Galileo Galilei was a famous
person who discovered extraordinary facts about space. He was born in Italy on February
15, 1564. At that time, Italy was made up of small city states. The Catholic Church
and its Pope were very important and powerful.
In 1581, Galileo attended the
University of Pisa. He argued and questioned the teachings at the University. He
didn’t agree with Aristotle’s thoughts. Galileo left the University because he
wanted to study physics and mathematics on his own.
When he was 25, he became a
professor of mathematics at the University of Pisa. Three years later he went to Padua and
became a professor. He was very smart and used the facts he learned to conduct
experiments. Some of the important scientific laws he discovered were:
 |
The
Law of the Falling Objects - Discussed that objects of unequal weight fall at the same
speed.
|
|
The
Law of Floating Objects - Discussed impact of an object’s density and shape on its
ability to float.
|
|
The
Law of the Pendulum - Discussed length of time of pendulum swings.
|
He invented and improved
instruments that helped make measurements more accurate. He worked with microscopes,
balances, thermometers, compasses, and telescopes. His work with the telescope is very
famous. Galileo heard about Fleming’s spyglass invention. Galileo made one for
himself and looked at the planets and stars. Every night he wrote down what he saw. He
published a book based on his observations which he called The Starry Messenger.
He made maps and told people about four moons (he called them stars) around
Jupiter. Galileo named them after the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Cosimo II, who was his
patron. Using his telescope, he also studied sunspots and Moon craters.
Galileo became famous for his
discoveries. Telescopes and copies of his book went to all the rulers in Europe. Many
people celebrated his discoveries and praised him. One of his ideas got him into trouble.
He agreed with Copernicus that the Earth moves around the Sun. The Roman Catholic Church
became worried because Galileo was so popular and the idea of the Earth going around the
Sun was against Bible teachings.
The Pope required Galileo to
appear before his court in 1633. Galileo tried to defend himself. He felt that "...if
they(the ancient philosophers) had seen what we see, they would have judged as we
judge." The Pope’s Court found him guilty of heresy. His punishment
was to stay in his house for the rest of his life. He went blind but still kept
thinking about the sky. He died on January 8, 1642. Finally in 1992, the Roman
Catholic Church pardoned Galileo Galilei and admitted that his findings were correct.
In 1995, the Galileo space
probe was launched. Its mission is to study Jupiter and its moons. Data continues to be
received from this probe.
Galileo was one of the most
important scientists of his time. He personally suffered as a result of his ideas
but is appreciated today.
Return To Top Of Page
|
