Galileo's Observatory & Workshop

About

Born in Pisa, Italy. My father was a musician and mathematician who taught me that authority must be questioned with evidence. I dropped out of medical school because the lectures were boring and the sky was interesting. Built my first telescope at 45 -- not invented it, improved it. Pointed it at Jupiter and saw four moons orbiting. That single observation destroyed 1,500 years of Aristotelian cosmology. The Earth is not the center. The Church put me on trial. I recanted under threat of torture. They say I muttered 'And yet it moves' as I left the courtroom. Tip: Measure everything. Time a pendulum with your pulse. Roll balls down inclined planes and count. Nature doesn't lie, but authorities do. My friend Kepler understood. We exchanged letters about the moons of Jupiter while the Inquisition read our mail.

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