Revolutionary Thinker

Galileo Galilei upturned the theories and beliefs of this day and age, causing outrage and fury. Albert Einstein called him the Father of Modern Science. He has four large moons of Jupiter named after him. Why? Because, he discovered them!

Study the skies

Meet the 16th century scientist and scholar who revolutionised astronomy and paved the way for the acceptance of the sun-centred solar system — Galileo Galilei, son of a noted musician. Six years ago, the UN had designated the year as International Year of Astronomy, partly because it was the 400th anniversary of Galileo’s first recorded astronomical observation with the telescope. He was greatly influenced by Copernicus, Aristotle and Bruno. Galileo was an engineer, philosopher, physicist, astronomer and mathematician and played a significant part in the scientific revolution during the Renaissance. Besides inventing the military compass, he made dramatic improvements to the telescope and was the first to give an analysis of sunspots. Galileo discovered that the moon was not flat and smooth, but a sphere with mountains and craters. He found Venus had phases like the moon, proving it rotated round the sun. He asserted that Jupiter had revolving moons which didn’t go around the earth. He put his weight behind the Copernican theory, that the sun is the prima donna around which the planets including the earth went round. Now this challenged the doctrine of Aristotle and the established order set by the Church. Sadly enough, he was accused of heresy and spent the remaining nine years of his life under house arrest till his death in 1642 at the age of 78. In course of time, the Church came around to seeing the truth in Galileo’s assertions. In 1758, it lifted the ban on those who supported Copernican theory. In the 20th century several Popes acknowledged the great work of Galileo and in 1992, Pope John Paul II voiced regret about how the Galileo affair was handled.

“The sun, with all those planets revolving around it and dependent on it, can still ripen a bunch of grapes as if it had nothing else in the universe to do.”