Uranometria : omnium asterismorum continens schemata, nova methodo delineata, aereis laminis expressa. This translates to...
is published - 1608 - Hans LippersheyHans LippersheyHans Lippershey , also known as Johann Lippershey or Lipperhey, was a German-Dutch lensmaker commonly associated with the invention of the telescope, although it is unclear if he was the first to build one.-Biography:...
tries to patent an optical refracting telescopeRefracting telescopeA refracting or refractor telescope is a type of optical telescope that uses a lens as its objective to form an image . The refracting telescope design was originally used in spy glasses and astronomical telescopes but is also used for long focus camera lenses...
, the first recorded functional telescopeTelescopeA telescope is an instrument that aids in the observation of remote objects by collecting electromagnetic radiation . The first known practical telescopes were invented in the Netherlands at the beginning of the 1600s , using glass lenses... - 1609 - Galileo GalileiGalileo GalileiGalileo Galilei , was an Italian physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher who played a major role in the Scientific Revolution. His achievements include improvements to the telescope and consequent astronomical observations and support for Copernicanism...
builds his first optical refracting telescope - 1616 - Niccolò ZucchiNiccolo ZucchiNiccolò Zucchi was an Italian Jesuit, astronomer, and physicist.As an astronomer he may have been the first to see the belts on the planet Jupiter , and reported spots on Mars in 1640....
experiments with a reflecting telescopeReflecting telescopeA reflecting telescope is an optical telescope which uses a single or combination of curved mirrors that reflect light and form an image. The reflecting telescope was invented in the 17th century as an alternative to the refracting telescope which, at that time, was a design that suffered from... - 1633 - Construction of Leiden University ObservatoryLeiden ObservatoryLeiden Observatory is an astronomical observatory in the city of Leiden, Netherlands. It was established by Leiden University in 1633, to house the quadrant of Snellius, and is the oldest operating University observatory in the world Leiden Observatory (Sterrewacht Leiden in Dutch) is an...
- 1641 - William GascoigneWilliam GascoigneSir William Gascoigne Kt. was Chief Justice of England during the reign of King Henry IV. Sir William Gascoigne was born in Gawthorpe W-Riding, Yorks. In 1369, William married Elizabeth de Mowbray...
invents telescope cross hairs - 1641 - Danzig/Gdansk observatory of Jan HeveliusJohannes HeveliusJohannes Hevelius Some sources refer to Hevelius as Polish:Some sources refer to Hevelius as German:*Encyplopedia Britannica * of the Royal Society was a councilor and mayor of Danzig , Pomeranian Voivodeship, in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth...
- 1642 - Copenhagen University Royal observatoryRundetårnThe Rundetårn is a 17th-century tower located in central Copenhagen, Denmark. One of the many architectural projects of Christian IV, it was built as an astronomical observatory...
- 1661 - James GregoryJames Gregory (astronomer and mathematician)James Gregory FRS was a Scottish mathematician and astronomer. He described an early practical design for the reflecting telescope – the Gregorian telescope – and made advances in trigonometry, discovering infinite series representations for several trigonometric functions.- Biography :The...
proposes an optical reflecting telescope with parabolicParabolic reflectorA parabolic reflector is a reflective device used to collect or project energy such as light, sound, or radio waves. Its shape is that of a circular paraboloid, that is, the surface generated by a parabola revolving around its axis...
mirrors - 1667 - Paris ObservatoryParis ObservatoryThe Paris Observatory is the foremost astronomical observatory of France, and one of the largest astronomical centres in the world...
- 1668 - Isaac NewtonIsaac NewtonSir Isaac Newton PRS was an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, alchemist, and theologian, who has been "considered by many to be the greatest and most influential scientist who ever lived."...
constructs the first "practical" reflecting telescope, the Newtonian telescopeNewtonian telescopeThe Newtonian telescope is a type of reflecting telescope invented by the British scientist Sir Isaac Newton , using a concave primary mirror and a flat diagonal secondary mirror. Newton’s first reflecting telescope was completed in 1668 and is the earliest known functional reflecting telescope... - 1672 - Laurent CassegrainLaurent CassegrainLaurent Cassegrain was a Catholic priest who is notable as the probable inventor of the Cassegrain reflector, a folded two mirror reflecting telescope design.-Biography:...
designs the Cassegrain telescope - 1675 - Royal Greenwich Observatory of England
- 1684 - Christiaan Huygens publishes "Astroscopia Compendiaria" in which he described the design of very long aerial telescopeAerial telescopeAn aerial telescope is a type of very-long-focal-length refracting telescope built in the second half of the 17th century that did not use a tube. Instead, the objective was mounted on a pole, tree, tower, building or other structure on a swivel ball-joint. The observer stood on the ground and held...
s
1700s
- 1704 - First observatory at Cambridge UniversityUniversity of CambridgeThe University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
(based at Trinity CollegeTrinity College, CambridgeTrinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
) - 1724 - Indian observatory of Sawai Jai SinghJai Singh II of AmberMaharaja Sawai Jai Singh was ruler of the kingdom of Amber . He was born at Amber, the capital of the Kachwahas. He became ruler of Amber at the age of 11 after his father Maharaja Bishan Singh died on 31 December 1699...
at DelhiDelhiDelhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census... - 1725 - St. Petersburg observatory at Royal Academy
- 1732 - Indian observatories of Sawai Jai Singh at VaranasiVaranasi-Etymology:The name Varanasi has its origin possibly from the names of the two rivers Varuna and Assi, for the old city lies in the north shores of the Ganga bounded by its two tributaries, the Varuna and the Asi, with the Ganges being to its south...
