telescope
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telescope
An optical instrument that uses lenses or mirrors to magnify distant objects. It is used especially in astronomy to observe celestial bodies.
Mit seinem neuen Teleskop konnte er die Ringe des Saturns klar erkennen.
With his new telescope, he could clearly make out the rings of Saturn.
The word 'Teleskop' (telescope) comes from Greek. It is made up of 'tele', meaning 'far', and 'skopein', meaning 'to look' or 'to observe'. So a telescope is literally a 'far-seer'.
Schon die alten Griechen hatten Ideen, die zur Entwicklung des Teleskops führten.
Even the ancient Greeks had ideas that led to the development of the telescope.
When describing that you are using a telescope, you usually use the preposition 'durch' (through). So you 'schaut' (look) or 'blickt' (gaze) 'durch das Teleskop' (through the telescope).
Letzte Nacht habe ich stundenlang durch mein Teleskop die Sterne beobachtet.
Last night I spent hours observing the stars through my telescope.
Common verbs used with 'Teleskop' (telescope) are 'ein Teleskop auf etwas richten' (to point a telescope at something) or 'mit einem Teleskop etwas beobachten' (to observe something with a telescope). Typical adjectives are 'leistungsstark' (powerful), 'optisch' (optical), or 'astronomisch' (astronomical).
Der Astronom richtete das riesige Teleskop auf eine ferne Galaxie.
The astronomer pointed the enormous telescope at a distant galaxy.
microscope
'das Teleskop' and 'das Mikroskop' are both devices that let you see things magnified. The difference is what you are looking at. With a telescope, you see things that are very far away, especially stars, planets, or the moon. With a microscope, you see very small things that you cannot recognize with your eyes alone. The words are easy to confuse because both are optical instruments. Memory tip: 'das Teleskop' looks into the distance; 'das Mikroskop' looks into the tiny.
Durch das Teleskop konnte Lena am Abend den Mond genau sehen.
Through the telescope, Lena could see the moon clearly in the evening.
Im Biologieunterricht untersuchten wir eine Pflanzenzelle unter dem Mikroskop.
In biology class, we examined a plant cell under the microscope.