Astro2110 – The Solar System

For this research assignment, my chosen astronomer is Galileo Galilei!

First and foremost, it’s important to note that Galileo Galilei was born on February 15th of 1564 and died on January 8th of 1642. He lived until he was 77.

In order to gain a better understanding of Galileo’s life and timeline, I’ll highlight two significant events that happened during his lifetime. The first event, the Roman Inquisition, was a Roman Catholic Church-based justice system designed to prosecute individuals who held beliefs contrary to the existing religious doctrine. Galileo (and Copernicus) both experienced the Inquisition firsthand, as they were prosecuted for believing in the Copernican heliocentric system (which didn’t align with the Church’s theories about the Earth and the Universe). The second event, the famous Tower of Pisa Experiment, was Galileo’s attempt to dispel Aristotle’s theory on gravity (how objects fall at a rate proportional to their mass). To disprove Aristotle, Galileo took two spheres of different masses and dropped them off the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. The conclusion of the experiment was that the objects do not fall proportional to their mass but rather at the same rate (due to air resistance). Even though historians consider this a thought experiment, it was nonetheless significant in Galileo’s history.

Additionally, I chose Pope Urban VIII (Maffeo Barberini) as my second historical figure, as he is indirectly relevant to Galileo’s life and success. He was born on April 5th of 1568 and died July 29th of 1644. He also served as the Pope during Galileo and Copernicus’ lifetimes. Even though he was regarded as moderately successful (as he was able to admire scientists and mathematicians without really worrying about the religious ramifications), he ended up developing a broken relationship with Galileo, leading to Galileo’s house arrest and death (towards the end of his life). They were originally colleagues (the Pope admired Galileo’s work and gave Galileo permission to write on his findings) — however, after they had a falling out (about a book), the Pope never forgave Galileo.

As a reflection, I personally found researching important figures related to historical astronomy to be really interesting and profound! It’s always crazy to me how tons of scientists from the past knew each other and worked in the same circles – this research assignment showed me that astronomers were no different (especially Galileo, Brahe, and Copernicus). Additionally, it gave me perspective into how astronomy started – it was really cool to see how these complex ideas we think about today all began as a result of some simple experiment or not-so-complex theory.

Galileo Galilei

Birth: 15 February 1564

Death: 8 January 1642

Galileo Galilei was an Italian astronomer, mathematician, philosopher, and physicist. Galileo’s work supported the Copernican theory that the Sun was the center of the solar system, not the Earth. He was also heavily involved with telescopes; he built his own and saw that Venus also had phases like the moon, proving that the Earth was not the center of the universe. Later, he discovered that Jupiter had moons that didn’t revolve around Earth. Through his work, Galilei was convicted of heresy and sentenced to house arrest for his remaining years.

Historical Events:

In 1585, the Roanoke colony was founded. This was the first attempt at a permanent English settlement on the North American continent.

In 1598, the Edict of Nantes was signed. This treaty ended the French Wars of Religion And provided substantial rights to Protestants.

Historical Figures:

Rene Descartes (1596-1650) → He was been dubbed the father of modern philosophy because of his work in creating an original system of methodological doubt. He is best known for his quote: “I think, therefore I am.”

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) → Shakespeare was an English playwright, actor, and poet. He is best known for his poems and his 37 plays which include Romeo and Juliet and other famous plays like Macbeth.

Reaction: These characters during this time period (Shakespeare and Descartes) helped create novel fields. Yet, even though Shakespeare and Descartes were leaders and founders in their respective fields, in retrospect, they may have been the very best at advancing their respective fields. Shakespeare’s plays are still read in every English class (and Hamilton I doubt will ever come close to rivaling any of his plays), and Descartes is taught in every introductory philosophy class. Their work is universal even though we do not live in the 16th century anymore. When I see those two individuals and people like Galilei, I gain profound respect for their hard work and natural skill. Sometimes we view historical periods as lagging in development, but I think that these individuals have proven that their time period was important as well.

Galileo Galilei (February 15, 1564 – January 8, 1642) made great strides with astronomy with his telescope. He showed that many of the heavenly bodies were not perfect as many had thought them to be. He saw that the moon had craters and valleys in it and that the sun had little imperfections in it as well. His view of Venus’s phases, similar to the Moon phases, was great evidence that the solar system followed a heliocentric model. 

On April 13, 1598, the Edict of Nantes was signed, ending the French Wars of Religion between the Roman Catholics and Huguenots that had lasted for 36 years. 

On September 6, 1566, Suleyman the Magnificent, leader of the Ottoman Empire for 46 years, died at the Battle of Szigetvár. Despite his death, the Ottoman Empire remained strong.

Sir Francis Drake was born in 1540 and died on January 28, 1596. He was an English sailor known for fighting against the Spanish Armada for England.

It was interesting to see that although we may be focused on the evolution of astronomy, during this same time period, many other important events are happening too. These events in their own right have also shaped and defined why the modern world is the way it is now. With the complexity of the history of the world, its eye-opening to see how so many events have occurred for the world to become the way it is now.