, UjjainUjjainUjjain , is an ancient city of Malwa region in central India, on the eastern bank of the Kshipra River , today part of the state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the administrative centre of Ujjain District and Ujjain Division.In ancient times the city was called Ujjayini...
, Mathura, Madras - 1733 - Chester Moor Hall invents the achromatic lensAchromatic lensAn achromatic lens or achromat is a lens that is designed to limit the effects of chromatic and spherical aberration. Achromatic lenses are corrected to bring two wavelengths into focus in the same plane....
refracting telescope - 1734 - Indian observatory of Sawai Jai Singh at JaipurJaipurJaipur , also popularly known as the Pink City, is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. Founded on 18 November 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, the ruler of Amber, the city today has a population of more than 3.1 million....
- 1753 - Real Observatorio de Cádiz (Spain)
- 1753 - Vilnius observatory at VilniusVilniusVilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
University, LithuaniaLithuaniaLithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark... - 1758 - John DollondJohn DollondJohn Dollond was an English optician, known for his successful optics business and his patenting and commercialization of achromatic doublets.-Biography:...
reinvents the achromatic lens - 1761 - Joseph-Nicolas DelisleJoseph-Nicolas DelisleJoseph-Nicolas Delisle was a French astronomer.-Life:He was one of the 11 sons of Claude Delisle . Like many of his brothers, among them Guillaume Delisle, he initially followed classical studies. Soon however, he moved to astronomy under the supervision of Joseph Lieutaud and Jacques Cassini...
62 observing station network for observing the transit of VenusTransit of VenusA transit of Venus across the Sun takes place when the planet Venus passes directly between the Sun and Earth, becoming visible against the solar disk. During a transit, Venus can be seen from Earth as a small black disk moving across the face of the Sun... - 1769 - Short reflectors used at 63 station network for transit of VenusTransit of VenusA transit of Venus across the Sun takes place when the planet Venus passes directly between the Sun and Earth, becoming visible against the solar disk. During a transit, Venus can be seen from Earth as a small black disk moving across the face of the Sun...
- 1780 - FlorenceFlorenceFlorence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
SpecolaLa SpecolaMuseum of Zoology and Natural History, best known as La Specola, is a museum in Florence, central Italy, located next to the Pitti Palace. The name "Specola" means observatory, a reference to the astronomical observatory founded there in 1790...
observatory - 1789 - William HerschelWilliam HerschelSir Frederick William Herschel, KH, FRS, German: Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel was a German-born British astronomer, technical expert, and composer. Born in Hanover, Wilhelm first followed his father into the Military Band of Hanover, but emigrated to Britain at age 19...
finishes a 49-inch (1.2 m) optical reflecting telescope, located in Slough, England - 1798 - Real Observatorio de la Isla de Léon (actualmente Real Instituto y Observatorio de la Armada) (Spain)
1800s
- 1839 Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre (inventor of the daguerreotypeDaguerreotypeThe daguerreotype was the first commercially successful photographic process. The image is a direct positive made in the camera on a silvered copper plate....
photographic process) attempts in to photograph the moonMoonThe Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
. Tracking errors in guiding the telescope during the long exposure made the photograph came out as an indistinct fuzzy spot - 1840 - John William DraperJohn William DraperJohn William Draper was an American scientist, philosopher, physician, chemist, historian, and photographer. He is credited with producing the first clear photograph of a female face and the first detailed photograph of the Moon...
takes make a successful photographic image of the MoonMoonThe Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
, the first astronomical photographAstrophotographyAstrophotography is a specialized type of photography that entails recording images of astronomical objects and large areas of the night sky. The first photographs of an astronomical object were taken in the 1840s, but it was not until the late 19th century that advances in technology allowed for... - 1845 - Lord RosseWilliam Parsons, 3rd Earl of RosseWilliam Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse, Knight of the Order of St Patrick was an Irish astronomer who had several telescopes built. His 72-inch telescope "Leviathan", built 1845, was the world's largest telescope until the early 20th century.-Life:He was born in Yorkshire, England, in the city of...
finishes the Birr Castle 72 inches (1.8 m) optical reflecting telescopeLeviathan of ParsonstownLeviathan of Parsonstown is the unofficial name of the Rosse six foot telescope. This is a historic reflecting telescope of 72 in aperture, which was the largest telescope in the world from 1845 until the construction of the 100 in Hooker Telescope in 1917...
, located in Parsonstown, IrelandBirrBirr is a town in County Offaly, Ireland. Once called Parsonstown, after the Parsons family who were local landowners and hereditary Earls of Rosse. It is also a parish in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Killaloe.... - 1849 - Santiago observatory (the earliest in that South America) set up by USA, later becomes Chilean National Observatory (now part of the University of Chile)
- 1859 - KirchhoffGustav KirchhoffGustav Robert Kirchhoff was a German physicist who contributed to the fundamental understanding of electrical circuits, spectroscopy, and the emission of black-body radiation by heated objects...
and BunsenRobert BunsenRobert Wilhelm Eberhard Bunsen was a German chemist. He investigated emission spectra of heated elements, and discovered caesium and rubidium with Gustav Kirchhoff. Bunsen developed several gas-analytical methods, was a pioneer in photochemistry, and did early work in the field of organoarsenic...
develop spectroscopySpectroscopySpectroscopy is the study of the interaction between matter and radiated energy. Historically, spectroscopy originated through the study of visible light dispersed according to its wavelength, e.g., by a prism. Later the concept was expanded greatly to comprise any interaction with radiative... - 1864 - HerschelHerschelHerschel is a German surname with the possible meanings:*sorghum or millet for someone working with such cereals*deer for a hunter or as a sobriquet...
