Refracting telescope
Refractors were the earliest type of optical telescope. The first practical refracting telescopes appeared in the Netherlands about 1608, and were credited to three individuals, Hans Lippershey and Zacharias Janssen, spectacle-makers in Middelburg, and Jacob Metius of Alkmaar. Galileo Galilei, happening to be in Venice in about the month of May 1609, heard of the invention and constructed a version of his own. Galileo then communicated the details of his invention to the public, and presented the instrument itself to the Doge Leonardo Donato, sitting in full council.
Observatory Naef Épendes
The invention of the telescope in 1608 and the subsequent improvements in optics led to the revolutionary progress of the 17th and 18th centuries. We call this type of telescope a refractor because it deviates the light coming from an object in such a way that its image is reversed ; observation is done through an eyepiece at the end of the tube, which allows magnification of the image. Bequeathed by Mr. Robert A. Naef, the observatory's precious telescope is a Reinfelder & Hertel with a diameter of 162.5 mm and a focal distance of 1435 mm - this allows a magnification of X150.