28 Oct /15

Telescope

Telescope - Word of the day - EVS Translations
Telescope – Word of the day – EVS Translations

Last week, space geeks rejoiced in news headlines which reported the potential discovery of an alien megastructure far off in distant space—the light from star KIC 8462852 is dimming intermittently for reasons currently not understood. The excitement started to wane, however, as scientists explained that the likelihood of an alien megastructure was extremely low. Debris from a swarm of comets is now thought to be one possible answer.

This is not the first time that observations made through telescopes have baffled scientists and raised big questions. Some of the most controversial observations took place 400 years ago when an Italian scientist used his telescope to prove seemingly impossible physical truths and constructed theories that enraged the Roman Catholic Church. Called “The father of modern science” by Albert Einstein, it was Galileo Galilei who showed that, despite the teachings of the Bible, the earth did not sit stationary at the centre of the universe, but instead orbited the sun. In 1610, he peered through his telescope to observe four moons orbiting Jupiter—apparently, not all heavenly bodies were orbiting the Earth. In 1616 he wrote his account on tides and theorised that they were caused by the earth rotating on its axis around the sun. As a result of his incredible observations and theories of the cosmos, Galileo died at the age of 77 under house arrest for the crime of heresy. A painting by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo in the 1640’s depicts Galileo in a jail cell staring at his words written on the wall: “E pur si muove” (“and yet it moves”).

Galilei, himself, used the term perspicillum when referring to telescopes until 1611 when telescopio can be found in his letters. It was a member of the Roman Academy of the Lincei who appears to attribute the word telescopium to Prince Cesi, the founder and head of the Academy, in a letter dated 1613. Galileo was also a member of this academy. The 1647 book Mirrour of Nobility was written by French scientist Pierre Gassendi and translated by a ‘W. Rand’. It was here that he translated telescopium as ‘telescope’: “Galilæus, by his newly invented Telescope had discovered certain great and wonderfull sights, concerning the Stars” (pg. 143).

Back in the 21st century, scientists are not afraid to investigate the seemingly unbelievable. Those at the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) Institute in California are now using the Allen Teleschope Array to uncover the mystery of KIC 8462852.