's so-called GC (General Catalogue) of nebulae and star clusters published - 1868 - JanssenJanssenJanssen may refer to:People with the surname Janssen:*Janssen Other:* Janssen * Janssen Pharmaceutica, a Belgian company...
and LockyerLockyerAs a surname Lockyer may refer to:* Bill Lockyer, American Politician* Darren Lockyer, Australian rugby league footballer* Edmund Lockyer, 19th century British soldier and Australian explorer...
discover HeliumHeliumHelium is the chemical element with atomic number 2 and an atomic weight of 4.002602, which is represented by the symbol He. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, inert, monatomic gas that heads the noble gas group in the periodic table...
observing spectra of SunSunThe Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields... - 1871 - German Astronomical AssociationAstronomische GesellschaftThe Astronomische Gesellschaft is an astronomical society established in 1863 in Heidelberg, the second oldest astronomical society after the Royal Astronomical Society....
organized network of 13 (later 16) observatories for stellar proper motion studies - 1863 - William Allen MillerWilliam Allen MillerWilliam Allen Miller FRS was a British scientist.He was born in Ipswich, Suffolk and educated at Ackworth School and King's College London....
and Sir William HugginsWilliam HugginsSir William Huggins, OM, KCB, FRS was an English amateur astronomer best known for his pioneering work in astronomical spectroscopy.-Biography:...
use the photographic wet collodion plate process to obtain the first ever photographic spectrogramSpectrogramA spectrogram is a time-varying spectral representation that shows how the spectral density of a signal varies with time. Also known as spectral waterfalls, sonograms, voiceprints, or voicegrams, spectrograms are used to identify phonetic sounds, to analyse the cries of animals; they were also...
of a star, SiriusSiriusSirius is the brightest star in the night sky. With a visual apparent magnitude of −1.46, it is almost twice as bright as Canopus, the next brightest star. The name "Sirius" is derived from the Ancient Greek: Seirios . The star has the Bayer designation Alpha Canis Majoris...
and CapellaCapellaCapella can refer to:* Capella , a bright star in the constellation of Auriga* Capella , an impact crater on the Moon* Capella, Queensland, a small town in Central Queensland* Capella Island, a minor island of the U.S...
. - 1872 - Henry DraperHenry DraperHenry Draper was an American doctor and amateur astronomer. He is best known today as a pioneer of astrophotography.-Life and work:...
photographs an spectrum of VegaVegaVega is the brightest star in the constellation Lyra, the fifth brightest star in the night sky and the second brightest star in the northern celestial hemisphere, after Arcturus...
that shows absorption lines. - 1878 - Dreyer published a supplement to the GC of about 1000 new objects, the New General CatalogueNew General CatalogueThe New General Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars is a well-known catalogue of deep sky objects in astronomy. It contains 7,840 objects, known as the NGC objects...
- 1883 - Andrew Ainslie CommonAndrew Ainslie CommonAndrew Ainslie Common FRS was an English amateur astronomer best known for his pioneering work in astrophotography.-Biography:...
uses the photographic dry plateDry plateDry plate, also known as gelatin process, is an improved type of photographic plate. It was invented by Dr. Richard L. Maddox in 1871, and by 1879 it was so well introduced that the first dry plate factory had been established...
process and a 36-inch (91 cm) reflecting telescope in his backyard to record 60 minute exposures of the Orion nebulaOrion NebulaThe Orion Nebula is a diffuse nebula situated south of Orion's Belt. It is one of the brightest nebulae, and is visible to the naked eye in the night sky. M42 is located at a distance of and is the closest region of massive star formation to Earth. The M42 nebula is estimated to be 24 light...
that for the first time showed stars too faint to be seen by the human eye. - 1887 - Paris conference institutes Carte du CielCarte du CielThe Carte du Ciel and the Astrographic Catalogue were two distinct but connected components of a massive international astronomical project, initiated in the late 19th century, to catalogue and map the positions of millions of stars as faint as 11th or 12th magnitude...
project to map entire sky to 14th magnitude photographically - 1888 - First light of 91cm refracting telescopeJames Lick telescopeThe James Lick Telescope is an antique refracting 36 inch telescope built in 1889 that can still be viewed through today...
at Lick ObservatoryLick ObservatoryThe Lick Observatory is an astronomical observatory, owned and operated by the University of California. It is situated on the summit of Mount Hamilton, in the Diablo Range just east of San Jose, California, USA...
, on Mount HamiltonMount Hamilton (California)Mount Hamilton is a mountain in California's Diablo Range, in Santa Clara County, California. Mount Hamilton, at is the tallest mountain overlooking Silicon Valley, and is the site of Lick Observatory, the first permanently occupied mountain-top observatory. The various summits along its...
near San Jose, CaliforniaSan Jose, CaliforniaSan Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay... - 1889 - Astronomical Society of the PacificAstronomical Society of the PacificThe Astronomical Society of the Pacific is a scientific and educational organization, founded in San Francisco on February 7, 1889. Its name derives from its origins on the Pacific Coast, but today it has members all over the country and the world...
founded - 1890 - Albert Michelson proposes the stellar interferometer
- 1892 - George Ellery HaleGeorge Ellery HaleGeorge Ellery Hale was an American solar astronomer.-Biography:Hale was born in Chicago, Illinois. He was educated at MIT, at the Observatory of Harvard College, , and at Berlin . As an undergraduate at MIT, he is known for inventing the spectroheliograph, with which he made his discovery of...
finishes a spectroheliographSpectroheliographThe spectroheliograph is an instrument used in astronomy. It captures a photographic image of the Sun at a single wavelength of light, a monochromatic image...
