Galileo (1564-1642)
The telescope was invented in 1609. He improved it and was able to see mountains and valleys on the surface of the moon, sunspots, the four largest moons of the planet Jupiter and the phases of the planet Venus.
But in 1614, Galileo was accused of heresy for believing that the sun was at the centre of the solar system. The Church forbid him to teach about his theory. He was later sentenced to life imprisonment. He was also forced to publicly withdraw his support for Copernican theory. |