An optical device that aids the eye or camera in viewing or shooting faraway things by magnifying celestial bodies and focusing a wider beam of light to sharpen the image. It appears that the Greeks and Romans were aware of it, based on several ancient allusions. There is evidence in the Pyramid that the Egyptians had a type of reflecting telescope at one time. In 1608, the first refracting telescopes were produced in Holland. Galileo created one for himself after hearing about them and began his tests in 1620. In 1663, James Gregory of Edinborough created the first known reflecting telescope.
