May 24, 2003

As you all know, the Earth along with the other planets in our solar system revolve round the sun. It’s nature’s system and no one can change that. But long long ago the people of this world held a strong belief that the sun and all other heavenly bodies revolved around the Earth, which was the centre of the universe. This is where our story took place. It is the story of an unfortunate man who even after knowing that he was right had to announce to the world that his discoveries were all wrong. He was ridiculed and condemned. He wished to be buried besides his father in the family tomb in the Basilica of Santa Croce after he died but even that wish was denied fulfilment in the fear that the Church may not allow such a sinner and holder of wrong beliefs to be buried within its premises. It was a sad end for so great a man to die condemned of heresy.

Three hundred and fifty years later, on October 31, 1992, in an address on behalf of the Catholic Church, Pope John Paul II admitted to the Church’s being wrong about Galileo. With that the case was finally declared closed. Yes, this is the story of the man who so rightly believed that the Earth rotates around the sun. This is the story of Galileo Galilei.

Born on February 15, 1564, in Pisa, Italy, Galileo was the eldest of Vincenzo Galilei and Guilia Ammannati’s seven children. Although his father was a musician and wool trader, he wished for his bright and talented eldest son to study medicine. But Galileo had no interest in becoming a doctor. Still, being the dutiful son, he had no choice but to respect his father’s wishes. At the age of 17, he got admission into the University of Pisa to study medicine.

A few years passed. One day, while sitting in a cathedral, Galileo noticed the swinging lamp above his head. Curious to find out how long it took the lamp to swing back and forth, he used his pulse to time the large and small swings. He discovered that the time it took for each swing was exactly the same. The law of the pendulum, which would eventually be used to regulate clocks, made Galileo instantly famous.

With the exception of mathematics, Galileo was bored by most of his courses. His frequent absences from class eventually led the university to inform his family that the boy was in danger of flunking out. A compromise was worked out, where the mathematician of the Tuscan court would tutor Galileo full-time in mathematics. Galileo’s father was hardly overjoyed about this turn of events, since a mathematician’s earnings were roughly the same as that of a musician. He had plans for his son, which weren’t exactly working out. Still he hoped that this would at least help Galileo to successfully complete his college education. Alas, that too was not to happen. Galileo dropped out of University of Pisa without a degree.

To earn his living, Galileo started tutoring students in mathematics. Simultaneously he started campaigning for his life’s ambition: a position on the mathematics faculty at a major university. Galileo would regularly correspond with known mathematicians of his time and debate on a variety of theories. In 1588, he received a prestigious invitation to lecture on the dimensions and location of hell in Dante’s Inferno at the Academy of Florence. The Academy of Florence had been arguing over this 100-year-old controversy. The lecture Galileo gave turned his fortunes. That very year Galileo was offered a three-year teaching contract by the University of Pisa, the very same university that never granted him a degree.

It was during this time that Galileo started his argument against Aristotle’s view of astronomy and natural philosophy. According to Aristotle’s laws of nature, heavier objects fell faster than lighter objects. Aristotle’s word had since long been accepted as the gospel truth but Galileo was bent on proving him wrong. He climbed the top of the Tower of Pisa carrying a variety of balls of varying size and weight, and dumped them off the top. All landed at the base of the building at the same time. Hence Aristotle was proven wrong. A huge crowd of students and professors witnessed this demonstration.

In 1591 Vincenzo Galilei, Galileo’s father, died and since Galileo was the eldest son he had to provide financial support for the rest of the family. Being professor of mathematics at Pisa he was not well paid, so Galileo looked for a more lucrative post. He found what he was looking for at the University of Padua (the university of the Republic of Venice). His salary here was three times what it had been at Pisa. Thus began the eighteen happiest years of his life.

At Padua, Galileo began a long-term relationship with Maria Gamba. They had three children — two girls and a boy.

In 1609, Galileo heard rumours that a Dutch spectacle-maker had invented a device that made distant objects seem near at hand. Such an instrument would prove very valuable. Galileo decided to construct his own spyglass. After a frantic 24 hours of experimentation, working only on instinct and bits of rumours, never having actually seen the Dutch spyglass, he built a 3-power telescope. After some refinement, he even made a 10-power one, which he demonstrated to a highly impressed Senate. His salary was promptly raised, and he was honoured with proclamations.

One night, Galileo focused his telescope on an object in the sky that everyone knew as a perfect, smooth, polished heavenly body — the moon. He was surprised to find the moon’s surface as uneven, rough and full of cavities. When he made his findings public, he was met with much opposition.

On January 7, 1610, equipped with his newest 30-power telescope, Galileo turned towards Jupiter, and found three small, bright stars near the planet. One was off to the west, the other two were to the east, all three in a straight line. The next evening when he took a look at Jupiter again, he noticed that all the three stars were now west of the planet and still in a straight line. Galileo realized that the small stars were in fact small satellites rotating the planet. Suddenly he was forced into wondering about his own planet, Earth. Could it be possible that Earth was not the centre of the universe?

Galileo published his findings in the form of a book titled The Starry Messenger. The discovery led to tremendous public acclaim and excitement. But one thing Galileo had not yet anticipated: his claim that the Earth was not the centre of the universe contradicted the teachings of the Church. In December 1613, a powerful member of the nobility quoted a passage from the Bible where God causes the sun to stand still and lengthen the day. How could this mean anything other than that the sun went around the Earth? To this Galileo reacted by explaining that the interpreters of the Bible could be at fault.

This was probably Galileo’s biggest mistake. At that time, only Church priests were allowed to interpret the Bible, or to define God’s intentions. It was absolutely unthinkable for a mere member of the public to point accusations at them. This was a very serious matter. The Church cautioned Galileo to refrain from saying such things. But how do you stop someone who knows that his discoveries are correct and who wants others to know the truth? He wrote more books on his findings, which may have been big hits with the public but not with the Church. After ordering his books banned, the pope ordered the scientist to appear before the Inquisition in Rome for the crime of teaching wrong theories.

By this time Galileo was 68 years old and a sick man. Threatened with torture, he publicly confessed that he had been wrong all along. It is said that after his confession, Galileo quietly turned his face to one side to whisper, “But I know that I am right!”

Galileo Galilei died on the evening of January 8, 1642. The Roman ecclesiastic authorities vetoed a public funeral that he really deserved.

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