Two Articles on Galileo
Galileo’s Sunspots
Galileo didn’t invent the telescope,
but he was one of the first people to
use it. When he heard about the
telescope, he decided to make his
own. And using his own telescope, he
discovered things that shocked most
scholars in Europe.
What did he discover? Galileo
discovered the moons of Jupiter,
mountains on the moon, and sunspots.
(Actually, the Chinese had discovered
sunspots much earlier, but Galileo
was the first European to discover
them).
At the time he made his discoveries,
scholar believed that the earth and
the heavens were very different
things. The scholars thought that the
heavens were a perfect and
unchanging place, but the earth was a
dirty and always changing place.
(‘The heavens’ mean the stars, the
planets and space).
These discoveries were shocking
because they showed that the
heavens were a lot like earth. The
earth had mountains and so did the
moon. The earth had a moon and so
did Jupiter. And the sun was not
unchanging, but actually had spots
that came and went.
The Trial of Galileo
When people think of the debate
between religion and science, many
people think of the trial of Galileo.
Galileo was a scientist in the 17th
century who wrote a book about
astronomy. Astronomy is the study
of the stars, the planets, and space.
In his book, he defended
Copernicus’s theories that the earth
revolved around the sun. At the time,
most scholars thought that the earth
was the center of the universe. But
Galileo agreed with Copernicus that
the earth revolved around the sun.
In 1633, Pope Urban VIII read
Galileo’s book and he didn’t like it.
Galileo was arrested. Galileo was
forced to say that what he wrote
was not true. As a punishment, he
was never allowed to leave his house
again.
Galileo’s book was banned by the
church after that. The ban lasted
for about two hundred years. The
ban was finally lifted in 1835.
Two Articles on Galileo
Galileo’s Sunspots
The Trial of Galileo
What is the title of this article?
When did Galileo live?
Did Galileo invent the telescope?
What did Galileo write a book about?
What did Galileo discover with the
telescope?
(1)
What is Astronomy?
(2)
(3)
How did scholars feel about his
discoveries?
Who discovered sunspots before
Galileo?
What does ‘the heavens’ mean?
What did scholars believe the
heavens were like?
What did they believe the earth
was like?
Why were Galileo’s discoveries
important?
www.bogglesworldesl.com
At that time, what did scholars
think?
Who did Galileo agree with?
Who didn’t like Galileo’s book?
When was Galileo arrested?
What was Galileo forced to do?
What was his punishment?
What happened to his book?
How long did the ban last?
When was the ban lifted?