Galileo 's Observation Of Astronomy

During most of the 16th and 17th centuries, it was not easy for scientists to make new discoveries and present them to the world. The Catholic Church, a dominating force during that period, persecuted anyone who would spread ideas and opinions that contradicted what the Bible stated. Both Copernicus and Galileo believed in the heliocentric theory, also called Copernicus theory, which stated that the sun was at the centre of the universe and the earth revolves around it. However, the Catholic Church did not agree with this idea because the Bible stated that the earth was at the centre of the universe and the sun revolved around it, which is the complete opposite. Due to this disagreement, Copernicus and Galileo were threaded by the Catholic Church and

Galileo has been credited with the confirmation of the phases of Venus, the discovery of the four largest satellites of Jupiter, and the observation and analysis of sunspots. He also worked in mathematics and with technology, helping to improve the military compass. Galileo was a renaissance man.

the heliocentric solar system. Johannes Kepler further modified the heliocentric system, by mathematically showing that the planets’ orbits are elliptical. With his invention of the telescope, Galileo made new observations about the solar system and found mathematical laws that described the movement of the planets. Later, Isaac Newton established a universal law of gravity. With the new scientific discoveries, the gap between religion and science increased. Science revolutionized the human though and its understanding of the universe.

For most people of the modern age, a clear distinction exists between the truth as professed by religious belief, and the truth as professed by scientific observation. While there are many people who are able to hold scientific as well as religious views, they tend to hold one or the other as being supreme. Therefore, a religious person may ascribe themselves to certain scientific theories, but they will always fall back on their religious teachings when they seek the ultimate truth, and vice versa for a person with a strong trust in the sciences. For most of the early history of humans, religion and science mingled freely with one another, and at times even lent evidence to support each other as being true. However, this all changed

Galileo created a telescope and turned it to the sky. As a result of his observations, our solar system was seen in a way that had never been imaginable before. He discovered that the Earth was not at the center of the solar system, but instead the earth revolved around the sun. Prior to this discovery, the church adopted the idea that the Earth was at the center of the solar system and everything revolved around it. This discovery altered our view of science and the church in large and small

Galileo fought on the controversial findings of Copernicus while also furthering his research. The source also brings up Galileo’s background in mathematics and how it helped him prove his theories. Of course, there is a detailed part that highlights the arguments against him and the church. The article separates Galileo’s discoveries into phases. From discovering the moon was round to discovering Venus revolved around the sun.

Galileo Galilei was also a supporter of the Copernican Theory. Galileo believed the earth, and other planets, rotated on its axis around the unmoving sun. He used his new invention of the telescope to prove Copernicus’ theory. With the telescope, Galileo found sunspots on the earth’s moon, which gave proof to him that the heavens were not perfect and changeless but were more like the changeable earth. iv He also discovered Jupiter and the four moons that revolved around it. He only discovered one moon revolving around the earth. Galileo therefore stated if Jupiter were to revolve around the earth, then the earth would have to have at least four moons, and it doesn’t. v The Church objected Galileo’s theory because the Bible said the sun moved through the sky. Being totally rejected by the church, Galileo was forced to take back what he had written and was also prevented from any further teachings of his theory. Galileo was condemned by the Catholic Church for his ideas. The Church succeeded in silencing Galileo but couldn’t stop the advancements in science.

Galileo’s ambition pushed him to go further, and in the fall of 1609 he made the fateful decision to turn his telescope toward the heavens. Using his telescope to explore the universe, Galileo observed the moon and found Venus had phases like the moon, proving it rotated around the sun, which refuted the Aristotelian doctrine that the Earth was the center of the universe. He also discovered Jupiter had revolving moons that didn’t revolve around planet Earth. In 1613, he published his observations of sunspots, which also refuted Aristotelian doctrine that the sun was perfect.

Slowly scientists, physicists and astronomers realised that our solar system did not revolve around earth and that all planets orbited the sun. It had great impact on the ways that physicists thought about our solar system and the universe. By Galilei’s great observation modern scientists can now study our solar system with the correct picture in mind (planets orbiting the sun and moons orbiting the planets) and they can draw conclusions about the future of our solar system and

Many people in the past believed in traditional teachings. One of the examples is religions. In the past, people’s belief was taught from generations to generations. Many looked in the past for examples to create something new. Many thought that the traditional teachings they were taught were always right. For example, “The physical elements, according to Aristotle moved vertically, depending on their ‘heaviness’ or ‘gravity’; the celestial bodies were not physical but a ‘fifth element’ or ‘quintessence’ whose nature was to move in perfect circles around the earth, making a daily rotation.” This observation was not right. “The earth was not the true center of the orbits and the motion was not uniform.” Although people believed in traditional

Galileo Galilei, best known for his advances in astronomy (specifically, his improvements of the telescope), has also invented and improved many other commonly known items, such as the pendulum clock and the thermometer.

In his letter written in 1597 to Johannes Kepler, he states, “I accepted the view of Copernicus many years ago. And from this standpoint I have discovered many natural phenomena, which cannot be explained on the basis of the more commonly accepted hypothesis [that the Earth is the center of the Universe]”(9). In other words, Galileo also accepted the idea of the heliocentric view of the universe and that it is a better model of the universe that can explain phenomenon that could not necessarily be explained with the geocentric view. With his invention of a more powerful telescope, observation of a supernova, and discovery of the four moons of Jupiter, Galileo further supported and extended Copernicus’ theory of the heliocentric view of the

    Astronomy, the field pertaining to the study of space and the objects that exist within it, is a constantly developing science. Beginning in ancient times, humans would rely on astronomy to observe the positions of the moon and stars in order to measure time and direction ("Astronomy", sec. 1). Up until the mid-16th century, the widespread belief among Europeans was that the stars and other celestial bodies orbit the Earth, a theory established by the astronomer Ptolemy (Furlong 80). With the limited technology available at their time, Ptolemy’s geocentric theory was left largely untested, at least until the dawn of the Scientific Revolution. During the Scientific Revolution, a period of several hundred years where science developed to greater resemble our modern practices rather than the more religious and philosophical mindset of the time prior, notable scientists such as Galileo, Copernicus, and Newton made major discoveries in fields such as astronomy. This revolution started with the development of Copernicus’ heliocentric theory of the structure of the solar system, which directly contradicted the accepted beliefs of the time ("Scientific Revolution"). In the beginning of the 17th century, Galileo designed and constructed an improved telescope, which he used to make significant astronomical discoveries that

for people to accept. But when the actual facts are looked at it is very easy

Galileo’s observational discoveries in astronomy allowed for the basis to begin discrediting the old ideas in favor of a new understanding of the universe. The longstanding way of thought in astronomy favored a spherically rotating universe around the Earth with unchanging and perfectly symmetrical constellations and planets. The contemporaries of Galileo believed, for example, that the moon had the face of a shiny, polished sphere, whereas Galileo showed that the surface of the moon to be imperfect with rough mountainous areas along with deep valleys (or “seas” as he called them) marked with dark sports (Frova 162). This surface very much paralleled the rough surface of the Earth (meaning that Earth’s surface was not unique). Also with his improved telescope, Galileo was capable of viewing the stars with much more clarity. Galileo discovered newly formed stars and star clusters, which challenged the Aristotelian philosophy of an ageless universe. Additionally, Galileo observed four of Jupiter’s largest moons orbiting around the planet (Frova 179). His observations of Jupiter’s satellites did not agree with the idea that all heavenly bodies must rotate around a central Earth. Finally, and arguably most important, Galileo showed Venus’s phases and