Telescope Reviews: Re: Galileo's Telescope

Thanks for the great review of what sounds like a truly wonderful exhibit...I especially liked the description of the hands-on demos of the Galilean telescope (and all of its optical shortcomings). I am on the west coast, so unfortunately I won't get a chance to see it on tour. However, my wife and I were fortunate enough to go to Europe for our honeymoon, and we did the science geek's self tour. We visited: Greenwich Observatory, The British Museum of Natural History (solo, wife was shopping at Harrods

), The Pasteur Institute, The Hotel de Cluny (Messier's former observatory, now a fine medieval tapestry museum), and
The Institute and Museum of the History of Science. They were all impressive and awe-inspiring in their own way, but the IMSS is the must-see if you're ever in Florence. Michelangelo's David can wait--yes it's great art, but did it change the course of human history like Galileo's telescopic discoveries?. Aside from the Galilean telescopes (including the one currently on tour in Philly, plus the remaining bits and pieces of his other instruments) and his finger in a jar (how romantic!), all of the other telescopes and scientific instruments displayed there would be worth the price of admission on their own. I especially liked all of the wooden-tubed Newtonians. Anyhow, sorry if this has strayed a bit off-topic, I mainly just wanted to give a hearty second to seeing Galileo's telescope for yourself, in person (wherever it may be).

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