• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Zippy Facts Logo

Zippy Facts

Interesting Random Facts

  • Animals
  • Culture
  • Firsts
  • Food
  • Geography
  • Health
  • History
  • Inventions
  • Language
  • Mythology
  • Odds
  • People
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Space
  • Universe
  • World
You are here: Home / Space / Who Was Galileo Galilei and Why Is the Italian Astronomer the Father of Modern Observational Astronomy?

Who Was Galileo Galilei and Why Is the Italian Astronomer the Father of Modern Observational Astronomy?

April 6, 2020 by Karen Hill

Galileo Galilei seemed to be larger than life.

Born in Pisa, Italy, in 1564, at the culmination of the Renaissance, Galileo was not just the first person to focus a telescope on the stars; he also turned the view of the world upside down.

Galileo was a master of astronomy, mathematics, physics, philosophy, and publicity. His image, and probably the reality, was that of a temperamental genius: brilliant and witty, but also caustic and nasty.

Prominent people sought his company, until he took up the unpopular and dangerous task of defending Copernicus’s sun-centered view of the solar system in his published works.

We accept as fact that the Sun is the center of the solar system. Imagine, however, knowing just as surely that Earth is the center. We might have said: “Everyone knows that the Sun revolves around the Earth. Only a few crazy scientists think otherwise.”

In 1543, Nicolaus Copernicus had published his treatise proposing that all the planets, including Earth, revolved around the Sun.

This breakthrough was welcomed by a few, but only in private, because the most powerful government in Europe at that time, the Roman Catholic Church, had a vested interest in the status quo. Its whole system of beliefs, and its authority, rested on Earth being central to the universe.

Galileo’s public support of the Copernican worldview upset the church. Its leaders had dealt with other heretics by ignoring them or burning them at the stake. But the church could not ignore Galileo.

In 1634, Galileo was brought before the church courts and told to recant his heretical beliefs about the solar system.

Faced with the alternative, torture and death, Galileo finally gave in. According to legend, as he left the courtroom, Galileo claimed, under his breath, that regardless of what he was forced to say, Earth still moved around the Sun.

Galileo was under house arrest for the remainder of his life, until 1642.

The church officially accepted the Copernican model of the solar system 350 years later, in 1992.

Related Facts

  • Who Was Galileo Galilei and Why Is Galileo Known As the Father of Modern Observational Astronomy?
  • What Astronomical Discoveries By Galileo Galilei Almost Got Him Burned At the Stake In 1633?
  • Who Discovered that other planets in the Solar System besides Earth have Moons and When?
  • When Did Polish Astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus Propose That the Earth Rotated Around the Sun and Why?
  • What Were Galileo’s Other Contributions To Science Besides His Work In Astronomy?
  • The Best 20 Inventions Ever Invented

Filed Under: Space

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « When Did Polish Astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus Propose That the Earth Rotated Around the Sun and Why?
Next Post: How Do Astronomers Measure Really Big Distances and Why Were Astronomical Units Invented To Express Distance? »

Footer

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • GitHub
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Medium
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

Accomplishments Animals Culture Firsts Food Geography Health History Inventions Language Mythology Odds People Religion Science Space Universe World Your Body

About

Zippy Facts empowers the world by serving educational content that is accessible to everyone.

A tribute to growing up, zippyfacts.com showcases interesting and unusual facts about the world.

Our mission is to use technology to facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing.

Copyright © 2020 Zippy Facts

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy