Galileo and the Birth of Modern Science: A Telescope's Revolution
Four hundred years ago, Galileo's telescopic observations shook the scientific world. His discovery of Jupiter's moons sparked controversy, with some scholars refusing to believe and others unable to verify. Only Kepler supported him, lacking a suitable telescope at the time. It wasn't until other astronomers independently confirmed his findings that Galileo's discoveries gained widespread acceptance. This period marked the birth of modern science, emphasizing the establishment of facts through experiments and observations rather than relying on textual interpretations. Galileo linked science to exploration, ushering in a new era of fact-based science, though he later faced religious persecution for supporting the Copernican heliocentric model. Today, we take the objectivity and authority of science for granted, a legacy of the era of discovery initiated by Galileo.