Galileo Galilei

From genius to heretic and back again. The son of a famous musician and music theorist, Galileo Galileiwas born near Pisa, Italy. He was educated by monks at Vallombrosa, then entered the university of Pisa in 1581 to study medicine. There, he found his interests changing to philosophy and mathematics and he ended his university career in 1585 without a degree. Learn much more.

Galileo once said, "You cannot teach a man anything; you can only help him find it within himself."

• In March, we continue to celebrate the contributions of women throughout history with Women's History Month. Here at About Astronomy and Space, we salute the many women who have been an integral part of the history of astronomy and space exploration. Today, we highlight Christa McAuliffe, teacher and hero who lost her life aboard the space shuttle Challenger.
  
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• Forum Post of the Day:
  
  Subject: Why was Galileo convicted?
  "Greetings! I homeschool my two young boys (ages 8and 9) and we are starting a unit on the history of space exploration. We read a wonderful book about Galileo and read more on him in an encyclopedia. We realized we needed to learn about Copernicus who influenced his thinking. We are very surprised that Copernicus was not tried for heresy as Galileo was. After all, it was Copernicus who started the idea of the earth not being the center of the universe. He is a bit earlier than Galileo so, it seems reasonable to assume that his idea would have been very radical. Our question is this, why was Galileo tried for heresy for claiming the same "new" idea that Copernicus had 50 years earlier. Did Copernicus face any repercussions for his beliefs? Thanks to anyone who can give us some insight."
  Jcrisafio
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