1564-1642 By Damian.A

Galileo Galilei was born in 1564 in Pisa, Italy.His father, Vincenzo Galilei, was a famousmusician. Galileo died in 1642 of fever and heart disease.

Galileo was the first of 6 [though some peoplebelieve 7] children. When he was 8 years ofage his family moved to Florence but he stayedat home with a personal tutor. Galileo was educated at Camaldose Monastery at Vallombrossa.At the age of 17 years he went to study medicineat the University of Pisa but after 2 years found that he preferred to study mathematics with Ostilio Ricci.

Galileo grew up to be an astronomer and was awardedthe chair of mathematics. In 1610 he made his very owntelescope that could magnify 20x more than regulartelescopes. With his telescope he discovered the 4 moonsof Jupiter named the Galilean satellites in his honor. Hewrote about his discoveries in books and some even gotpublished. One of his most famous books was called Sidereus Nuncius [Starry Messenger]. Soon after his discovery of Jupiter’s 4 moons he discovered that heavierobjects fall faster than lighter objects. A few years laterhe discovered that all the planets in the Solar Systemorbit the Sun.

After every discovery Galileo made people gave him new nicknameslike: ‘The Father of Modern Science’ and ‘The father of science’.

Galileo was never married, though he had a brief relationship with Marina Gamba. Marina lived in Galileo’s house where she bore him three children. His two daughters, Virginia and Livia, were put in convents where they became Sister Maria Cleste and Sister Arcangela.

Galileo began studying at the University of Pisa where his father hoped he would study medicine in 1851. While he studied at the university, he began his study of the pendulum. According to legend, he watched a suspended lamp swing back and forth in the cathedral of Pisa. It was not until 1602 that Galileo made his most notable discovery. The period{ the time in which a pendulum swings back and forth} does not depend on the arc of the swing. This discovery would later lead to Galileo’s idea for a pendulum clock.

Galileo was not the first to invent the telescope but he was the first to use it systematically to observe celestial objects and record his discoveries. His book Sidereus Nuncius [Starry Messenger] was first published in 1610 and made him famous in which he wrote about his discoveries of the Moon, Jupiter and the Milky Way.

Galileo’s Telescopes

The most basic tool that Galileo ever used was a crude refracting telescope which only magnified 8x but he refined it to magnify up to 20x. He used this telescope for the discoveries he recorded for ‘ The Starry Messenger’. The telescope had a convex objective lens and a concave eyepiece in a long tube.

But the main problem with the telescopes was their narrow field of view, typically about half the width of the Moon.

Galileo’s ObservationsThe Moon: According to the Aristotelian principles, the Moon

INTERESTING FACTS

• Did you know that some people believed that Galileo was

married because he lived with a woman? • Did you know that Galileo was put under house

arrest?• Did you know that he took the prestigious chair of mathematics at the University of Padua?