The nature of the studies about the Moon and other celestial bodies began to change in the 1600s. Galileo Galilei designed a telescope to closely observe the Moon.
Galileo Galilei was one of the first astronomers to make telescopic drawings of the Moon; his drawings are compiled in his book titled Sidereus Nuncius. He discovered that the Moon’s surface was not as smooth as it appeared to be.
The 17th century was a period of telescopic mappings. Later, Giovanni Battista Riccioli and Francesco Maria Grimaldi worked out the system of naming the lunar features. Their lunar terminology is in use even today. This was followed by the trigonometrically accurate studies about lunar features, like the heights of several mountains.
Picture Credit : Google
