Famous Astronomers: The Great Galileo

One of the greatest and most well-known astronomers is Galileo, born in Pisa in February 1564. Like Copernicus, Galileo's upbringings were humble, and after showing interest in music and painting, Galileo's father decided that his son should study medicine. But after enrolling at the University of Pisa, Galileo took a keen interest in mathematics, so much so that the subject quickly overtook any interest he had in medicine.

 

Ironically, it was his observation of a swinging chandelier that helped Galileo create a clock on the principle of the swinging pendulum. His objective for such an apparatus would be to aid physicians in counting the pulses of their patients. By the time Galileo turned 25, he had earned the position as Professor of Mathematics at the University of Pisa, and shortly thereafter was when his first profound discovery took place.

To challenge the great Aristotle would be blasphemous to the well-educated and other scholars, but Galileo challenged the notion that heavier objects fall faster to the Earth than lighter objects. And so, in front of a large crowd at the Leaning Tower of Pisa, Galileo dropped two objects, one heavier than the other, and proved Aristotle's theory wrong.

Although Galileo did not official invent the telescope, he made a better version of an already-made Dutch telescope. Galileo's version could see distances of up to 50 miles. This instrument would serve as Galileo's main claim to fame, as his telescope enabled him to see high up into the night sky and allowed him to see far many more stars through his telescope than through the naked eye.

 

The telescope allowed Galileo to discover the Milky Way, as well as the four moons of Jupiter, which gave viewers a miniature version of the solar system we know today. More importantly, seeing the Jupiter moons revolve around the planet cemented the views of Copernicus, when he said that the sun was the center of the universe, that the Earth revolved on its axis once a day and that it revolved around the sun once a year.

 

Another of Galileo's great discoveries in astronomy was the Saturn rings. Saturn, to Galileo, was a central globe with two protruding objects on each side, which he described as a "threefold" planet. But we now know that it was his telescope that was still too primitive to provide Galileo with a limited view. Today, we know that Saturn is comprised of rings that circle the planet itself.

 

The last of Galileo's great discoveries was the rotation of the moon in relation to the Earth.

Galileo would find himself in trouble with the Catholic Church, having been charged with heresy over his theories on the Earth's motion. In fact, he was forced to repudiate his teachings and beliefs in front of his student followers or face a painful punishment.

 

Galileo was imprisoned despite his advancing age and poor health. He died in January 1643, a blind, alone and sick man--a far cry from the once powerful scholar who did so much for science.

 

 

Ball, R.S. (2000).Avoid Great Astronomers. Retrieved March 14, 2008, from the Gutenburg Project Web site: http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext00/grast11.txt.