For over 400 years, the telescope has been an indispensible tool of scientific discovery, wielded by amateurs and luminaries alike in their eager explorations of the heavens. The telescope revealed the existence of our solar system’s outer planets and brought us crisp images of approaching comets. It also radically changed our understanding of the universe and its boundaries. As telescopes have increased in size and power, astronomers have answered old questions and raised new ones about dark matter, distant planets, and the existence of other life forms. Rocky Kolb, chair of the University of Chicago’s Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, uses the history of the telescope to take us on a journey through time, the cosmos, and human discovery.
