Timeline of telescopes, observatories, and observing technology
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Timeline A timeline is a display of a list of events in chronological order. It is typically a graphic design showing a long bar labelled with dates paralleling it, and usually contemporaneous events. Timelines can use any suitable scale representi ...
of
telescope A telescope is a device used to observe distant objects by their emission, absorption, or reflection of electromagnetic radiation. Originally meaning only an optical instrument using lenses, curved mirrors, or a combination of both to observe ...
s,
observatories An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysical, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. His ...
, and observing
technology Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in medicine, science, ...
.


Before the Common Era (BCE)


3500s BCE

* The earliest
sundial A sundial is a horological device that tells the time of day (referred to as civil time in modern usage) when direct sunlight shines by the apparent position of the Sun in the sky. In the narrowest sense of the word, it consists of a flat ...
s known from the archaeological record are the
obelisks An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by Anc ...
from ancient
Egyptian astronomy Egyptian astronomy began 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. By the time the historical Dynastic Period began in the 3rd mill ...
and
Babylonian astronomy Babylonian astronomy was the study or recording of celestial objects during the early history of Mesopotamia. Babylonian astronomy seemed to have focused on a select group of stars and constellations known as Ziqpu stars. These constellations m ...


1900s BCE

* Taosi Astronomical Observatory, Xiangfen County, Linfen City,
Shanxi Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-lev ...
Province, China


1500s BCE

*
Shadow clock A sundial is a horological device that tells the time of day (referred to as civil time in modern usage) when direct sunlight shines by the apparent position of the Sun in the sky. In the narrowest sense of the word, it consists of a flat ...
s invented in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia


600s BCE

* 11th–7th century BCE, Zhou dynasty astronomical observatory (灵台) in today's Xian, China


200s BCE

* Thirteen Towers solar observatory,
Chankillo Chanquillo or Chankillo is an ancient monumental complex in the Peruvian coastal desert, found in the Casma-Sechin basin in the Ancash Department of Peru. The ruins include the hilltop Chankillo fort, the nearby Thirteen Towers solar observato ...
, Peru


100s BCE

* 220-206 BCE, Han dynasty astronomical observatory ( 灵台) in Chang'an and Luoyang. During
East Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...
, astronomical observatory (灵台) built in Yanshi, Henan Province, China * 220-150 BCE,
Astrolabe An astrolabe ( grc, ἀστρολάβος ; ar, ٱلأَسْطُرلاب ; persian, ستاره‌یاب ) is an ancient astronomical instrument that was a handheld model of the universe. Its various functions also make it an elaborate inclin ...
invented by
Apollonius of Perga Apollonius of Perga ( grc-gre, Ἀπολλώνιος ὁ Περγαῖος, Apollṓnios ho Pergaîos; la, Apollonius Pergaeus; ) was an Ancient Greek geometer and astronomer known for his work on conic sections. Beginning from the contribution ...


Common Era (CE)


400s

* 5th century – Observatory at
Ujjain Ujjain (, Hindustani language, Hindustani pronunciation: Help:IPA/Hindi and Urdu, d͡ːʒɛːn is a city in Ujjain district of the States and territories of India, Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the fifth-largest city in Madhya Prad ...
, India * 5th century – ''
Surya Siddhanta The ''Surya Siddhanta'' (; ) is a Sanskrit treatise in Indian astronomy dated to 505 CE,Menso Folkerts, Craig G. Fraser, Jeremy John Gray, John L. Berggren, Wilbur R. Knorr (2017)Mathematics Encyclopaedia Britannica, Quote: "(...) its Hindu inven ...
'' written in India * 499 – ''
Aryabhatiya ''Aryabhatiya'' (IAST: ') or ''Aryabhatiyam'' ('), a Sanskrit astronomical treatise, is the ''magnum opus'' and only known surviving work of the 5th century Indian mathematician Aryabhata. Philosopher of astronomy Roger Billard estimates that th ...
'' written by Aryabhata


500s

* 6th century – Various siddhantas compiled by Indian astronomers


600s

* c. 628 – '' Brahmasphutasiddhanta'' by
Brahmagupta Brahmagupta ( – ) was an Indian mathematician and astronomer. He is the author of two early works on mathematics and astronomy: the ''Brāhmasphuṭasiddhānta'' (BSS, "correctly established doctrine of Brahma", dated 628), a theoretical trea ...
* 632–647 –
Cheomseongdae Cheomseongdae ( ko, 첨성대; Hanja: , ) is an astronomical observatory in Gyeongju, South Korea. Cheomseongdae is the oldest surviving astronomical observatory in Asia, and possibly even the world. It was constructed in the 7th century in the ...
observatory is built in the reign of Queen Seondeok at
Gyeongju Gyeongju ( ko, 경주, ), historically known as ''Seorabeol'' ( ko, 서라벌, ), 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, ...
, then the capital of Silla (present day South Korea) * 618–1279 – Tang dynasty- Song dynasty, observatories built in Chang'an, Kaifeng, Hangzhou, China


700s

* 700–77 – The first
Zij A zij ( fa, زيج, zīj) is an Islamic astronomical book that tabulates parameters used for astronomical calculations of the positions of the Sun, Moon, stars, and planets. Etymology The name ''zij'' is derived from the Middle Persian term ' ...
treatise, ''Az-Zīj ‛alā Sinī al-‛Arab'', written by
Ibrahim al-Fazari Ibrahim ( ar, إبراهيم, links=no ') is the Arabic name for Abraham, a Biblical patriarch and prophet in Islam. For the Islamic view of Ibrahim, see Abraham in Islam. Ibrahim may also refer to: * Ibrahim (name), a name (and list of people ...
and
Muhammad al-Fazari Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد;  570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the monoth ...
* 700–96 – Brass
astrolabe An astrolabe ( grc, ἀστρολάβος ; ar, ٱلأَسْطُرلاب ; persian, ستاره‌یاب ) is an ancient astronomical instrument that was a handheld model of the universe. Its various functions also make it an elaborate inclin ...
constructed by
Muhammad al-Fazari Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد;  570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the monoth ...
based on
Hellenistic In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...
sources * c. 777 – Yaqūb ibn Tāriq wrote ''Az-Zij al-Mahlul min as-Sindhind li-Darajat Daraja'' based on
Brahmagupta Brahmagupta ( – ) was an Indian mathematician and astronomer. He is the author of two early works on mathematics and astronomy: the ''Brāhmasphuṭasiddhānta'' (BSS, "correctly established doctrine of Brahma", dated 628), a theoretical trea ...
and ''
Surya Siddhanta The ''Surya Siddhanta'' (; ) is a Sanskrit treatise in Indian astronomy dated to 505 CE,Menso Folkerts, Craig G. Fraser, Jeremy John Gray, John L. Berggren, Wilbur R. Knorr (2017)Mathematics Encyclopaedia Britannica, Quote: "(...) its Hindu inven ...
''


