Telescope by Huygens, Christiaan Huygens, The Hague, 1683 Inv V09196

Christiaan Huygens was fascinated by all new inventions. In around 1650 he became interested in telescopes. He examined the existing models thoroughly and decided to make one himself. With the very first telescope he made together with his brother Constantijn, Christiaan made a spectacular discovery. In 1655 he saw through the telescope a moon of the planet Saturn, which was later named Titan. Subsequently Christiaan made many other telescopes. The only telescope of Huygens' that has been preserved intact is this 12-foot campanine telescope. The special feature of this type is that it contains four lenses, so that you obtain an upright image. The telescope comprises five extendable tin tubes. When fully extended it is over five metres long. Yet this is not an exceptionally long telescope, because the Huygens brothers made telescopes up to sixty metres long.