On a clear night in July of 1609, English polymath Thomas Harriot pointed his "Dutch perspective glass" toward the crescent moon. The crude lunar map he sketched from his observations dates him as the earliest person known to have used a telescope to study a celestial object, beating Galileo Galilei by nearly four months. Ove subsequent years Harriot produced remarkable drawings showing the locations of the moon's craters and what he believed to be its oceans anc coastlines. His cartography was not bettered for decades. So why does Galileo enjoy lasting fame while Harriot has been all but forgotten?
展开▼