800s

* 9th century – quadrant invented by
Muhammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī ( ar, محمد بن موسى الخوارزمي, Muḥammad ibn Musā al-Khwārazmi; ), or al-Khwarizmi, was a Persians, Persian polymath from Khwarazm, who produced vastly influential works in Mathematics ...
in 9th century Baghdad and is used for astronomical calculations * 800–33 – The first modern
observatory An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysical, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. His ...
research institute built in Baghdad, Iraq, by Arabic astronomers during time of Al-Mamun * 800–50 – '' Zij al-Sindhind'' written by
Muhammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī ( ar, محمد بن موسى الخوارزمي, Muḥammad ibn Musā al-Khwārazmi; ), or al-Khwarizmi, was a Persians, Persian polymath from Khwarazm, who produced vastly influential works in Mathematics ...
(Algorismi) * 825–35 – Al-Shammisiyyah observatory by
Habash al-Hasib al-Marwazi Ahmad ibn 'Abdallah Habash Hasib Marwazi (766 - d. after 869 in Samarra, Iraq ) was a north-eastern Iranian astronomer, geographer, and mathematician from Merv in Khorasan who for the first time described the trigonometric ratios: sine, cosine, t ...
in Baghdad, Iraq * 869 – Mahodayapuram Observatory in Kerala, India, by Sankaranarayana


900s

* 10th century – Large
astrolabe An astrolabe ( grc, ἀστρολάβος ; ar, ٱلأَسْطُرلاب ; persian, ستاره‌یاب ) is an ancient astronomical instrument that was a handheld model of the universe. Its various functions also make it an elaborate inclin ...
of diameter 1.4 meters constructed by Ibn Yunus * 900–29 – '' Az-Zij as-Sabi'' written by
Muhammad ibn Jābir al-Harrānī al-Battānī Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Jābir ibn Sinān al-Raqqī al-Ḥarrānī aṣ-Ṣābiʾ al-Battānī ( ar, محمد بن جابر بن سنان البتاني) ( Latinized as Albategnius, Albategni or Albatenius) (c. 858 – 929) was an astron ...
(Albatenius) * 994 – First
sextant A sextant is a doubly reflecting navigation instrument that measures the angular distance between two visible objects. The primary use of a sextant is to measure the angle between an astronomical object and the horizon for the purposes of celes ...
constructed in Ray, Iran, by
Abu-Mahmud al-Khujandi Abu Mahmud Hamid ibn al-Khidr al-Khojandi (known as Abu Mahmood Khojandi, Alkhujandi or al-Khujandi, Persian: ابومحمود خجندی, c. 940 - 1000) was a Muslim Transoxanian astronomer and mathematician born in Khujand (now part of Tajikista ...
. It was a very large mural sextant that achieved a high level of accuracy for astronomical measurements.


1000s

* 1000 –
Mokattam The Mokattam ( arz, المقطم  , also spelled Muqattam), also known as the Mukattam Mountain or Hills, is the name of a range of hills and a suburb in them, located in southeastern Cairo, Egypt. Etymology The Arabic name ''Mokattam'' ...
observatory in Egypt for
Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah Abū ʿAlī Manṣūr (13 August 985 – 13 February 1021), better known by his regnal name al-Ḥākim bi-Amr Allāh ( ar, الحاكم بأمر الله, lit=The Ruler by the Order of God), was the sixth Fatimid caliph and 16th Ismaili ima ...
* 1000 – Volvelle, an early paper analog computer, invented by Arabic physicians and improved by Abu Rayhan Biruni for use in astronomy. * 11th century – Planisphere invented by Biruni * 11th century – Universal latitude-independent
astrolabe An astrolabe ( grc, ἀστρολάβος ; ar, ٱلأَسْطُرلاب ; persian, ستاره‌یاب ) is an ancient astronomical instrument that was a handheld model of the universe. Its various functions also make it an elaborate inclin ...
invented by Abū Ishāq Ibrāhīm al-Zarqālī (Arzachel) * 1015 –
Equatorium An equatorium (plural, equatoria) is an astronomical calculating instrument. It can be used for finding the positions of the Moon, Sun, and planets without arithmetic operations, using a geometrical model to represent the position of a given c ...
invented by Arzachel in Al-Andalus * 1023 – Hamedan observatory in Persia * c. 1030 – '' Treasury of Optics'' by Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen) of Iraq and Egypt * 1074–92 – Malikshah Observatory at
Isfahan Isfahan ( fa, اصفهان, Esfahân ), from its Achaemenid empire, ancient designation ''Aspadana'' and, later, ''Spahan'' in Sassanian Empire, middle Persian, rendered in English as ''Ispahan'', is a major city in the Greater Isfahan Regio ...
used by
Omar Khayyám Ghiyāth al-Dīn Abū al-Fatḥ ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm Nīsābūrī (18 May 1048 – 4 December 1131), commonly known as Omar Khayyam ( fa, عمر خیّام), was a polymath, known for his contributions to mathematics, astronomy, philosophy, an ...
* 1086 – Northern Song dynasty astronomical observatory


