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Sir Isaac Newton's Reflecting Telescope

Isaac Newton

A small brass reflecting telescope belonging to Newton, the invention that won him election to the Royal Society in 1672.

This telescope, Newton's own invention, won him his Royal Society fellowship and is preserved as a relic of his scientific career.

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A small brass reflecting telescope with a cylindrical tube angled upward, mounted on a spherical stand with three legs and a round base, displayed in a glass case above a white pedestal with a label.
Reflecting telescope associated with Sir Isaac Newton. Royal Society, London.

About this source

What it is

This is a small brass reflecting telescope associated with Sir Isaac Newton, now kept by the Royal Society in London. It is mounted on a spherical stand with a round base and displayed in a glass case.

Why it matters

Newton built an early reflecting telescope that used a mirror instead of lenses to focus light. This design impressed the Royal Society and led to his election as a Fellow in 1672, opening the door to his later work on light and optics.

Look closer

  • Why might a telescope using mirrors work better than one using only lenses?
  • What does it suggest about Newton that a working object, not just a paper, earned him recognition?
  • What can't you learn about Newton's ideas just from looking at the instrument itself?

This artifact is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Isaac Newton on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Title page of the 1687 first edition of Newton's Principia. Large capitals read PHILOSOPHIÆ NATURALIS PRINCIPIA MATHEMATICA, with author credit, Imprimatur by S. Pepys, dated Julii 5, 1686, and London printing by Josephi Streater, Anno MDCLXXXVII.Book

Primary source

Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica

Isaac Newton · 1687

Title page with a page number marked [1] at top, reading PHILOSOPHIAE NATURALIS Principia MATHEMATICA, followed by the heading Definitiones and Def. I, with a Latin definition of quantity of matter in italic type. Faint bleed-through text from the reverse page is visible.Book

Primary source

Principia Mathematica, Page 1: Definitions

Isaac Newton · 1687

Black-and-white line engraving of an elderly man with long, wavy white hair seated in a dark armchair, wearing a dark coat, waistcoat, and white cravat, with his hands resting on his knee. A column appears at the right. Inscribed beneath: 'ISAACUS NEWTON EQ. AUR. ÆT. 83', with 'I. Vanderbank pinxit 1725' at lower left and 'Geo. Vertue Sculpsit 1726' at lower right.Painting

Primary source

Sir Isaac Newton, line engraving by Vertue, 1726

George Vertue · 1726

Engraved diagram on a cream page within a book, showing a curved comet path from Sol at left, with dated positions such as Nov. 25, Dec. 12, Jan. 5 and Mar. 5, labeled orbit lines and a sphere intersection line.Document

Primary source

Principia Mathematica, Fold-out Diagram

Isaac Newton · 1687

Engraved portrait of Sir Isaac Newton, a man with long curled wig and dark robe, bust-length, against a shaded background. Caption below reads 'SIR ISAAC NEWTON' and publisher 'William Collins Glasgow & London'.Painting

Primary source

Sir Isaac Newton, stipple engraving by J. Scott after Kneller, 1702

J. Scott, after Sir Godfrey Kneller · 1702 (print made later)

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