Galileo Galilei
(Feb. 15, 1564- Jan. 8,
1642)
“The Father of
Modern
Observational
Astronomy “
Early Life
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Oldest of seven children.
His father was a musician and wool trader.
Galileo’s father wanted him to study
medicine because he said there was more
money to be made.
Sent to a Jesuit Monastery at age 11.
Decided to become a monk which upset his
father.
Went to the University of Pisa at the age of
17 to study medicine.
http://users.etown.edu/r/riegerj/m
edia/Timeline.htm
Using his pulse while watching a
lamp swing in a cathedral, Galileo
developed the Law of Pendulum
which was used to build clocks.
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Bored with college, he dropped out
and was tutored to satisfy his thirst
for mathematics.
He was later offered a teaching
position at the University and began
tutoring students and continuing his
experiments.
Galileo questioned the laws of nature
accepted from Aristotle which stated
that larger objects would fall faster
than lighter ones.
Galileo climbed to
the top of the Tower
of Pisa to do his
experiments. He lost
his teaching position
when he became too
arrogant with his
findings.
Early Spyglass
(Later renamed
the telescope)
New Telescope Discovers
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Moon is an irregular, rough body, not
smooth as previously thought.
Milky Way is composed of many stars.
Jupiter has many small satellites he
called “Sidera Medicea” after his favorite
student.
Made observations about Saturn,
sunspots, and the phases of Venus.
Sunspots Observations
(1612)
In 1613, Galileo stated the earth
traveled around the sun, which
contradicted the teachings of the
church.
On March 5, 1616, the Catholic
Church declares the writing of
Galileo banned. He retires to his
home near Florence, Italy. He
continues his writings and
observations.
1632-1633
The Pope begins to find fault
in all of Galileo’s writings
and in February, 1633,
Galileo is charged with
“vehement suspicion of
heresy” and tried. He is
placed under house arrest
until his death eight years
later.
The church finally lifted the ban
on Galileo’s writing in 1822,
accepting that the Sun, not the
earth, was the center of the
known Universe.
Finally, in 1992, three
years after Galileo’s
namesake had been
launched on its way
to Jupiter, the
Vatican formally and
publicly cleared
Galileo of any
wrongdoing.