Portrait of Galileo Galilei
Ottavio Leoni, Reunion des Musees Nationaux

Galileo Galilei

Galileo Galilei was an Italian astronomer and physicist who lived between 1564-1642. He was the first person to use a telescope to look at the heavens, and discovered craters in the moon.

Galileo found craters on the moon, and sunspots on the sun. This showed that the heavens weren't perfect, as Aristotle had said. This offended the Roman Catholic Church, and Galileo spent the later years of his life under house arrest.


You might also be interested in:

Ready, Set, SCIENCE!: Putting Research to Work in K-8 Science Classrooms

What types of instructional experiences help K-8 students learn science with understanding? What do science educators teachers, teacher leaders, science specialists, professional development staff, curriculum designers, school administrators need to know to create and support such experiences?...more

The Earth's Moon

The Earth may only have one Moon, but it's a big one! The Earth's Moon is the fifth largest in the whole solar system. But it is still smaller than the Earth, so objects weigh less on the Moon than they...more

Aristotle

Aristotle was a Greek philosopher who lived between 384-322 B.C. He was one of the greatest thinkers of the world and wrote on every major area of thought. Aristotle thought that the Earth was at the...more

Motions of the Planets

For many years, people believed that the Earth was the center of the universe, that the Earth didn't move and that the planets, Sun, moon, and the stars moved on spheres around the Earth. Astronomers such...more

Tycho Brahe

Tycho Brahe was a Danish astronomer who lived between 1546-1601. For over twenty years he made observations of stars, comets, and planets in the night sky. Tycho also built the first observatory but did...more

Nicholas Copernicus

Nicholas Copernicus was a Polish asrtonomer who lived between 1473-1543. A long time ago, people believed that the Earth was the center of the universe. Copernicus changed this belief when he introduced...more

Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci was an Italian artist and scientist who lived between 1452-1519. While he is best known as a painter, Leonardo mostly worked for the military. He made sketches of tanks, airplanes, and...more

Galileo Galilei

Galileo Galilei was an Italian astronomer and physicist who lived between 1564-1642. He was the first person to use a telescope to look at the heavens, and discovered craters in the moon. Galileo found...more

Windows to the Universe, a project of the National Earth Science Teachers Association, is sponsored in part is sponsored in part through grants from federal agencies (NASA and NOAA), and partnerships with affiliated organizations, including the American Geophysical Union, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Earth System Information Partnership, the American Meteorological Society, the National Center for Science Education, and TERC. The American Geophysical Union and the American Geosciences Institute are Windows to the Universe Founding Partners. NESTA welcomes new Institutional Affiliates in support of our ongoing programs, as well as collaborations on new projects. Contact NESTA for more information. NASA ESIP NCSE HHMI AGU AGI AMS NOAA