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As a result of 'Starry Messenger,' Galileo became a celebrity in Italy. He began to live the life of a gentleman and continued to sell telescopes to merchants as a sideline income.
A friend, admirer, and patron of Galileo (Maffeo Cardinal Barberini) became Pope Urban VIII around the time of publication. Galileo went to Rome to present his theory about the tides. He was given permission to write about universal theories, with the caveat that Copernican theory could only be treated as hypothetical.
Galileo certainly had a flair for self-promotion. It would earn him powerful friends among Italy’s ruling elite, such as the de Medici's. However, it also created enemies among the Catholic Church’s leaders. He was first summoned by the Roman Inquisition in 1615, to defend the ideas put forward in 'Starry Messenger.'
The main reason why the Church was so opposed to the concept of heliocentrism was that passages of the Bible referred to the fixed nature of the Earth. On publishing 'Dialogue...,' he had alienated his most powerful supporter—the Pope.
Galileo kept improving upon his design, reaching a magnification of up to 30 times. He was able to draw the Moon's phases and discovered its surface was uneven. In 1610, he discovered four moons around Jupiter.
He denied advocating for heliocentrism at first, but later backtracked and said he'd done so unintentionally. He was found guilty of a charge almost equivalent to heresy.
He presented one of his first telescopes to lawmakers of the Venetian Senate in August 1609, which had eight to nine times magnification. It enabled magnified images of Earth but it could also be used to observe the sky.
Notably, the person in the text advocating for geocentrism, or that the Universe revolves around the Earth, was called "Simplicius."
In it, Galileo supposedly puts forth hypothetical arguments for both sides of the heliocentrism debate. However, his attempt at balance was unsuccessful.
He then produced his findings in Sidereus Nuncius, or 'Starry Messenger,' his first book on astronomy. Published in 1610, it put forward the idea that the Earth was not the center of our Universe.
In 1609, Galileo designed his first telescope. He managed to design and make it using only limited descriptions of the earliest telescopes, which had been created a year earlier in the Netherlands.
In 1633, three years after the publication of 'Dialogue...,' he was called before the Roman Inquisition for a second time.
However, Galileo continued working and writing, and in 1638 released Discorsi e dimostrazioni matematiche intorno a due nuove scienze attenenti alla meccanica (Dialogues Concerning Two New Sciences). It was published in Holland to avoid censorship, and summarized his findings on motion. The work was later praised by Albert Einstein. Galileo passed away in 1642.
Sources: (Britannica) (History Channel) (Online Education)
See also: The greatest discoveries and advancements in the history of astronomy
Galileo was sentenced to imprisonment but this was commuted to house arrest, which he remained under for the rest of his life.
Galileo Galilei was born in Pisa, Italy, on February 15, 1564. In 1581 he entered the University of Pisa and began studying medicine.
However, over the course of his studies, he found himself drawn more towards Euclidean geometry, mathematics, and scientific research. Four years in, he abandoned medicine.
Instead, Galileo’s observations directly contradicted the Aristotelian view of the universe. Initially, this made Galileo unpopular, as Aristotle's views were widely accepted by both scientists and theologians. His contract at the University of Pisa was not renewed as a result.
While teaching at the University of Pisa, Galileo dropped bodies of different weights from the top of the famous Leaning Tower. In doing so, he demonstrated that the speed of the fall of a heavy object is not proportional to its weight, which had been claimed by Aristotle.
In 1588, Galileo had his first university appointment, teaching art at the Accademia delle Arti del Disegno in Florence. During this time, he gave two published lectures on the dimensions of Dante’s Inferno to the Academy.
When Galileo left the university without a degree in 1585, he began experimenting with pendulums and hydrostatic forces. He also gave private lessons in mathematical subjects.
The first modern scientific argument for a heliocentric (sun-centered) universe was put forward in Nicholas Copernicus’s "De Revolutionibus," in 1616. It was promptly banned by the Catholic Church.
Thanks to his patronage and growing reputation, the following year at the age of just 25, Galileo was appointed to the role of Chair of Mathematics at the University of Pisa.
He continued publishing theorems on topics such as the centers of gravity, which gained him the attention of his contemporaries. He received the patronage of a nobleman and the author of several works about mechanics, Guidobaldo del Monte.
Galileo had tutored Cosimo II de Medici (1590–1621), the grand duke of his native Tuscany, for several summers. He dedicated 'Starry Messenger' to him, and named the moons of Jupiter after the de Medici family: the Sidera Medicea, or "Medicean Stars."
What he uncovered about the phases of Venus and Mercury demonstrated that they revolved around the Sun, not the Earth. These observations appeared to help confirm the central tenet of heliocentrism.
Before leaving Padua, Galileo discovered the strange appearance of Saturn, which would later be revealed to have rings around it.
Galileo was an independent discoverer of sunspots. In 1613 he published Istoria e dimostrazioni intorno alle macchie solari e loro accidenti —"History and Demonstrations Concerning Sunspots and Their Properties," or "Letters on Sunspots."
In 1623, Galileo published Il Saggiatore — The Assayer. This work was a polemic on physical reality and detailed the Scientific Method, making it one of the first to do so.
In 1630 Galileo published his most famous work, Dialogo sopra i due massimi sistemi del mondo, or 'Dialogue Concerning the Two World System.'
Luckily, his patrons were able to secure him a role teaching at the University of Padua, where he was tenured between 1592 and 1610.
Albert Einstein once famously noted that Galileo was "the father of modern science." Although best known for his astronomical observations, Galileo’s scientific work wasn't confined to just one area. He made enormous contributions to the fields of physics, astronomy, cosmology, mathematics, and philosophy. In the face of huge opposition from the powerful Catholic Church, he defiantly published evidence-based, observational material to support his conclusions: paving the way for the Scientific Revolution.
Intrigued? Click on to discover Galileo's astronomical contribution to science.
Galileo's astronomical contribution to science
From the scientific method to the rings of Saturn
LIFESTYLE Astronomy
Albert Einstein once famously noted that Galileo was "the father of modern science." Although best known for his astronomical observations, Galileo’s scientific work wasn't confined to just one area. He made enormous contributions to the fields of physics, astronomy, cosmology, mathematics, and philosophy. In the face of huge opposition from the powerful Catholic Church, he defiantly published evidence-based, observational material to support his conclusions: paving the way for the Scientific Revolution.
Intrigued? Click on to discover Galileo's astronomical contribution to science.