1100s

* 1100–50 –
Jabir ibn Aflah Abū Muḥammad Jābir ibn Aflaḥ ( ar, أبو محمد جابر بن أفلح, la, Geber/Gebir; 1100–1150) was an Arab Muslim astronomer and mathematician from Seville, who was active in 12th century al-Andalus. His work ''Iṣlāḥ al-Ma ...
(Geber) (c. 1100–1150) invented the
torquetum The ''torquetum'' or turquet is a medieval astronomical instrument designed to take and convert measurements made in three sets of coordinates: Horizon, equatorial, and ecliptic. It is said to be a combination of Ptolemy's astrolabon and the p ...
, an observational instrument and mechanical analog computer device * 1114–87 – '' Tables of Toledo'' based on Arzachel and published by Gerard of Cremona * 1115–16 – ''Sinjaric Tables'' written by al-Khazini * 1119–25 – Cairo al-Bataihi observatory for Al-Afdal Shahanshah * cs. 1020 – Geared mechanical
astrolabe An astrolabe ( grc, ἀστρολάβος ; ar, ٱلأَسْطُرلاب ; persian, ستاره‌یاب ) is an ancient astronomical instrument that was a handheld model of the universe. Its various functions also make it an elaborate inclin ...
invented by Ibn Samh


1200s

* 1206 –
Al-Jazari Badīʿ az-Zaman Abu l-ʿIzz ibn Ismāʿīl ibn ar-Razāz al-Jazarī (1136–1206, ar, بديع الزمان أَبُ اَلْعِزِ إبْنُ إسْماعِيلِ إبْنُ الرِّزاز الجزري, ) was a polymath: a scholar, ...
invented his largest astronomical clock, the "
castle clock Clock towers are a specific type of structure which house a turret clock and have one or more clock faces on the upper exterior walls. Many clock towers are freestanding structures but they can also adjoin or be located on top of another buildin ...
", which is considered to be the first programmable analog computer. * 1252–72 – '' Alfonsine tables'' recorded * 1259 –
Maragheh observatory The Maragheh observatory (Persian: رصدخانه مراغه), also spelled Maragha, Maragah, Marageh, and Maraga, was an astronomical observatory established in the mid 13th century under the patronage of the Ilkhanid Hulagu and the directorship ...
and library of
Nasir al-Din al-Tusi Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Tūsī ( fa, محمد ابن محمد ابن حسن طوسی 18 February 1201 – 26 June 1274), better known as Nasir al-Din al-Tusi ( fa, نصیر الدین طوسی, links=no; or simply Tusi in the West ...
built in Persia under Hulagu Khan * c. 1270 – Terrace for Managing Heaven 26 observatory network of
Guo Shoujing Guo Shoujing (, 1231–1316), courtesy name Ruosi (), was a Chinese astronomer, hydraulic engineer, mathematician, and politician of the Yuan dynasty. The later Johann Adam Schall von Bell (1591–1666) was so impressed with the preserved astron ...
under
Khubilai Khan Kublai ; Mongolian script: ; (23 September 1215 – 18 February 1294), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Shizu of Yuan and his regnal name Setsen Khan, was the founder of the Yuan dynasty of China and the fifth khagan-Emperor of Chi ...
* 1272 – '' Zij-i Ilkhani'' written by
Nasir al-Din al-Tusi Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Tūsī ( fa, محمد ابن محمد ابن حسن طوسی 18 February 1201 – 26 June 1274), better known as Nasir al-Din al-Tusi ( fa, نصیر الدین طوسی, links=no; or simply Tusi in the West ...
* 1276 – Dengfeng Star Observatory Platform, Gaocheng, Dengfeng City, Henan Province, China


1300s

* 1371 – The idea of using hours of equal time length throughout the year in a
sundial A sundial is a horological device that tells the time of day (referred to as civil time in modern usage) when direct sunlight shines by the apparent position of the Sun in the sky. In the narrowest sense of the word, it consists of a flat ...
was the innovation of Ibn al-Shatir


1400s

* 1400–29 – '' Khaqani Zij'' by Jamshīd al-Kāshī * 1417 – ''Speculum Planetarum'' by Simones de Selandia * 1420 – Samarkand observatory of Ulugh Beg * 1437 – ''
Zij-i-Sultani ''Zīj-i Sulṭānī'' ( fa, زیجِ سلطانی) is a Zij astronomical table and star catalogue that was published by Ulugh Beg in 1438–1439. It was the joint product of the work of a group of Muslim astronomers working under the patronage o ...
'' written by Ulugh Beg * 1442 – Beijing Ancient Observatory in China * 1467–71 – Observatory at
Oradea Oradea (, , ; german: Großwardein ; hu, Nagyvárad ) is a city in Romania, located in Crișana, a sub-region of Transylvania. The county seat, seat of Bihor County, Oradea is one of the most important economic, social and cultural centers in the ...
, Hungary for Matthias Corvinus * 1472 – The Nuremberg observatory of Regiomontanus and
Bernhard Walther Bernhard Walther (1430June 19, 1504) was a German merchant, humanist and astronomer based in Nuremberg, Germany. Walther was born in Memmingen, and was a man of large means, which he devoted to scientific pursuits. When Regiomontanus settled in N ...
.


