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I would argue a more relevant landmark would be the introduction of photographic plates. Prior to that astronomers had to sketch what they saw and judge brightn
by antognini 7y ago
I would argue a more relevant landmark would be the introduction of photographic plates. Prior to that astronomers had to sketch what they saw and judge brightnesses qualitatively (usually by comparison to other stars). Photographic plates introduced a whole new level of quantitative rigor to the field.
- DiogenesKynikos 7y agoOr the introduction of the CCD. It produces digital images (which can be analyzed by software automatically), has a linear response to input (so you can reliably measure the brightness of objects), and has much higher quantum efficiency (nearly every photon is detected). Where to draw the line between modern and pre-modern astronomy is a bit of a subjective question, but there's no doubt that the introduction of the telescope was revolutionary.