Ancient astronomers looked up at the dark skies in wonder, as the stars marched by overhead like precision dancers. In the early 17th century, Galileo Galilei brought the world one step closer to the heavens with his telescope, discovering, among other celestial marvels, moons around Jupiter, and our own moon's pockmarked surface. Nowadays, the stars are closer to us than ever, thanks to powerful telescopes in space and on the ground. Modern astronomers don't have to step outside, because they get precise data delivered straight to their own laptops. If Galileo could see us now, he'd probably be thrilled by the advances -- and also a little puzzled that astronomy no longer means gazing through telescopes at the twinkling, dark skies.

Source: A night with the stars ... in a conference room