Galileo Galilei

Image of Galileo (I made this picture (me))

Galileo is one of the great figures during the Renaissance. This was an age of discovery in mathematics, art, literature, music, and every field of science. Leading the discoveries in astronomy was Galileo Galilei, with a few others, like Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler. Galileo invented the first enhanced version of the telescope, in addition to many other incredible discoveries. However, that is not all he did. He defied a corrupt church to defend the truth. This is one of the main reasons why I chose him as my hero. Here is his story:

Galileo Galilei was born on 1564 in the town of Pisa. He loved astronomy from the very start. He lived during the Renaissance, a time of learning after an age of darkness. Galileo immediately jumped into the lead in astronomy and began making discovery after discovery. He acquired one of those newly invented spyglasses and enhanced it, making the first (and very powerful) telescope. With it came even more advances in science. But that was not all. His greatest discovery was that he was the first person to see another planet's moons. This is very important because there is a war going on during this time, a war in the science community.

During this time there were two theories on how the universe worked:  the Ptolomeic Theory, which stated everything revolved around earth, and the Copernican Theory, which stated that we revolved around the sun. The Copernican theory was relatively new and was thought of skeptically, compared to the thousand- year- old Ptolomeic Theory. But Galileo had proven Copernicus right! But this was very dangerous, because there is one more important fact about the renascence: this was the time of the Inquisition, a group that worked for the church and "helped" convert the world to Catholicism. Actually, they forced people to follow the Christian ways or be tortured and executed. Back then, the church wasn't just a church, it was an empire, an empire that even emperors had to obey. The church wanted everyone to follow the Ptolomeic Theory because it showed that we were at the center of God's creation, and they were willing to kill to keep it that way.

This is one of the main reasons I chose him as my hero: he stood up to the church and wrote a book about his discoveries. Even though later he was forced to confess that he was wrong or be killed, he later said something that went like this, "My book is already out in the world, they cannot stop it or take it back. Already, other thinkers are building on its contents. But they were wrong to say I was not religious! I knew what a gift God has given us; God has fashioned a universe filled with miraculous beauty. And instead of revealing it to us all at once, has decreed that we shall open it up to knowledge, a little at a time. All my life it is upon this work I have focused the power of my mind, my heart, and my soul. And when I am gone, there will be others who will build upon what I have done. And we must believe that with each discovery, we are climbing together higher, towards a better future."

Galileo is a model for who I want to become: a person who moves humanity towards a better future. I also want to have the courage to defend what is right, no matter the cost. Even though he faced death and worse by writing about his ideas, he still tried to defend the truth. He was thinking like a true "Renaissance Man". He took the path less traveled, challenging old ideas, improving them, and trying to discover the truth, instead of just blindly believing old ideas. He used the scientific method, used his own observation, and made his own conclusions, which were in line with that of Copernicus. I want to be just like him: moving the world ahead in science with my own ideas and my own discoveries. If someone disagrees, then I see what his point of view is, and modify my idea based on that. I hope I will someday be just as famous as the great Galileo Galilei, not just for my discoveries, but also for how I defend the truth.