one of my astronomical heroes, Galileo Galilei, who was born on this date in 1564 in Pisa, Italy. Galileo is best known for his use of the telescope in observational astronomy: he studied and sketched sunspots, discovered four moons of Jupiter and the rings of Saturn. He was also an an advocate of the Copernican system, that is, the Earth revolves around the Sun and not vice versa, in direct contradiction to church dogma at the time. Gasp! Heresy!
I still haven't forgiven the Catholic church for subjecting him to the inquisition for his heliocentric views and keeping him under house arrest until his death in 1642.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
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