Biography

Galileo Galilei
The Astronomer &
Scientist
By Nery Martinez
PHYS 1040 April 24, 2016

Nery Martinez

Max Weiss
PHYS 1040-004
April 24, 2016
Biography of Galileo
Galileo was an Italian scholar and scientist that made the pioneer days
observations that have the foundation for the original, modern physics and astronomy.
Galileo was born on February 15, 1564 in Pisa, Italy. He was the first of six children in
his family. In 1583, Galileo went to the University of Pisa to be able to study medicine,
after going to school for a while he started to notice that he had great talents and
became fascinated with a lot of subjects especially math and physics. (Helden 3) He
was a mathematics college teacher who made observations with a long-lasting
suggestion for the study of physics. The Aristotelian was awakening by Galileo while he
was in Pisa and the leading scientific authority by the Roman Catholic Church. Galileo
was very supportive with this situation and then we were on the path to become a
university professor. Galileo didnt have very much money and had trouble with staying
at the university so; he left in 1585 before even earning his degree.
Galileo academic career was that he continued his studies in mathematics and
was able to support himself with a minor of teaching position. He also published The
Little Balance; it is based of sharing his knowledge of hydrostatic principles of weighing
little amounts, which brought him to become famous. With this coming out and having
every one talking about he was able to get a teaching job in 1589 at the University of
Pisa. (Helden 5) He shared his experiments with falling objects and directed his
manuscript On Motion. Galileo developed to become a smarty-pants about his work;

criticisms of Aristotle left him among his colleagues. In 1592, his contract with the
University was not revalued. He had to find a job and he did at the University of Padua,
he was able to teach math and astronomy. He also gave some entertaining lectures and
got the attention of many people and slowly increased his fame and his sense of
mission. (Helden 7)
Galileo published The Operations of the Geometrical and Military Compass in
1604; it was about his great skills with experiments and technological applications. (Wiki
4) He constructed a hydrostatic balance to be able to measure small objects, these
great developments gave him additional income and people started to notice him more.
During that year he shared his theories on motion and falling objects, and the universal
law of acceleration, all objects in the universe obeyed. Galileo started to openly his
support of the Copernican theory that the earth and planets were based around the sun.
There was a challenge of the doctrine of Aristotle, was able to establish the order set by
the Catholic Church. (Wiki 3)
Galileo was studying and learned about the telescope built by Dutch eyeglass
makers in July 1609, but then se developed one of his own. He was a very smart guy
and he was really going for what he thought in is gut. He showed some Venetian
merchants and they saw value in them so, they game him a salary to make several for
them. This only pushed Galileo to go further; in 1609 during the fall season he made the
greatest choice to turn his telescope toward the heavens and the stars. Galileo
published a small booklet called The Starry Messenger, addressing his discoveries that
the moon could not be flat and smooth like paper, but a sphere with mountains and
craters. He discovered that Venus had phases like the moon, basically addressing that it

rotated around the sun multiple times. He also found out the Jupiter had moon as well,
which did not go around the earth. (Helden 7)
He kept publishing and in 1612 he published Discourse on Bodies in Water,
explaining why the objects float in the water and basically saying that if it wasnt
because of their flat shape, but instead of the weight that mattered. The year after he
made observations of sunspots and published it, which further disposed that the
Aristotelian doctrine that the sun was imperfectly in perfect. He wrote a letter to a
student that studied the Copernican theory, and it was made public. Galileo was
ordered, not to hold, teach, or defend the Copernican theory in any way whatever,
either orally or in writing. (Helden 8) He listened and obeyed the order for about sever
years, basically to make his life easier and he was a Catholic.
Galileo died after having and suffering with hear palpitation and a high fever on
January 8, 1642 in Arcetri, Italy. By the 1830s they dropped it opposition to
heliocentrism altogether Many churches could not deny the real truth of science, several
popes acknowledged the amazing work he did. He played a major role in the scientific
revolution and, deservedly so, earned the moniker "The Father of Modern Science."
(Helden 9) I totally agree with this statement, I learned about Galileo and really inspired
me and probably inspired many other individuals around the world.

Work Cited
4

Helden, A. V. (2013, February 12). Galileo. Retrieved April 24, 2016, from
http://www.britannica.com/biography/Galileo-Galile
History.com Staff. (2010, July 01). Galileo Galilei. Retrieved April 24, 2016,
from http://www.history.com/topics/galileo-galilei
Galileo Galilei. (2012, December 18). Retrieved April 24, 2016, from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galileo_Galilei