The telescope was first invented by Hans Lippershey, a Dutch spectacle maker, in 1608. He is credited primarily because he was the first to apply for a patent on the design. There are other claimants such as Zacharias Jansen and Jacob Metius, who were also Dutch eyeglass makers, but Lippershey's patent application is the earliest recorded evidence of the telescope's invention. Galileo Galilei later improved the design significantly and was the first to use the telescope for astronomical observations, discovering features like the craters on the Moon and Jupiter's moons with his improved model in 1609.
