Galileo Galilei lived a hundred years after Copernicus. Galileo made observations of the moon, and the planet Jupiter and its moons, which convinced him that Copernicus was right. He then started to adamantly write and teach that the sun, not Earth, was at the center of all things. That seemed to make us less important, and since it disagreed with the teachings of the Catholic Church, Galileo was arrested. The Church declared him a heretic and forced him to renounce his views. He was sentenced to lifelong imprisonment, which in reality amounted to a more mild house arrest. However, he had to spend the rest of his life being watched over by officers from the Inquisition. It took another hundred years of careful research and determination on the part of scientists around the world for Copernicus’ theory to enjoy universal acceptance. And it was not until 1992, 350 years after Galileo’s death, that the Roman Catholic Church admitted that errors had been made by the theological advisers in Galileo’s case, and repealed the ruling of the Inquisition against Galileo. He gave a pardon to Galileo, and admitted that the heliocentric theory was correct!
Galileo also improved the telescope, invented the thermometer, the hydro-static balance and the swinging pendulum in clocks.
Theory
What theory of Copernicus did Galileo further?
