Carrissa Goble

Astronomy 1700

Galileo Galilei’s early experiments lay down the foundation for modern physics and

astronomy. Hundreds of years after Aristotle first made discoveries in the night sky, Galileo

made observations that revealed new truths about the universe. He is considered the father of

modern science and made many contributions across varies fields. He paid a heavy price for his

beliefs, but his discoveries would change the modern world.

Galileo was born on February 15, 1564 and died on January 8, 1642. He was born in Pisa,

Italy and was the first of six children. When he was born it was believed in all Western

civilization that the sun moved around the earth due to the fact that the sun passed overhead each

day. In the center sat Earth, and the sun was just one of many heavenly bodies that circled

endlessly around it. When he was a young boy, Galileo briefly considered becoming a priest.

Instead, in 1581 he entered the University of Pisa at the age of sixteen to study medicine. He

soon realized he preferred mathematics and he became a mathematician at the University of

Padua, though it should be noted that he never actually finished his degree. (history.com) He

believed that if there was any way to understand the language of God, it would be in

mathematics. There, he met Marina Gamba and though they did not marry together they had

three illegitimate children; daughters Virginia and Livia, and son Vincenzo. (The Stanford

Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2017 Edition)

In 1583 he made his first important discovery and that was describing the rules that

govern the motion of pendulums. Then, 1608 Galileo heard that someone in the

Netherlands found a new use for eyeglass lenses. The Dutchman had invented the
“spyglass,” and a year later Galileo decided to make an improvement on it. He played

around with different eyeglass lenses, which he had to teach himself to make, and

perfected the telescope in 1609. Of course, the first thing he did with this was set out

to make some money. He sold it to the navy so they may see enemies coming even if

they were hours away. He was given a generous lifetime salary for his contribution.

(The Earth Spins, NOVA)

Galileo one night pointed his new spyglass into the night sky and was

fascinated with what he saw and began to sketch what first thing he observed. It was

the moon. It was not perfect and smooth like everyone had assumed, but bumpy and

full of mountains and ridges, and not unlike the face of the Earth. If this heavenly

body was like the face of the Earth, perhaps the heavens and Earth were not as

different as everyone thought. This also led him observe three “stars” that rotated

around Jupiter, which was later discovered to be its moons. He had just discovered

new astronomical bodies for the first time since ancient times. This new discovery

absolutely clashed with the Churches belief that the heavens revolved around Earth.

He also was able to see the rings of Saturn, the phases of Venus, and sunspots. Galileo

discovered many things with his telescope. "I give infinite thanks to God," Galileo wrote to the

powerful Florentine statesman Belisario Vinta in January of 1610, "who has been pleased to

make me the first observer of marvelous things." (Smithsonianmag.com)

He also can be credited for determining the parabolic path projectiles and calculated the

law freefall on the basis of experiment. He was also known for defending and making popular

the Copernican system. His laws of motion paved the way for Isaac Newton and his
heliocentrism became scientific fact. Due to his invention of the telescope, he also invented

the microscope and is considered to be the first real experimental scientist.

The Vatican considered astronomy to be an investigation of Gods work. They used its

study of the moon cycles to determine Easter and Lent, the winter solstice meant that Christmas

was approaching, and the sunrise and sunset determined their prayers. (The Earth Spins, NOVA)

As one can imagine, Galileo interpretations that the Earth was not the center of all things did not

sit well with the Church and they considered him a heretic. He was ambitious and questioned the

teachings of the church, though ironically, he was a devout catholic. He believed in the bible, but

he just did not think that it was a good textbook for astronomy. After defying the church on

numerous occasions and the fact he could not control his impulses to publish his work, he was

ordered to life imprisonment. Imprisonment did not stop him from doing what he loved and he

continued to write books of his theories and discoveries until his death.

I decided to write about Galileo because he revolutionized our understanding of

astronomy and never lost his passion for explaining the natural world. I didn’t know much about

him and wanted to dive a bit deeper into how his workings contributed not only to astronomy,

but also all of science. I enjoy learning about how his idea to turn the spyglass to the sky was

such a huge revelation not only for him, but for all of humankind.

Galileo paved the path for future generations to build on his work. His discoveries

sparked the interest of thousands of people in the years to come who needed that push to start

asking the right questions and look in the right places. This man pushed boundaries and was a

force that would not be stopped. The scientific community has much to be thankful for due to a

man who looked at the moon.

 Sources

Machamer, Peter. Galileo Galilei. 10 May 2017, plato.stanford.edu/entries/galileo/.

History.com Editors, Editors. “Galileo Galilei.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 23 July
2010, www.history.com/topics/inventions/galileo-galilei.

Zax, David. “Galileo's Revolutionary Vision Helped Usher In Modern Astronomy.”

Smithsonian.com, Smithsonian Institution, 1 Aug. 2009,
www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/Galileos-Revolutionary-Vision-Helped-Usher-
In-Modern-Astronomy-34545274/.

Van Helden, Albert. “Galileo's Copernicanism.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia

Britannica, Inc., 2020, www.britannica.com/biography/Galileo-Galilei/Galileos-
Copernicanism.

NOVA. “Nova Galileo Documentary The Earth Spins.” YouTube, YouTube, 19 Nov. 2015,
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVL1Bxylag4.