Telescope Meaning
/ˈtɛl.ɪ.skəʊp/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA monocular optical instrument that magnifies distant objects, especially in astronomy.
nounAny instrument used in astronomy for observing distant objects (such as a radio telescope).
Sentence Examples
We can see distant objects with a telescope.
You can see the stars with your naked eye, and even better through a telescope.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
Using a powerful ____, the astronomer observed very distant galaxies last night.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He used his powerful ____ to observe the moon and see the many craters on its surface late last night today.
Word Origin & History
From tele- + -scope. From Latin tēlescopium, from Ancient Greek τηλεσκόπος (tēleskópos, “far-seeing”), from τῆλε (têle, “afar”) + σκοπέω (skopéō, “to look at”). Coined in 1611 by the Greek mathematician Giovanni Demisiani for one of Galileo Galilei's instruments presented at a banquet at the Accademia dei Lincei. Doublet of Telescopium.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"It needs a scientific telescope, it needs to be reinterpreted and artificially brought near us, before we can so much as know that it was a Sun."
— 1831, Thomas Carlyle, “Symbols”, in Sartor Resartus: The Life and Opinions of Herr Teufelsdröckh. […], London: Chapman and Hall, […], →OCLC, 3rd book, page 155:
"It is scarcely possible to avoid comparing the eye to a telescope."
— 1859 November 24, Charles Darwin, “Difficulties on Theory”, in On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, […], London: John Murray, […], →OCLC, page 188:
"About ten months ago a report reached my ears that a Dutchman had constructed a telescope, by the aid of which visible objects, although at a great distance from the eye of the observer, were seen distinctly as if near; […]"
— 1880 [1610 March 13], Galileo Galilei, Johannes Kepler, “The Astronomical Messenger”, in Edward Stafford Carlos, transl., The Sidereal Messenger of Galileo Galilei and a Part of the Preface to Kepler's Dioptrics Containing the Original Account of Galileo's Astronomical Discoveries: A Translation with Introduction and Notes, London: Rivingtons, translation of Sidereus Nuncius: […] , →OCLC, page 10:
"This was one of the great missed opportunities of theoretical physics. If Einstein had stuck with his original equations, he could have predicted that the universe must be either expanding or contracting. As it was, the possibility of a time-dependent universe wasn't taken seriously until observations in the 1920s by the 100-inch telescope on Mount Wilson."
— 2001 November 26, Stephen Hawking, “A Brief History of Relativity”, in The Universe in a Nutshell, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 21:
"The 1.2-meter-diameter (4-foot-diameter) telescope has set off on a monthlong journey to its orbital destination of the sun-Earth Lagrange point L2, which is nearly 1 million miles (1.6 million kilometers) away from Earth and also home to NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. Euclid will keep pace with Earth as our planet orbits the sun."
— 2021 December 24, Don Lincoln, “The telescope that will replace Hubble will launch on Christmas. Here’s why it matters”, in CNN:
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CEFR Practice Quiz
Using a powerful ____, the astronomer observed very distant galaxies last night.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He used his powerful ____ to observe the moon and see the many craters on its surface late last night today.