, which allows the SunSunThe Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
to be photographed in the light of one element only - 1897 - Alvan ClarkAlvan ClarkAlvan Clark , born in Ashfield, Massachusetts, the descendant of a Cape Cod whaling family of English ancestry, was an American astronomer and telescope maker. He was a portrait painter and engraver , and at the age of 40 became involved in telescope making...
finishes the Yerkes 40 inches (1 m) optical refracting telescope, located in Williams Bay, WisconsinWilliams Bay, WisconsinWilliams Bay is a village in Walworth County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 2,415 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Williams Bay is located at ....
1900s
- 1902 - Dominion ObservatoryDominion ObservatoryThe Dominion Observatory was an astronomical observatory in Ottawa, Canada that operated from 1902 to 1970. The Observatory was also an institution within the Canadian Federal Government. The observatory grew out of the Department of the Interior's need for the precise coordinates and timekeeping...
, Ottawa, Canada established - 1904 - Observatories of the Carnegie Institution of Washington founded
- 1907 - F.C. Brown and Joel StebbinsJoel StebbinsJoel Stebbins was an American astronomer who pioneered photoelectric photometry in astronomy. He earned his Ph.D at the University of California. He was director of the University of Illinois Observatory from 1903 to 1922 where he performed innovative work with the selenium cell...
develop a selenium cell photometer at the University of Illinois ObservatoryUniversity of Illinois ObservatoryThe University of Illinois Astronomical Observatory was constructed in 1896. It stands on South Matthews Avenue in Urbana, Champaign County, Illinois. The observatory was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 6, 1986 and on December 20, 1989, the U.S. Department of Interior...
.
1910s
- 1912 - Joel StebbinsJoel StebbinsJoel Stebbins was an American astronomer who pioneered photoelectric photometry in astronomy. He earned his Ph.D at the University of California. He was director of the University of Illinois Observatory from 1903 to 1922 where he performed innovative work with the selenium cell...
and Jakob Kunz begin to use a photometer using a photoelectric cell at the University of Illinois ObservatoryUniversity of Illinois ObservatoryThe University of Illinois Astronomical Observatory was constructed in 1896. It stands on South Matthews Avenue in Urbana, Champaign County, Illinois. The observatory was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 6, 1986 and on December 20, 1989, the U.S. Department of Interior...
. - 1917 - Mount Wilson 100 inches (2.5 m) optical reflecting telescope begins operation, located in Mount Wilson, CaliforniaMount Wilson ObservatoryThe Mount Wilson Observatory is an astronomical observatory in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The MWO is located on Mount Wilson, a 5,715 foot peak in the San Gabriel Mountains near Pasadena, northeast of Los Angeles...
- 1918 - 1.8m Plaskett Telescope begins operation at the Dominion Astrophysical ObservatoryDominion Astrophysical ObservatoryThe Dominion Astrophysical Observatory, located on Observatory Hill, in Saanich, British Columbia, was completed in 1918 by the Canadian government. Proposed and designed by John S...
, VictoriaVictoria, British ColumbiaVictoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...
, British ColumbiaBritish ColumbiaBritish Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean... - 1919 - International Astronomical UnionInternational Astronomical UnionThe International Astronomical Union IAU is a collection of professional astronomers, at the Ph.D. level and beyond, active in professional research and education in astronomy...
(IAU) founded
1930s
- 1930 - Bernard-Ferdinand Lyot invents the coronagraphCoronagraphA coronagraph is a telescopic attachment designed to block out the direct light from a star so that nearby objects – which otherwise would be hidden in the star's bright glare – can be resolved...
- 1930 - Karl Jansky builds a 30-meter long rotating aerial radio telescopeRadio telescopeA radio telescope is a form of directional radio antenna used in radio astronomy. The same types of antennas are also used in tracking and collecting data from satellites and space probes...
- 1933 - Bernard-Ferdinand Lyot invents the Lyot filterLyot filterA Lyot filter, named for its inventor Bernard Lyot, is a type of optical filter that uses birefringence to produce a narrow passband of transmitted wavelengths...
- 1934 - Bernhard SchmidtBernhard SchmidtBernhard Woldemar Schmidt was a German optician. In 1930 he invented the Schmidt telescope which corrected for the optical errors of spherical aberration, coma, and astigmatism, making possible for the first time the construction of very large, wide-angled reflective cameras of short exposure time...
finishes the first 14 inches (355.6 mm) Schmidt optical reflecting telescopeSchmidt cameraA Schmidt camera, also referred to as the Schmidt telescope, is a catadioptric astrophotographic telescope designed to provide wide fields of view with limited aberrations. Other similar designs are the Wright Camera and Lurie-Houghton telescope.... - 1936 - Palomar 18 inches (457.2 mm) Schmidt optical reflecting telescope begins operation, located in Palomar, California
- 1937 - Grote ReberGrote ReberGrote Reber was an amateur astronomer and pioneer of radio astronomy. He was instrumental in investigating and extending Karl Jansky's pioneering work, and conducted the first sky survey in the radio frequencies...
builds a 31 feet (9.4 m) radio telescope
1940s
- 1941 - Dmitri Dmitrievich MaksutovDmitri Dmitrievich MaksutovDmitry Dmitrievich Maksutov was a Russian / Soviet optical engineer and amateur astronomer. He is best known as the inventor of the Maksutov telescope.-Biography:...
invents the Maksutov telescopeMaksutov telescopeThe Maksutov is a catadioptric telescope design that combines a spherical mirror with a weakly negative meniscus lens in a design that takes advantage of all the surfaces being nearly "spherically symmetrical". The negative lens is usually full diameter and placed at the entrance pupil of the...