1500s

* 1540 Apian '' Astronomicum Caesareum'' * 1560 –
Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel and the district of the same name and had 201,048 inhabitants in December 2020 ...
observatory under Landgrave
Wilhelm IV of Hesse William IV of Hesse-Kassel (24 June 153225 August 1592), also called ''William the Wise'', was the first Landgrave of the Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel). He was the founder of the oldest line, which survives to this day. Life La ...
* 1574 – Taqi al-Din Muhammad ibn Ma'ruf describes a long-distance magnifying 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
telescope A telescope is a device used to observe distant objects by their emission, absorption, or reflection of electromagnetic radiation. Originally meaning only an optical instrument using lenses, curved mirrors, or a combination of both to observe ...
. * 1575–80 – Constantinople Observatory of Taqi ad-Din under Sultan
Murad III Murad III ( ota, مراد ثالث, Murād-i sālis; tr, III. Murad; 4 July 1546 – 16 January 1595) was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1574 until his death in 1595. His rule saw battles with the Habsburgs and exhausting wars with the Saf ...
* 1576 – Royal Danish Astronomical Observatory
Uraniborg Uraniborg ( da, Uranienborg, sv, Uraniborg) was a Danish astronomical observatory and alchemy laboratory established and operated by Tycho Brahe. It was built on Hven, an island in the Øresund between Zealand and Scania, Sweden, which was ...
at Hven by Tycho Brahe * 1577 – Constantinople observatory constructed for Taqi al-Din Muhammad ibn Ma'ruf * 1577–80 – ''Unbored Pearl'', a
Zij A zij ( fa, زيج, zīj) is an Islamic astronomical book that tabulates parameters used for astronomical calculations of the positions of the Sun, Moon, stars, and planets. Etymology The name ''zij'' is derived from the Middle Persian term ' ...
treatise by Taqi al-Din * 1577–80 – Taqi al-Din invents a mechanical astronomical clock 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 sextant * 1581 – Royal Danish Astronomical Observatory Stjerneborg at Hven by Tycho Brahe * 1589–90 –
Celestial globe Celestial globes show the apparent positions of the stars in the sky. They omit the Sun, Moon, and planets because the positions of these bodies vary relative to those of the stars, but the ecliptic, along which the Sun moves, is indicated. The ...
without
seams Seam may refer to: Science and technology * Seam (geology), a stratum of coal or mineral that is economically viable; a bed or a distinct layer of vein of rock in other layers of rock * Seam (metallurgy), a metalworking process the joins the ends ...
invented in
Mughal India The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...
by Ali Kashmiri ibn Luqman during
Akbar the Great Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great ( fa, ), and also as Akbar I (), was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Hum ...
's reign.


1600s

* 1600 – Prague observatory in
Benátky nad Jizerou Benátky nad Jizerou (; german: Benatek) is a town in Mladá Boleslav District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 7,400 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban mon ...
by Tycho Brahe * 1603 –
Johann Bayer Johann Bayer (1572 – 7 March 1625) was a German lawyer and uranographer (celestial cartographer). He was born in Rain, Lower Bavaria, in 1572. At twenty, in 1592 he began his study of philosophy and law at the University of Ingolstadt, a ...
's '' Uranometria'' is published * 1608 – Hans Lippershey tries to patent an optical refracting telescope, the first recorded functional
telescope A telescope is a device used to observe distant objects by their emission, absorption, or reflection of electromagnetic radiation. Originally meaning only an optical instrument using lenses, curved mirrors, or a combination of both to observe ...
* 1609 – Galileo Galilei builds his first optical refracting telescope * 1616 – Niccolò Zucchi experiments with a reflecting telescope * 1633 – Construction of Leiden University Observatory * 1641 –
William Gascoigne Sir William Gascoigne (c. 135017 December 1419) was Chief Justice of England during the reign of King Henry IV. Life and work Gascoigne (alternatively spelled Gascoyne) was a descendant of an ancient Yorkshire family. He was born in Gawthor ...
invents telescope cross hairs * 1641 – Danzig/Gdansk observatory of Jan Hevelius * 1642 – Copenhagen University Royal observatory * 1661 – James Gregory proposes an optical reflecting telescope with parabolic mirrors * 1667 –
Paris Observatory The Paris Observatory (french: Observatoire de Paris ), a research institution of the Paris Sciences et Lettres University, is the foremost astronomical observatory of France, and one of the largest astronomical centers in the world. Its histor ...
* 1668 – Isaac Newton constructs the first "practical" reflecting telescope, the Newtonian telescope * 1672 –
Laurent Cassegrain Laurent Cassegrain (; – 1 September 1693) was a Catholic priest who is notable as the probable inventor of the Cassegrain reflector, a folded two-mirror reflecting telescope design. Biography Laurent Cassegrain was born in the region of Char ...
designs the Cassegrain telescope * 1675 –
Royal Greenwich Observatory The Royal Observatory, Greenwich (ROG; known as the Old Royal Observatory from 1957 to 1998, when the working Royal Greenwich Observatory, RGO, temporarily moved south from Greenwich to Herstmonceux) is an observatory situated on a hill in G ...
of England * 1684 –
Christiaan Huygens Christiaan Huygens, Lord of Zeelhem, ( , , ; also spelled Huyghens; la, Hugenius; 14 April 1629 – 8 July 1695) was a Dutch mathematician, physicist, engineer, astronomer, and inventor, who is regarded as one of the greatest scientists of ...
publishes "Astroscopia Compendiaria" in which he described the design of very long aerial telescopes


1700s

* 1704 – First observatory at Cambridge University (based at
Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...
) * 1724 – Indian observatory of
Sawai Jai Singh Jai Singh II (3 November 1681 – 21 September 1743) popularly known as Sawai Jai Singh was the 29th Kachwaha Rajput ruler of the Jaipur State, Kingdom of Amber, who later founded the fortified city of Jaipur and made it his capital. He was born ...
at Delhi * 1725 – St. Petersburg observatory at Royal Academy * 1732 – Indian observatories of Sawai Jai Singh at Varanasi,
Ujjain Ujjain (, Hindustani language, Hindustani pronunciation: Help:IPA/Hindi and Urdu, d͡ːʒɛːn is a city in Ujjain district of the States and territories of India, Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the fifth-largest city in Madhya Prad ...
, Mathura,
Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
* 1733 –
Chester Moore Hall Chester Moore Hall (9 December 1703, Leigh, Essex, England – 17 March 1771, Sutton) was a British lawyer and inventor who produced the first achromatic lenses in 1729 or 1733 (accounts differ). He used the achromatic lens to build the first ach ...
invents the achromatic lens refracting telescope * 1734 – Indian observatory of Sawai Jai Singh at Jaipur * 1753 – Real Observatorio de Cádiz (Spain) * 1753 – Vilnius Observatory at Vilnius University,
Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
* 1758 – John Dollond reinvents the achromatic lens * 1761 – Joseph-Nicolas Delisle 62 observing station network for observing the transit of Venus * 1769 –
Short Short may refer to: Places * Short (crater), a lunar impact crater on the near side of the Moon * Short, Mississippi, an unincorporated community * Short, Oklahoma, a census-designated place People * Short (surname) * List of people known as ...
reflectors used at 63 station network for transit of Venus * 1774 – Vatican Observatory ''(Specola Vaticana)'', originally established as ''the Observatory of the Roman College''. * 1780 – Florence Specola observatory * 1789 – William Herschel finishes a 49-inch (1.2 m) optical reflecting telescope, located in
Slough Slough () is a town and unparished area in the unitary authority of the same name in Berkshire, England, bordering west London. It lies in the Thames Valley, west of central London and north-east of Reading, at the intersection of the M4 ...
, England * 1798 – Real Observatorio de la Isla de Léon (actualmente Real Instituto y Observatorio de la Armada) (Spain)


