Galileo could be the greatest mathematician and astronomer of all time. His works showed how great of an astronomer he really was. He discovered so many new and inventive facts about the universe and the solar system. He is most well-known for his improvements of the telescope which led him into all of his discoveries. Without Galileo, the modern-day telescope would be not remotely as accurate as it is today. Galileo Galilei was an ingenious mathematician and astronomer who contributed copious amounts of knowledge to the world of science. Galileo lived in the late 1500's all the way into the mid 1600's. He was born in Pisa, and then moved to Florence. During that time, America was just starting to become what is today. Great Britain became the worlds' new super-power, English settlers founded Jamestown, the May Flower lands in Massachusetts, and Harvard was founded as well. These are just a few of the monumental occurrences that happened in the world …show more content…
"While many people are under the impression that Galileo Galilei invented the telescope, that's not true at all" (space.about.com Telescopes in a Nut Shell by Nick Greene). It was actually invented by Hans Lippershey who was from the Netherlands. "When he returned to his home in Padua, Galileo turned his attention to creating a similar optical instrument that would magnify the heavens"(Galileo for Kids 56). His telescope was good, but not as accurate as Galileo's. Galileo, without seeing Hans' telescope, made his own within a month. And in the following year, he improved it even more. He kept updating it until it was at thirty power magnifications. Hans was using the telescope as a military tool, but Galileo realized that it would work just as well as an astronomical device. As stated before, he found many new and interesting facts about the solar system such as that the moon is not perfectly smooth. He found this out by using his new and improved