which is adopted by major observatories in the Soviet UnionSoviet UnionThe Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and internationally. It is now also a popular design with amateur astronomersAmateur astronomyAmateur astronomy, also called backyard astronomy and stargazing, is a hobby whose participants enjoy watching the night sky , and the plethora of objects found in it, mainly with portable telescopes and binoculars... - 1946 - Martin RyleMartin RyleSir Martin Ryle was an English radio astronomer who developed revolutionary radio telescope systems and used them for accurate location and imaging of weak radio sources...
and his group perform the first astronomical observations with a radio interferometer - 1947 - Bernard LovellBernard LovellSir Alfred Charles Bernard Lovell OBE, FRS is an English physicist and radio astronomer. He was the first Director of Jodrell Bank Observatory, from 1945 to 1980.-Early Life:...
and his group complete the Jodrell BankJodrell BankThe Jodrell Bank Observatory is a British observatory that hosts a number of radio telescopes, and is part of the Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics at the University of Manchester...
218 feet (66.4 m) non-steerable radio telescope - 1949 - Palomar 48 inches (1.2 m) SchmidtSamuel Oschin telescopeThe Samuel Oschin telescope is a 48-inch aperture Schmidt camera at the Palomar Observatory in northern San Diego County, California. It consists of a 49.75-inch Schmidt corrector plate and a 72-inch mirror. The instrument is strictly a camera; there is no provision for an eyepiece to look...
optical reflecting telescope begins operation, located in Palomar, California - 1949 - Palomar 200 inches (5.1 m) optical reflecting telescope (Hale telescopeHale telescopeThe Hale Telescope is a , 3.3 reflecting telescope at the Palomar Observatory in California, named after astronomer George Ellery Hale. With funding from the Rockefeller Foundation, he orchestrated the planning, design, and construction of the observatory, but did not live to see its commissioning...
) begins regular operation, located in Palomar, California
1950s
- 1953 - Luoxue Mountain Cosmic Rays Research Center, YunnanYunnanYunnan is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country spanning approximately and with a population of 45.7 million . The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders Burma, Laos, and Vietnam.Yunnan is situated in a mountainous area, with...
Province, in China founded - 1954 - Earth rotation aperture synthesisAperture synthesisAperture synthesis or synthesis imaging is a type of interferometry that mixes signals from a collection of telescopes to produce images having the same angular resolution as an instrument the size of the entire collection...
suggested (see e.g. Christiansen and Warburton (1955)) - 1956 - Dwingeloo Radio ObservatoryDwingeloo Radio ObservatoryThe Dwingeloo Radio Observatory , is a single dish radio telescope with a diameter of 25 m. Construction started in 1954, the telescope was completed in 1956. At that time it was the largest radio telescope in the world...
25 m telescope completed, DwingelooDwingelooDwingeloo is a town halfway between Meppel and Assen in the Dutch province of Drenthe. It is a part of the municipality of Westerveld.The town is known internationally because of the radio telescope of the Dwingeloo Radio Observatory , located on the edge of the Dwingeloo Heath, 3 km south of...
, NetherlandsNetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders... - 1957 - Bernard LovellBernard LovellSir Alfred Charles Bernard Lovell OBE, FRS is an English physicist and radio astronomer. He was the first Director of Jodrell Bank Observatory, from 1945 to 1980.-Early Life:...
and his group complete the Jodrell BankJodrell BankThe Jodrell Bank Observatory is a British observatory that hosts a number of radio telescopes, and is part of the Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics at the University of Manchester...
250-foot (75 m) steerable radio telescope (the Lovell TelescopeLovell TelescopeThe Lovell Telescope is a radio telescope at Jodrell Bank Observatory, near Goostrey, Cheshire in the north-west of England. When it was constructed in 1955, the telescope was the largest steerable dish radio telescope in the world at 76.2 m in diameter;it is now the third largest, after the...
) - 1957 - Peter Scheuer publishes his P(D) method for obtaining source countsSource countsThe source counts distribution of radio-sources from a radio-astronomical survey is the cumulative distribution of the number of sources brighter than a given flux density...
of spatially unresolved sources - 1959 - Radio Observatory of the University of Chile, located at Maipú, Chile founded
- 1959 - The 3CThird Cambridge Catalogue of Radio SourcesThe Third Cambridge Catalogue of Radio Sources is an astronomical catalogue of celestial radio sources detected originally at 159 MHz, and subsequently at 178 MHz. It was published in 1959 by members of the Radio Astronomy Group of the University of Cambridge...
catalogue of radio sources is published (revised in 1962) - 1959 - The Shane 120 inches (3 m) TelescopeC. Donald Shane telescopeThe C. Donald Shane telescope is a reflecting telescope located at the Lick Observatory in California. It was named after astronomer C. Donald Shane in 1978, who led the effort to acquire the necessary funds from the California Legislature, and who then oversaw the telescope's construction...
Opened at Lick ObservatoryLick ObservatoryThe Lick Observatory is an astronomical observatory, owned and operated by the University of California. It is situated on the summit of Mount Hamilton, in the Diablo Range just east of San Jose, California, USA...
1960s
- 1960 - Owens ValleyOwens Valley Radio ObservatoryThe Owens Valley Radio Observatory is a radio observatory located near Bishop, California, within the Owens Valley, California region, approximately 250 miles north of Los Angeles on the east side of the Sierra Nevada. It is owned and operated by the California Institute of Technology. For...