1800s

*1803
National Astronomical Observatory (Colombia) National Astronomical Observatory may refer to: * National Astronomical Observatory (Chile) * National Astronomical Observatories of China * National Astronomical Observatory (Colombia), astronomical observatory in Bogotá * National Astronomica ...
, the first observatory in the
Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...
*1836 Swathithirunal opened Trivandrum observatory *1839
Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre ( , ; 18 November 1787 – 10 July 1851) was a French artist and photographer, recognized for his invention of the eponymous daguerreotype process of photography. He became known as one of the fathers of photo ...
(inventor of the
daguerreotype Daguerreotype (; french: daguerréotype) was the first publicly available photographic process; it was widely used during the 1840s and 1850s. "Daguerreotype" also refers to an image created through this process. Invented by Louis Daguerre an ...
photographic process) attempts in to photograph the moon. Tracking errors in guiding the telescope during the long exposure made the photograph came out as an indistinct fuzzy spot * 1840 –
John William Draper John William Draper (May 5, 1811 – January 4, 1882) was an English-born American scientist, philosopher, physician, chemist, historian and photographer. He is credited with producing the first clear photograph of a female face (1839–40) and ...
takes make a successful photographic image of the Moon, the first astronomical photograph * 1845 –
Lord Rosse William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse (17 June 1800 – 31 October 1867), was an Irish astronomer, naturalist, and engineer. He was president of the Royal Society (UK), the most important association of naturalists in the world in the nineteenth ...
finishes the Birr Castle optical reflecting telescope, located in
Parsonstown, Ireland Birr (; ga, Biorra, meaning "plain of water") is a town in County Offaly, Ireland. Between 1620 and 1899 it was called Parsonstown, after the Parsons family who were local landowners and hereditary Earls of Rosse. Birr is a designated Iris ...
* 1849 – Santiago observatory set up by USA, later becomes Chilean National Observatory (now part of the University of Chile) * 1859 –
Kirchhoff Kirchhoff, Kirchoff or Kirchhoffer is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Adolf Kirchhoff (1826–1908), German classical scholar and epigrapher * Alfred Kirchhoff (1838–1907), German geographer and naturalist * Alphonse ...
and
Bunsen Bunsen may refer to: * Christian Charles Josias Bunsen (1791–1860), Prussian diplomat and scholar * Frances Bunsen (1791–1876), or Baroness Bunsen, Welsh painter and author, wife of Christian Charles Josias Bunsen * Robert Bunsen (1811–1899), ...
develop
spectroscopy Spectroscopy is the field of study that measures and interprets the electromagnetic spectra that result from the interaction between electromagnetic radiation and matter as a function of the wavelength or frequency of the radiation. Matter wa ...
* 1864 – Herschel's so-called GC (General Catalogue) of nebulae and star clusters published * 1868 – Janssen and Lockyer discover Helium observing spectra of Sun * 1871 – German Astronomical Association organized network of 13 (later 16) observatories for stellar proper motion studies * 1863 –
William Allen Miller William Allen Miller FRS (17 December 1817 – 30 September 1870) was a British scientist. Life Miller was born in Ipswich, Suffolk and educated at Ackworth School and King's College London. He was related to William Allen and first cousi ...
and Sir William Huggins use the photographic wet collodion plate process to obtain the first ever photographic spectrogram of a star, Sirius and Capella.Spectrometers, ASTROLab of Mont-Mégantic National Park
/ref> * 1872 – Henry Draper photographs a spectrum of Vega that shows absorption lines. * 1878 –
Dreyer Dreyer is a common German surname originating from Grübe in Holstein Germany. Notable people with the surname include: * Benjamin Dreyer (1958– ), American writer and copy editor * Benedikt Dreyer (1495–1555), German sculptor, carver and pai ...
published a supplement to the GC of about 1000 new objects, the
New General Catalogue The ''New General Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars'' (abbreviated NGC) is an astronomical catalogue of deep-sky objects compiled by John Louis Emil Dreyer in 1888. The NGC contains 7,840 objects, including galaxies, star clusters and ...
* 1883 –
Andrew Ainslie Common Andrew Ainslie Common Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (1841–1903) was an English amateur astronomer best known for his pioneering work in astrophotography. Biography Common was born in Newcastle Upon Tyne on 7 August 1841. His father, Thomas ...
uses the photographic dry plate process and a 36-inch (91 cm) reflecting telescope in his backyard to record 60 minute exposures of the
Orion nebula The Orion Nebula (also known as Messier 42, M42, or NGC 1976) is a diffuse nebula situated in the Milky Way, being south of Orion's Belt in the constellation of Orion. It is one of the brightest nebulae and is visible to the naked eye in the nig ...
that for the first time showed stars too faint to be seen by the human eye. * 1887 – Paris conference institutes '' Carte du Ciel'' project to map entire sky to 14th magnitude photographically * 1888 – First light of 91cm refracting telescope at
Lick Observatory The Lick Observatory is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by the University of California. It is on the summit of Mount Hamilton, in the Diablo Range just east of San Jose, California, United States. The observatory is managed by th ...
, on Mount Hamilton near San Jose, California * 1889 – Astronomical Society of the Pacific founded * 1890 – Albert A. Michelson proposes the stellar
interferometer Interferometry is a technique which uses the ''interference'' of superimposed waves to extract information. Interferometry typically uses electromagnetic waves and is an important investigative technique in the fields of astronomy, fiber op ...
* 1892 –
George Ellery Hale George Ellery Hale (June 29, 1868 – February 21, 1938) was an American solar astronomer, best known for his discovery of magnetic fields in sunspots, and as the leader or key figure in the planning or construction of several world-lea ...
finishes a
spectroheliograph The spectroheliograph is an instrument used in astronomy which captures a photographic image of the Sun at a single wavelength of light, a monochromatic image. The wavelength is usually chosen to coincide with a spectral wavelength of one of the ch ...
, which allows the Sun to be photographed in the light of one element only * 1897 –
Alvan Clark Alvan Clark (March 8, 1804 – August 19, 1887), born in Ashfield, Massachusetts, the descendant of a Cape Cod whaling family of English ancestry, was an American astronomer and telescope maker. Biography He started as a portrait painter and engra ...
finishes the Yerkes optical refracting telescope, located in Williams Bay, Wisconsin


