In 1666, during an optical experiment that he later described as “crucial,” Newton discovered the specter of light by playing with a prism in a darkened room. Although his experience will be criticized by the Roman clergy until the early eighteenth century for its theological consequences (the white light was not pure, immaculate, but composite), …
Seeing big is one thing but managing priorities is more important. The era of giant telescopes does not sign the death of “small” university instruments from 0.5 to 3 m of opening. Indeed, far from being museum pieces, the “small” telescopes have the advantage of being numerous and much more available than the giants of …
The laser power of an adaptive optics is about 20 watts if not higher, 4000 times the power of a class 3A consumer laser delivering less than 5 mW! It goes without saying that a power laser can only be used when there is no plane or satellite in the sky, a glare that can …
When you see the size of small astronomical instruments sold in specialty stores, they only impress novices. On the other hand, a telescope of 200 mm in diameter measuring between 1.5 and 2 m in height like the one presented above on the left intimidates already an amateur informed by its proportions and the quality …
As the day dies, on the promontory of a mountain at the forefront of the universe, a dome opens. In the reddish opening is a telescope with unusual dimensions. Moments later, the giant’s bright eye comes to life, looking towards infinity. Mechanically we follow his movements and a question comes naturally to our mind: What …
At the same time, Galileo turned his “optical tube” to the sky and invented the telescope. She was growing 30 times. He improved the definition of the movement of bodies in space, developing the concept of inertia. This notion allowed him to explain the movement of a mass in the field of gravity. Though a …
In the Muslim world, whose intellectual centers in the Middle Ages were located in Damascus (Syria) and Baghdad (Iraq) and Samarkand (Uzbekistan), it was inconceivable that theologians would only deal with religious affairs. Indeed, the interpretation of the Koran required, for example, knowledge of geography and astronomy if only to orient oneself for prayer and …