27-meter radio telescopes begin operation, located in Big Pine, CaliforniaBig Pine, CaliforniaBig Pine is a census-designated place in Inyo County, California, United States. Big Pine is located south-southeast of Bishop, at an elevation of 3990 feet . The population was 1,756 at the 2010 census, up from 1,350 at the 2000 census... - 1961 - Parkes 64-metre radio telescopeParkes ObservatoryThe Parkes Observatory is a radio telescope observatory, 20 kilometres north of the town of Parkes, New South Wales, Australia. It was one of several radio antennas used to receive live, televised images of the Apollo 11 moon landing on 20 July 1969....
begins operation, located near ParkesParkes, New South Wales- Transport :Parkes has a local bus service provided by Western Road Liners, which acquired Harris Bus Lines in March 2006. The Indian Pacific also stops twice a week, as well as the Broken Hill Outback Xplorer service, run by CountryLink, which heads to Broken Hill on Mondays and Sydney on...
, Australia - 1962 - European Southern ObservatoryEuropean Southern ObservatoryThe European Southern Observatory is an intergovernmental research organisation for astronomy, supported by fifteen countries...
(ESO) founded - 1962 - Kitt Peak solar observatoryMcMath-Pierce Solar TelescopeThe McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope is a 1.6-m f/54 reflecting solar telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona, USA. The building was designed by Myron Goldsmith and built in 1962. It is the largest telescope of its kind in the world and is named for astronomers Robert McMath and Keith...
founded - 1962 - Green Bank, West VirginiaGreen Bank, West VirginiaGreen Bank is a census-designated place in Pocahontas County in West Virginia's Potomac Highlands inside the Allegheny Mountain Range. Green Bank is located along WV 28. Green Bank is also close to the Snowshoe Mountain ski resort...
90m radio telescope - 1962 - Orbiting Solar ObservatoryOrbiting Solar ObservatoryThe Orbiting Solar Observatory Program was the name of a series of nine American science satellites primarily intended to study the Sun, though they also included important non-solar experiments. Eight were launched successfully by NASA between 1962 and 1975 using Delta rockets...
1 satellite launched - 1963 - Arecibo 300-meter radio telescope begins operation, located in Arecibo, Puerto RicoArecibo, Puerto RicoArecibo is a municipality in the northern midwest coast of Puerto Rico and located by the Atlantic Ocean, north of Utuado and Ciales; east of Hatillo; and west of Barceloneta, and Florida. Arecibo is spread over 18 wards and Arecibo Pueblo...
- 1964 - Martin RyleMartin RyleSir Martin Ryle was an English radio astronomer who developed revolutionary radio telescope systems and used them for accurate location and imaging of weak radio sources...
's 1 miles (1.6 km) radio interferometer begins operation, located in Cambridge, England - 1965 - Owens Valley 40-meter radio telescope begins operation, located in Big Pine, CaliforniaBig Pine, CaliforniaBig Pine is a census-designated place in Inyo County, California, United States. Big Pine is located south-southeast of Bishop, at an elevation of 3990 feet . The population was 1,756 at the 2010 census, up from 1,350 at the 2000 census...
- 1967 - First VLBI images, with 183 km baselineBaselineA baseline is a line that is a base for measurement or for construction; see datum or point of reference .The word baseline may refer to:...
- 1969 - Observations start at Big Bear Solar ObservatoryBig Bear Solar ObservatoryThe Big Bear Solar Observatory is an astronomical telescopic observatory with main interests in studying the physics of the Sun. The instruments and telescopes of the observatory are designed and employed specifically for studying the activities and phenomena of our solar system's star...
, located in Big Bear, California - 1969 - Las Campanas ObservatoryLas Campanas ObservatoryLas Campanas Observatory is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by the Carnegie Institution for Science It was established in 1969 and remains the primary observing site of that institution. The headquarters is located in La Serena, Chile and the observatory is in the southern Atacama...
1970s
- 1970 - Cerro Tololo 158 inches (4 m) optical reflecting telescope begins operation, located in Cerro Tololo, ChileChileChile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
- 1970 - Kitt Peak National ObservatoryKitt Peak National ObservatoryThe Kitt Peak National Observatory is a United States astronomical observatory located on 2,096 m Kitt Peak of the Quinlan Mountains in the Arizona-Sonoran Desert on the Tohono O'odham Nation, southwest of Tucson...
158 inches (4 m) optical reflecting telescope begins operation, located near Tucson, ArizonaTucson, ArizonaTucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200... - 1970 - UhuruUhuru (satellite)Uhuru was the first satellite launched specifically for the purpose of X-ray astronomy. It was also known as the X-ray Explorer Satellite, SAS-A , SAS 1, or Explorer 42.The observatory was launched on 12 December 1970 into an initial orbit of about 560 km apogee, 520 km...
x-ray telescope satellite - 1970 - Antoine LabeyrieAntoine Émile Henry LabeyrieAntoine Émile Henry Labeyrie is a French astronomer and holds since 1991 the "Observational Astrophysics" chair at the Collège de France....
performs the first high-resolution optical speckle interferometrySpeckle imagingSpeckle imaging describes a range of high-resolution astronomical imaging techniques based either on the shift-and-add method or on speckle interferometry methods...
observations - 1970 - Westerbork Synthesis Radio TelescopeWesterbork Synthesis Radio TelescopeThe Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope is an aperture synthesis interferometer near camp Westerbork, north of the village of Westerbork, Midden-Drenthe, in the northeastern Netherlands. It consists of a linear array of 14 antennas with a diameter of 25 metres arranged on a 2.7 km East-West line...
completed, near Westerbork, NetherlandsNetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders... - 1972 – 100 m EffelsbergEffelsbergThe Effelsberg 100-m Radio Telescope is a radio telescope in the Ahrgebirge in Bad Münstereifel, district of Euskirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.- Geography :...
radio telescope inaugurated (GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
) - 1973 - UK Schmidt TelescopeUK Schmidt TelescopeThe 1.2 metre UK Schmidt Telescope is operated by the Australian Astronomical Observatory , and located adjacent to the 3.9 metre Anglo-Australian Telescope at Siding Spring Observatory, Australia...