1900s

* 1902 – Dominion Observatory, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada established * 1904 – Observatories of the Carnegie Institution of Washington founded * 1907 – F.C. Brown and Joel Stebbins develop a selenium cell photometer at the
University of Illinois Observatory The University of Illinois Astronomical Observatory, located at 901 S. Mathews Avenue in Urbana, Illinois, on the campus of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, was built in 1896, and was designed by Charles A. Gunn. It has been listed o ...
.


1910s

* 1912 – Joel Stebbins and Jakob Kunz begin to use a photometer using a photoelectric cell at the
University of Illinois Observatory The University of Illinois Astronomical Observatory, located at 901 S. Mathews Avenue in Urbana, Illinois, on the campus of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, was built in 1896, and was designed by Charles A. Gunn. It has been listed o ...
. * 1917 – Mount Wilson optical reflecting telescope begins operation, located in
Mount Wilson, California Mount Wilson is a peak in the San Gabriel Mountains, located within the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument and Angeles National Forest in Los Angeles County, California. With only minor topographical prominence the peak is not naturally noti ...
* 1918 – 1.8m Plaskett Telescope begins operation at the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada * 1919 – International Astronomical Union (IAU) founded


1930s

* 1930 – Bernard-Ferdinand Lyot invents the coronagraph * 1930 –
Karl Jansky Karl Guthe Jansky (October 22, 1905 – February 14, 1950) was an American physicist and radio engineer who in April 1933 first announced his discovery of radio waves emanating from the Milky Way in the constellation Sagittarius. He is considere ...
builds a 30-meter long rotating aerial
radio telescope A radio telescope is a specialized antenna and radio receiver used to detect radio waves from astronomical radio sources in the sky. Radio telescopes are the main observing instrument used in radio astronomy, which studies the radio frequency ...
This was the first radio telescope. * 1933 – Bernard-Ferdinand Lyot invents the Lyot filter * 1934 – Bernhard Schmidt finishes the first Schmidt optical reflecting telescope * 1936 – Palomar Schmidt optical reflecting telescope begins operation, located in Palomar, California * 1937 – Grote Reber builds a radio telescope


1940s

* 1941 –
Dmitri Dmitrievich Maksutov Dmitry Dmitrievich Maksutov (russian: Дми́трий Дми́триевич Максу́тов) ( – 12 August 1964) was a Russian / Soviet optical engineer and amateur astronomer. He is best known as the inventor of the Maksutov telescope. ...
invents the Maksutov telescope which is adopted by major observatories in the Soviet Union and internationally. It is now also a popular design with amateur astronomers * 1946 – Martin Ryle and his group perform the first astronomical observations with a radio interferometer * 1947 –
Bernard Lovell Sir Alfred Charles Bernard Lovell (31 August 19136 August 2012) was an English physicist and radio astronomer. He was the first director of Jodrell Bank Observatory, from 1945 to 1980. Early life and education Lovell was born at Oldland Comm ...
and his group complete the Jodrell Bank non-steerable radio telescope * 1949 – Palomar Schmidt optical reflecting telescope begins operation, located in Palomar, California * 1949 – Palomar optical reflecting telescope ( Hale telescope) begins regular operation, located in Palomar, California


1950s

* 1953 – Luoxue Mountain Cosmic Rays Research Center, Yunnan Province, in China founded * 1954 – Earth rotation aperture synthesis suggested (see e.g. Christiansen and Warburton (1955)) * 1956 –
Dwingeloo Radio Observatory The Dwingeloo Radio Observatory is a single-dish radio telescope near the village of Dwingeloo () in the northeastern Netherlands. Construction started in 1954, and the telescope was completed in 1956. The radio telescope has a diameter of 25  ...
25 m telescope completed,
Dwingeloo Dwingeloo () is a village halfway between Meppel and Assen in the Dutch province of Drenthe. It is a part of the municipality of Westerveld. The village is known internationally because of the radio telescope of the Dwingeloo Radio Observatory ( ...
, Netherlands * 1957 –
Bernard Lovell Sir Alfred Charles Bernard Lovell (31 August 19136 August 2012) was an English physicist and radio astronomer. He was the first director of Jodrell Bank Observatory, from 1945 to 1980. Early life and education Lovell was born at Oldland Comm ...
and his group complete the Jodrell Bank 250-foot (75 m) steerable radio telescope (the Lovell Telescope) * 1957 –
Peter Scheuer Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...
publishes his P(D) method for obtaining
source counts The source counts distribution of radio-sources from a radio-astronomical survey is the cumulative distribution of the number of sources (''N'') brighter than a given flux density (''S''). As it is usually plotted on a log-log scale its distributio ...
of spatially unresolved sources * 1959 – Radio Observatory of the University of Chile, located at
Maipú, Chile Maipú is a commune of Chile located in Santiago Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region, integrated into the Greater Santiago conurbation. It was founded on February 16, 1821 and it is the place of the Battle of Maipú (April 5, 1818), where Ch ...
founded * 1959 – The 3C catalogue of radio sources is published (revised in 1962) * 1959 – The Shane Telescope Opened at
Lick Observatory The Lick Observatory is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by the University of California. It is on the summit of Mount Hamilton, in the Diablo Range just east of San Jose, California, United States. The observatory is managed by th ...


