Leonardo da Vinci’s contribution to astronomy is not as well known as his works in subjects such as art and architecture but, his astronomical findings do not go unnoticed. Most of da Vinci’s findings were later proved to be incorrect, but his curiosity would spark thought in many others after him. Leonardo’s immense intellectual curiosity and advanced power of observation would lend a hand to many of his astronomical findings but most importantly, his design of a telescope. His design of a possible telescope is not widely known so, the concept and design of the telescope is attributed to Galileo Galilei. Though Leonardo never built his device, it is evident that he explored the possibility and concept of it. The designs in his notebook describe the telescope as being able to “magnify the moon” and even wrote specifics about the dimensions and design, for example the thickness of the glass he would use to look through. Leonardo da Vinci had a great appreciation for the moon and was captured by its mystery, this is why he proposed the telescope, to discover more about the moon. His idea of the telescope is very interesting because he was beginning to push the boundaries of knowledge and start discovering the universe for himself. These were the ideas that were promoted by the Renaissance and would in turn, change the world.

Sources: Livio, Mario. "The Da Vinci Astronomy." Huffingtonpost. 6 Dec. 2017. https://www.huffingtonpost.com/mario-livio/the-da-vinci-astronomy_b_4065100.html. Accessed 27 Feb. 2018.

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