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#3 Astronomical Kepler Telescope
Johannes Kepler (1570-1630) was a German scientist who lived during and
after Galileo’s lifetime. Kepler was very interested in Galileo’s work, and continued
to improve the telescope. He is credited with developing the Symmetric Lens, which
he described in his book “Dioptrics” which was published in 1611.
When you look at the cross section of the Symmetrical Lens Eyepiece
(07) in the diagram, notice that the space between the two opposite lenses is itself
shaped like a lens. Kepler is credited with recognizing that these “negative spaces”
can be as important in lens optics as lenses themselves.
In 1600 Kepler was invited to become assistant to Tyco Brache,
mathematician at the court of Emperor Rudolph II of Prague. Brache’s most
important contribution to modern science was not theory, but his extensive
observations of the movements of the planets, which Kepler assisted him in
collecting.
The famous fictional 19th century sleuth Sherlock Holmes stated “ it is
useless to theorize ahead of the facts”. Brache refused to advance theory of
planetary motion until he had made numerous observations himself, using Kepler’s
improved telescopes. Every clear night for many years Brache carefully observed
and plotted the relative locations of the known planets and prominent stars. By the
time of his death, he had compiled the most accurate and extensive record of
planetary motion ever made. But he had not proposed any additional theories to
explain the facts he had observed.
At Brache’s death, his extensive records were inherited by Kepler. Kepler then
postulated his 3 laws of planetary motion. Later Isaac Newton built upon Kepler’s
laws to form the basis of modern “Newtonian” physics.
To assemble a Kepler’s Hand Telescope
1.
Insert the Objective Lens (08) into
the end of the Body (01) which has
the decorative covering as you did
to make the Telescopic Magnifier.
2.
Insert the Symmetric Lens
Eyepiece (07) in the other end of
the Body.
3.
Adjust the position of the
Eyepiece (07) to focus the
instrument.
NOTE: The complex lenses in Kepler’s symmetrical eyepiece change the simple
“inverse proportion” calculations of focal length. However, if you do the math, the
rules still apply. Also, the image seen in a Kepler’s telescope will be inverted.
Kepler’s telescope