1960s

* 1960 – Owens Valley 27-meter radio telescopes begin operation, located in
Big Pine, California Big Pine (formerly, Bigpine) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Inyo County, California, United States. Big Pine is located approximately south-southeast of Bishop, at an elevation of . The population was 1,756 at the 2010 census, up from 1,35 ...
* 1961 – Parkes 64-metre radio telescope begins operation, located near Parkes, Australia * 1962 –
European Southern Observatory The European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere, commonly referred to as the European Southern Observatory (ESO), is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental research organisation made up of 16 mem ...
(ESO) founded * 1962 – Kitt Peak solar observatory founded * 1962 – Green Bank, West Virginia 90m radio telescope * 1962 –
Orbiting Solar Observatory The Orbiting Solar Observatory (abbreviated OSO) Program was the name of a series of American space telescopes primarily intended to study the Sun, though they also included important non-solar experiments. Eight were launched successfully into ...
1 satellite launched * 1963 – Arecibo 300-meter radio telescope begins operation, located in
Arecibo, Puerto Rico Arecibo (; ) is a city and municipality on the northern coast of Puerto Rico, on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, located north of Utuado and Ciales; east of Hatillo; and west of Barceloneta and Florida. It is about west of San Juan, the ...
* 1964 – Martin Ryle's radio
interferometer Interferometry is a technique which uses the ''interference'' of superimposed waves to extract information. Interferometry typically uses electromagnetic waves and is an important investigative technique in the fields of astronomy, fiber op ...
begins operation, located in Cambridge, England * 1965 – Owens Valley 40-meter radio telescope begins operation, located in
Big Pine, California Big Pine (formerly, Bigpine) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Inyo County, California, United States. Big Pine is located approximately south-southeast of Bishop, at an elevation of . The population was 1,756 at the 2010 census, up from 1,35 ...
* 1967 – First VLBI images, with 183 km baseline * 1969 – Observations start at Big Bear Solar Observatory, located in Big Bear, California * 1969 – Las Campanas Observatory


1970s

* 1970 – Cerro Tololo optical reflecting telescope begins operation, located in
Cerro Tololo The Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) is an astronomical observatory located on Cerro Tololo in the Coquimbo Region of northern Chile, with additional facilities located on Cerro Pachón about to the southeast. It is approximately ...
, Chile * 1970 – Kitt Peak National Observatory optical reflecting telescope begins operation, located near Tucson, Arizona * 1970 – Uhuru x-ray telescope satellite * 1970 –
Antoine Labeyrie Antoine is a French given name (from the Latin ''Antonius'' meaning 'highly praise-worthy') that is a variant of Danton, Titouan, D'Anton and Antonin. The name is used in France, Switzerland, Belgium, Canada, West Greenland, Haiti, French Guiana, ...
performs the first high-resolution optical speckle interferometry observations * 1970 – Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope completed, near
Westerbork Camp Westerbork ( nl, Kamp Westerbork, german: Durchgangslager Westerbork, Drents: ''Börker Kamp; Kamp Westerbörk'' ), also known as Westerbork transit camp, was a Nazi transit camp in the province of Drenthe in the Northeastern Netherlands, ...
, Netherlands * 1972 – 100 m
Effelsberg The Effelsberg 100-m Radio Telescope is a radio telescope in the Ahr Hills (part of the Eifel) in Bad Münstereifel, Germany. For 29 years the Effelsberg Radio Telescope was the largest fully steerable radio telescope on Earth, surpassing the ...
radio telescope inaugurated ( Germany) * 1973 – UK Schmidt Telescope 1.2 metre optical reflecting telescope begins operation, located in
Anglo-Australian Observatory The Australian Astronomical Observatory (AAO), formerly the Anglo-Australian Observatory, was an optical and near-infrared astronomy observatory with its headquarters in North Ryde in suburban Sydney, Australia. Originally funded jointly by the U ...
near
Coonabarabran Coonabarabran is a town in Warrumbungle Shire that sits on the divide between the Central West and North West Slopes regions of New South Wales, Australia. At the 2016 census, the town had a population of 2,537, Material was copied from this s ...
, Australia * 1974 –
Anglo-Australian Telescope The Anglo-Australian Telescope (AAT) is a 3.9-metre equatorially mounted telescope operated by the Australian Astronomical Observatory and situated at the Siding Spring Observatory, Australia, at an altitude of a little over 1,100 m. In 20 ...
optical reflecting telescope begins operation, located in
Anglo-Australian Observatory The Australian Astronomical Observatory (AAO), formerly the Anglo-Australian Observatory, was an optical and near-infrared astronomy observatory with its headquarters in North Ryde in suburban Sydney, Australia. Originally funded jointly by the U ...
near
Coonabarabran Coonabarabran is a town in Warrumbungle Shire that sits on the divide between the Central West and North West Slopes regions of New South Wales, Australia. At the 2016 census, the town had a population of 2,537, Material was copied from this s ...
, Australia * 1975 – Gerald Smith, Frederick Landauer, and James Janesick use a CCD to observe Uranus, the first astronomical CCD observation * 1975 –
Antoine Labeyrie Antoine is a French given name (from the Latin ''Antonius'' meaning 'highly praise-worthy') that is a variant of Danton, Titouan, D'Anton and Antonin. The name is used in France, Switzerland, Belgium, Canada, West Greenland, Haiti, French Guiana, ...
builds the first two-telescope optical
interferometer Interferometry is a technique which uses the ''interference'' of superimposed waves to extract information. Interferometry typically uses electromagnetic waves and is an important investigative technique in the fields of astronomy, fiber op ...
* 1976 – The 6-m BTA-6 (Bolshoi Teleskop Azimutalnyi or “Large Altazimuth Telescope”) goes into operation on Mt. Pashtukhov in the Russian Caucasus * 1978 – Multiple Mirror equivalent optical/infrared reflecting telescope begins operation, located in Amado, Arizona * 1978 – International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) telescope satellite * 1978 – Einstein High Energy Astronomy Observatory x-ray telescope satellite * 1979 –
UKIRT The United Kingdom Infra-Red Telescope (UKIRT) is a 3.8 metre (150 inch) infrared reflecting telescope, the second largest dedicated infrared (1 to 30 micrometres) telescope in the world. It is located on Mauna Kea, Hawai'i as part of Mauna ...
infrared reflecting telescope begins operation, located at Mauna Kea Observatory, Hawaii * 1979 – Canada-France-Hawaii optical reflecting telescope begins operation, located at Mauna Kea Observatory, Hawaii * 1979 – NASA Infrared Telescope Facility

