Christiaan Huygens, the Dutch scientist who discovered Saturn's moon Titan was myopic, according to a study

Myopia is a vision condition that causes distant objects to appear blurry, but not close ones.

In the 17th century, the Dutch scientist Christiaan Huygens (1629-1695) discovered a celestial body as distant from Earth as the moon Titan, the largest of Saturn's satellites.

He was also the first to realize that the structure surrounding the planet were rings.

Throughout his life he revolutionized the measurement of time by inventing the pendulum clock, as well as mechanics and astronomy, but the resolution of his telescopes was lower than that achieved by his colleagues and competitors.

A new study points to visual acuity to explain the discrepancy: it is possible that he was nearsighted.

Not too much, the equivalent of -1.5 diopters, but enough to compromise the sharpness of the lenses he made.

The work that has given Huygens posthumous glasses has been published in the magazine

, and is signed by a compatriot of his, 31-year-old astrophysicist Alex Pietrow.

He calls Huygens "the Einstein of his time" because he was an astronomer, physicist and mathematician, and was part of the first generation of modern European scientists.

Therefore, Pietrow was interested in the fact that his telescopes were not up to his worth.

Refracting telescopes use lenses to focus light and make distant objects appear clearer and larger.

Although modern ones can be adjusted to achieve the perfect focus for each person's vision, in Huygens' time they were fixed to a single focus.

He “he used the two main lenses of these instruments: the objective lens, which is in front, and a smaller one, called the ocular lens, located in the back.

I assume that he moved them with his hands until the image seemed clear enough to him, and then he measured the distance between them ”, explains Pietrow, in a telephone conversation, from the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, where he is currently studying the activity of the sun.

Huygens made a series of calculations and measurements to later build a telescope adapted to his eyes.

“Hence, if we look through the device, the instinctive thing is to adjust it because it seems out of focus.

It is not possible, because the equation used at the time fixes the distances.

Assuming that the lenses themselves are perfect, even if they are out of focus, it occurred to me to compare their equations with the optics used in current instruments."

During the process, he found a small difference, and resorted to an eye graduation to correct it.

Had he been able to measure his eyesight as it is done today, his illustrious ancestor "would have needed glasses to correct a myopia of -1.5 diopters", in his opinion.

Tubeless refracting telescope, designed by Christiaan Huyghens around 1650. getty

The blur of the telescope is not very great, and Christiaan Huygens spent long hours working on it, so he made great strides with Saturn.

"He missed, however, the division of (Giovanni) Cassini [discovered in 1675 by the Italian astronomer] existing between the outer and inner rings of Saturn with a width of about 5,000 kilometers."

When the Dutch scientist designed and produced his lenses, with help from his brother Constantijn, the theory of refraction and the material physics of glass were in an early stage of development.

The lenses were perfected based on trial and error, and if we add to that the different types and qualities of glass, the theory on the lens and the final result could vary.

"Hence, until now, the problem was attributed to them."

Eye difficulties were a constant among the Huygens.

Constantijn, the father, who was a Golden Age poet, composer and diplomat, was very myopic.

Other relatives had the same problem, to varying degrees, and Chistiaan may not have noticed his.

He “could read and write, and he didn't have to drive a car.

He did not bother her in everyday life.

Perhaps he saw the stage somewhat blurry in a theater, but there are no documents proving that he wore glasses, ”says the researcher.

In the 17th century, the study of lenses was a very competitive area in Europe, and work on the manufacture of telescopes was carried out in great secrecy.

Because of this, his complete works were only published after his death.

“He would talk to his colleagues, but they would never go into detail about how they produced the lenses.

It was a well-kept recipe.

He also came from a well-situated family financially and was able to operate at home, and also travel to France and the United Kingdom”.

According to the Historical Canon of the Netherlands, the list of essential themes and characters taught in schools, Christiaan Huygens followed in the footsteps of the French philosopher René Descartes, a supporter of experimenting and formulating laws himself, and who led a scientific revolution.

The Dutchman's pendulum clock, dated to 1656, "was for centuries the only precise timekeeping instrument, and he worked on the improvement and manufacture of marine clocks," the text indicates.

Following the list of essential themes and characters taught in schools, Christiaan Huygens followed in the footsteps of the French philosopher René Descartes, a supporter of experimenting and formulating laws himself, and who led a scientific revolution.

The Dutchman's pendulum clock, dated to 1656, "was for centuries the only precise timekeeping instrument, and he worked on the improvement and manufacture of marine clocks," the text indicates.

Following the list of essential themes and characters taught in schools, Christiaan Huygens followed in the footsteps of the French philosopher René Descartes, a supporter of experimenting and formulating laws himself, and who led a scientific revolution.

The Dutchman's pendulum clock, dated to 1656, "was for centuries the only precise timekeeping instrument, and he worked on the improvement and manufacture of marine clocks," the text indicates.

Designs for the first practical telescope are attributed to Hans Lippershey, a Dutch lens maker and inventor.

He unsuccessfully applied for a patent in 1608, and the tool quickly caught on.

Outside the realm of science, it was perceived as a way to see the enemy at a great distance in case of war.

The description came into the hands of Galileo Galilei, the Italian astronomer.

He created his own, and his observations of the Moon and stars are listed in the 1610 scientific treatise titled

(

, in Latin).

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