1.2 metre optical reflecting telescope begins operation, located in Anglo-Australian ObservatoryAnglo-Australian ObservatoryThe Australian Astronomical Observatory , formerly the Anglo-Australian Observatory, is an optical/near-infrared astronomy observatory with its headquarters in suburban Sydney, Australia...
near Coonabarabran, Australia - 1974 - Anglo-Australian TelescopeAnglo-Australian TelescopeThe Anglo-Australian Telescope is a 3.9 m equatorially mounted telescope operated by the Australian Astronomical Observatory and situated at the Siding Spring Observatory, Australia at an altitude of a little over 1100 m...
153 inches (3.9 m) optical reflecting telescope begins operation, located in Anglo-Australian ObservatoryAnglo-Australian ObservatoryThe Australian Astronomical Observatory , formerly the Anglo-Australian Observatory, is an optical/near-infrared astronomy observatory with its headquarters in suburban Sydney, Australia...
near Coonabarabran, Australia - 1975 - Gerald Smith, Frederick Landauer, and James Janesick use a CCDCharge-coupled deviceA charge-coupled device is a device for the movement of electrical charge, usually from within the device to an area where the charge can be manipulated, for example conversion into a digital value. This is achieved by "shifting" the signals between stages within the device one at a time...
to observe UranusUranusUranus is the seventh planet from the Sun. It has the third-largest planetary radius and fourth-largest planetary mass in the Solar System. It is named after the ancient Greek deity of the sky Uranus , the father of Cronus and grandfather of Zeus...
, the first astronomical CCD observation - 1975 - Antoine LabeyrieAntoine Émile Henry LabeyrieAntoine Émile Henry Labeyrie is a French astronomer and holds since 1991 the "Observational Astrophysics" chair at the Collège de France....
builds the first two-telescope optical interferometer - 1976 - The 6-m BTA-6BTA-6The BTA-6 is a 6 m aperture optical telescope at the Special Astrophysical Observatory located in the Zelenchuksky District on the north side of the Caucasus Mountains in southern Russia...
(Bolshoi Teleskop Azimutalnyi or “Large Altazimuth Telescope”) goes into operation on Mt. Pashtukhov in the Russian Caucasus - 1978 - Multiple Mirror 176 inches (4.5 m) equivalent optical/infrared reflecting telescopeMMTMMT may refer to:*4QMMT or MMT, one of the Dead Sea Scrolls*MacMahon Master theorem in linear algebra*Magical Mystery Tour, the ninth album by The Beatles, or the associated film: Magical Mystery Tour...
begins operation, located in Amado, ArizonaAmado, ArizonaAmado is a census-designated place in Santa Cruz County, Arizona, United States. The population was 275 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Amado is located at .... - 1978 - International Ultraviolet ExplorerInternational Ultraviolet ExplorerThe International Ultraviolet Explorer was an astronomical observatory satellite primarily designed to take ultraviolet spectra. The satellite was a collaborative project between NASA, the UK Science Research Council and the European Space Agency...
(IUE) telescope satellite - 1978 - Einstein High Energy Astronomy ObservatoryEinstein ObservatoryEinstein Observatory was the first fully imaging X-ray telescope put into space and the second of NASA's three High Energy Astrophysical Observatories...
x-ray telescope satellite - 1979 - UKIRT 150 inches (3.8 m) infrared reflecting telescope begins operation, located at Mauna Kea ObservatoryMauna Kea ObservatoryThe Observatories at Mauna Kea, , are an independent collection of astronomical research facilities located on the summit of Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawai'i, USA. The facilities are located in a special land use zone known as the "Astronomy Precinct," which is located in the Mauna Kea...
, Hawaii - 1979 - Canada-France-HawaiiCanada-France-Hawaii TelescopeThe Canada–France–Hawaii Telescope is located near the summit of Mauna Kea mountain on Hawaii's Big Island at an altitude of 4,204 meters , and is one of the observatories that comprise the Mauna Kea Observatory...
140 inches (3.6 m) optical reflecting telescope begins operation, located at Mauna Kea ObservatoryMauna Kea ObservatoryThe Observatories at Mauna Kea, , are an independent collection of astronomical research facilities located on the summit of Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawai'i, USA. The facilities are located in a special land use zone known as the "Astronomy Precinct," which is located in the Mauna Kea...
, Hawaii - 1979 - NASA Infrared Telescope Facilityhttp://irtfweb.ifa.hawaii.edu/ 120 inches (3 m) infrared reflecting telescope begins operation, located at Mauna Kea, Hawaii
1980s
- 1980 - Completion of construction of the VLAVery Large ArrayThe Very Large Array is a radio astronomy observatory located on the Plains of San Agustin, between the towns of Magdalena and Datil, some fifty miles west of Socorro, New Mexico, USA...
, located in Socorro, New MexicoSocorro, New MexicoSocorro is a city in Socorro County in the U.S. state of New Mexico. It stands in the Rio Grande Valley at an elevation of . The population was 9,051 at the 2010 census... - 1983 - Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) telescope
- 1984 - IRAM 30-mIRAM 30-mThe IRAM 30-m Millimeter Radio Telescope is a radio telescope for astronomical observations in the millimeter range of wavelengths, operated by the Institute for Radio Astronomy in the Millimeter Range ) and located on the Sierra Nevada, in Spain, close to the Pico Veleta peak. It is the largest...
telescope at Pico VeletaVeleta (Sierra Nevada)Veleta or Pico del Veleta is the third highest peak of the Iberian peninsula and the second highest in the Sierra Nevada. Its height is given variously as , and ....
near GranadaGranadaGranada is a city and the capital of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence of three rivers, the Beiro, the Darro and the Genil. It sits at an elevation of 738 metres above sea...
, SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
completed - 1987 - 15-m James Clerk Maxwell TelescopeJames Clerk Maxwell TelescopeThe James Clerk Maxwell Telescope is a submillimetre-wavelength telescope at Mauna Kea Observatory in Hawaii. Its primary mirror is 15 metres across: it is the largest astronomical telescope that operates in submillimetre wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum...
UK submillimetre telescope installed at Mauna Kea ObservatoryMauna Kea ObservatoryThe Observatories at Mauna Kea, , are an independent collection of astronomical research facilities located on the summit of Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawai'i, USA. The facilities are located in a special land use zone known as the "Astronomy Precinct," which is located in the Mauna Kea... - 1987 - 5-m Swedish-ESO Submillimetre Telescope (SEST) installed at the ESO La Silla ObservatoryLa Silla ObservatoryLa Silla Observatory is an astronomical observatory in Chile with three telescopes built and operated by the European Southern Observatory organisation, and several others are partly maintained by ESO...
- 1988 - Australia Telescope Compact ArrayAustralia Telescope Compact ArrayThe Australia Telescope Compact Array is a radio telescope at the Paul Wild Observatory, twenty five kilometres west of the town of Narrabri in Australia....
aperture synthesis radio telescope begins operation, located near Narrabri, Australia - 1989 - Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) satellite
1990s
- 1990 - HubbleHubble Space TelescopeThe Hubble Space Telescope is a space telescope that was carried into orbit by a Space Shuttle in 1990 and remains in operation. A 2.4 meter aperture telescope in low Earth orbit, Hubble's four main instruments observe in the near ultraviolet, visible, and near infrared...
2.4m space Telescope launched, mirror found to be flawed - 1991 - Compton Gamma Ray ObservatoryCompton Gamma Ray ObservatoryThe Compton Gamma Ray Observatory was a space observatory detecting light from 20 KeV to 30 GeV in Earth orbit from 1991 to 2000. It featured four main telescopes in one spacecraft covering x-rays and gamma-rays, including various specialized sub-instruments and detectors...
satellite - 1993 - Keck 10-meter optical/infrared reflecting telescope begins operation, located at Mauna Kea, Hawaii
- 1993 - Very Long Baseline ArrayVery Long Baseline ArrayThe Very Long Baseline Array is a system of ten radio telescopes controlled remotely from the Array Operations Center in Socorro, New Mexico by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory. The array works together as the world's largest dedicated, full-time astronomical instrument using the...
of 10 dishes - 1995 - Cambridge Optical Aperture Synthesis Telescope (COAST) -- the first very high resolution optical astronomical images (from aperture synthesisAperture synthesisAperture synthesis or synthesis imaging is a type of interferometry that mixes signals from a collection of telescopes to produce images having the same angular resolution as an instrument the size of the entire collection...
observations) - 1995 - Giant Metrewave Radio TelescopeGiant Metrewave Radio TelescopeGiant Metrewave Radio Telescope , located near Pune in India, is the world's largest, array of radio telescopes at metre wavelengths. It is operated by the National Centre for Radio Astrophysics, a part of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai.-Location:The GMRT is located around...
of thirty 45 m dishes at Pune - 1996 - Keck 2 10-meter optical/infrared reflecting telescope begins operation, located at Mauna Kea, Hawaii
- 1997 - The Japanese HALCAHALCAThe HALCA , also known for its project name VSOP , or the code name MUSES-B for the second of the Mu Space Engineering Spacecraft series, is a Japanese 8 meter diameter radio telescope satellite which was used for Very Long Baseline Interferometry...
satellite begins operations, producing first VLBI observations from space, 25,000 km maximum baselineBaselineA baseline is a line that is a base for measurement or for construction; see datum or point of reference .The word baseline may refer to:... - 1998 - First light at VLTVLTVLT may stand for:* Very Large Telescope, a system of four large optical telescopes organized in an array formation, located in northern Chile...
1, the 8.2 m ESOEuropean Southern ObservatoryThe European Southern Observatory is an intergovernmental research organisation for astronomy, supported by fifteen countries...
telescope
2000s
- 2001 - First light at the Keck Interferometer. Single-baseline operations begin in the near-infrared.
- 2001 - First light at VLTI interferometry array. Operations on the interferometer start with single-baseline near-infrared observations with the 103 m baselineBaselineA baseline is a line that is a base for measurement or for construction; see datum or point of reference .The word baseline may refer to:...
. - 2005 - First imaging with the VLTI using the AMBER optical aperture synthesis instrument and three VLTVLTVLT may stand for:* Very Large Telescope, a system of four large optical telescopes organized in an array formation, located in northern Chile...
telescopes. - 2005 - First light at SALTSouthern African Large TelescopeThe Southern African Large Telescope is a 66m2 area optical telescope with a nominally 9.2 meter aperture but up to about 11.1m x ~9.8 m diameter aperture, and designed mainly for spectroscopy. It is located close to the town of Sutherland in the semi-desert region of the Karoo, South Africa...
, the largest optical telescope in the southern hemisphere, with a primary mirror diameter of 11 meters.
See also
- Timeline of telescope technologyTimeline of telescope technologyTimeline of telescope technology* c.2560 BC–c.860 BC — Egyptian artisans polish rock crystal, semi-precious stones, and latterly glass to produce facsimile eyes for statuary and mummy cases. The intent appears to be to produce an optical illusion....
- List of largest optical telescopes historically