infrared reflecting telescope begins operation, located at Mauna Kea, Hawaii


1980s

* 1980 – Completion of construction of the
VLA VLA or vla may refer to: Organizations * Vermont Library Association, professional organization for librarians from Vermont * Veterinary Laboratories Agency, a UK government agency for researching animal and public health * Victoria Legal Aid, an ...
, located in
Socorro, New Mexico Socorro (, '' sə-KOR-oh'') is a city in Socorro County in the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is in the Rio Grande Valley at an elevation of . In 2010 the population was 9,051. It is the county seat of Socorro County. Socorro is located south of A ...
* 1983 – Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) telescope * 1984 – IRAM 30-m telescope at Pico Veleta near
Granada Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...
, Spain completed * 1987 – 15-m
James Clerk Maxwell Telescope The James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) is a submillimetre-wavelength radio telescope at Mauna Kea Observatory in Hawaii, US. The telescope is near the summit of Mauna Kea at . Its primary mirror is 15 metres (16.4 yards) across: it is the larg ...
UK submillimetre telescope installed at Mauna Kea Observatory * 1987 – 5-m Swedish-ESO Submillimetre Telescope (SEST) installed at the ESO La Silla Observatory * 1988 – Australia Telescope Compact Array aperture synthesis radio telescope begins operation, located near Narrabri, Australia * 1989 – Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) satellite


1990s

* 1990 –
Hubble The Hubble Space Telescope (often referred to as HST or Hubble) is a space telescope that was launched into low Earth orbit in 1990 and remains in operation. It was not the first space telescope, but it is one of the largest and most versa ...
2.4m space Telescope launched, mirror found to be flawed * 1991 – Compton Gamma Ray Observatory satellite * 1993 – Keck 10-meter optical/infrared reflecting telescope begins operation, located at Mauna Kea, Hawaii * 1993 – Very Long Baseline Array of 10 dishes * 1995 – Cambridge Optical Aperture Synthesis Telescope (COAST)—the first very high resolution optical astronomical images (from aperture synthesis observations) * 1995 –
Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope The Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT), located near Pune, Junnar, near Narayangaon at khodad in India, is an array of thirty fully steerable parabolic radio telescopes of 45 metre diameter, observing at metre wavelengths. It is operated by t ...
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 HALCA satellite begins operations, producing first VLBI observations from space, 25,000 km maximum baseline * 1998 – First light at VLT1, the 8.2 m
ESO The European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere, commonly referred to as the European Southern Observatory (ESO), is an intergovernmental research organisation made up of 16 member states for ground-based ast ...
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 baseline. * 2005 – First imaging with the VLTI using the AMBER optical aperture synthesis instrument and three VLT telescopes. * 2005 – First light at SALT, the largest optical telescope in the Southern Hemisphere, with a hexagonal primary mirror of 11.1 by 9.8 meters. * 2007 – First light at Gran Telescopio de Canarias (GTC), in Spain, the largest optical telescope in the world with an effective diameter of 10.4 meters. * 2021 — James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), was launched 25 December 2021 on an ESA Ariane 5 rocket from Kourou, French Guiana 0and will succeed the Hubble Space Telescope as NASA's flagship mission in astrophysics.


Under Construction

*
Iranian National Observatory Iranian National Observatory (INO) is an Iranian astronomical observatory inaugurated in 2021. It has reported the capture of its first light on 15 October 2022 upon the commissioning of the home-grown optical telescope with a primary mirror of ...
3.4 m (first light planned in 2020) *
Extremely Large Telescope The Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) is an astronomical observatory currently under construction. When completed, it is planned to be the world's largest optical/near-infrared extremely large telescope. Part of the European Southern Observator ...
(first light planned in 2027)


Planned

* Public Telescope (PST), German project of astrofactum. Launch was planned for 2019, but the project's website is now defunct and no updates have been provided on the fate of the effort. * Mid/late-2021 – Science first light of the
Vera C. Rubin Observatory The Vera C. Rubin Observatory, previously referred to as the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), is an astronomical observatory currently under construction in Chile. Its main task will be carrying out a synoptic astronomical survey, the L ...
is anticipated for 2021 with full science operations to begin a year later. * Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, part of NASA's Exoplanet Exploration Program. Launch is tentatively scheduled for 2027.


See also

*
Timeline of telescope technology The following timeline lists the significant events in the invention and development of the telescope. BC 2560 BC to 1 BC * c.2560 BC–c.860 BC — Egyptian artisans polish rock crystal, semi-precious stones, and latterly glass to produce facs ...
*
List of largest optical telescopes historically Telescopes have grown in size since they first appeared around 1608. The following tables list the increase in size over the years. Different technologies can and have been used to build telescopes, which are used to magnify distant views especia ...
*
Extremely large telescope The Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) is an astronomical observatory currently under construction. When completed, it is planned to be the world's largest optical/near-infrared extremely large telescope. Part of the European Southern Observator ...


References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Timeline Of Telescopes, Observatories, And Observing Technology Telescopes, observatories, and observing technology Telescopes, observatories, and observing technology Astronomical observatories Astronomical imaging Observational astronomy Telescopes