Images

A model of the microscope created by Antonie van Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723). Made by the Boerhaave Museum, Leiden, 1983. The microscope used a glass bead as a magnifier, giving a much greater magnification than other types of lenses available...

The compound monocular microscope of Louis Pasteur (1822-1895). Made by Nachet et fils, 1861-70. (Science Museum, London)

An infographic illustrating the succession of Roman rulers between 96 and 180 CE, known as the Five Good Emperors (a term unknown to the ancient Romans, coined by Nicolo Machiavelli in his 1531 manuscript Discourses on Livy and made widely...

An early 18th-century microscope designed and made by John Marshall. It is a compound microscope, that is, it uses three lenses. Made of brass, wood, and other materials. (Science Museum, London)

A map of the Moon's surface by Galileo (1564-1642), drawn using a telescope the astronomer had built himself. The uneven line of shadow aided Galileo in identifying the nature of the Moon's surface and the approximate size of its mountains...

A print showing one of the astronomical telescopes built by Johannes Hevelius (1611-1687) in Danzig in the 1640s. Helevius used such devices to map the surface of the Moon. (Harvard University)

A c. 1900 painting by Henry-Julien Detouche showing Galileo (1564-1642) demonstrating his telescope (which he built c. 1608) to Leonardo Donato, Doge of Venice

The Hubble Space Telescope which was launched into space by NASA in 1990.

The eyepiece of a model of the telescope made by Galileo (1564-1642) c. 1608. Galileo made a telescope capable of x33 magnification and used it to make several important discoveries in astronomy. 970 mm x 60 mm. (Science Museum, London)

A replica of the reflecting telescope invented and designed by Isaac Newton (1642-1727) in 1668. 160 mm x 275 mm x 295 mm. (Science Museum, London)