Galileo Galilei

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A.N. Wynstelle G.F.

Grade 5
Who is Galileo Galilei?
 Galileo Galilei is an Italian astronomer, philosopher, and
physicist Italian who has a major role in the scientific
revolution. He is called the “father of observational
astronomy”, “the father of modern physics”, “the father
of the scientific method”, and “the father of science”.
About Galileo
 Galileo was born in Pisa, 15 February 1564 as the first child of Vincenzo
Galilei. He has been educated since childhood. Then he studied at the
University of Pisa but stopped due to financial problems. Fortunately, he was
offered a position there in 1589 to teach mathematics. After that, he moved to
the University of Padua to teach geometry, mechanics, and astronomy until
1610. At that time, he had studied science and made various discoveries.
 His Astronomy Side
 In 1612, Galileo went to Rome and joined the Accademia dei Lincei to observe
sunspots. That same year, there was a rejection of the teory of Nicolaus Copernicus, the
teory supported by Galileo.
 In 1614, from Santa Maria Novella, Tommaso Caccini condemned Galileo’s opinion on
the movement of the earth, suggesting that the teory was heretical and dangerous.
Galileo himself went to Rome to defend himself.
 Contrary to what some believe, Galileo did not invent the telescope, but he has
perfected it. He was the first to use it to observe the sky.
 Galileo discovered three natural moons of Jupiter on January 7, 1610. Four nights later, he
discovered Ganimede. He also found that the moons appeared and disappeared, a symptom he
thought was due to the motion of these objects toward Jupiter, so he concluded that the four
objects orbited the planet.
 Galileo was one of the first Europeans to observe sunspots. In addition, Galileo was also the
first to report the existence of mountains and valleys on the moon, a conclusion drawn from
the shadow patterns on the surface. He then concluded that “the moon is rough and uneven,
like the surface of earth itself”, unlike Aristotle’s assumption that the moon is a perfect sphere.
 Galileo also observed the planet Neptune in 1612 but he was not aware of it as a planet. In his
notebooks, Neptune was recorded as just a faint star.
His discoveries :
 Craters and mountains on the moon
 The phases of venus
 Jupiter’s moon
 The stars of the Milky Way
 Saturn’s ring
 The first pendulum clock