Galileo telescope
Galileo in the presence of the court during the trial
Galileo built his first telescope in 1609. But most historians believe that the first optical telescope was made by a Dutch scientist. Although Galileo had heard about the invention of this Dutch scientist, he built a telescope himself.
Galileo's telescope magnified objects up to 33 times and was only able to focus for a small range. He was able to look at the moon with his own eyes and carefully examine the mountains and hills of the moon. He also observed the Milky Way and realized that there are so many stars that it is almost unbelievable.
Galileo telescope
In 1632, Galileo published his findings in a book called "Dialogue about the two great systems of the world". Galileo's observations supported Copernicus' theories about the universe. At that time, some scientists supported Galileo's ideas and others ridiculed his activities.
Interestingly, the Catholic Church rejected his work. But he insisted on supporting his theory that the planets revolve around the sun in the solar system. Church authorities had previously "put Copernicus's works on the list of forbidden books and also brought Galileo to court by sending a summons. After a long trial, Galileo was practically forced to publicly renounce his beliefs - such as the rotation of the earth around the sun - stop.
Although Galileo admitted in court that the sun revolved around the earth, he never believed in it inwardly. The court sentenced Galileo to prison for some time, and later he was forced to stay permanently at his home in Florence, Italy. He He died in the same house in 1642.
February 15, 2022