Galileo died on this day

Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)
Galileo was one of the greatest astronomers in the world. He changed the way we think about the universe. Galileo was the first person to use a telescope to look at the universe. He studied the sun, the planets, and the moon.

Galileo was born in Pisa, Italy, on February 15, 1564. Did you know Galileo was born in the same year as William Shakespeare? It is also the same year in which Michelangelo died.

When Galileo was born, Italy was not called Italy. Instead, Italy was made up of independent city-states. The city-states were in regions controlled by powerful families. Pisa was located in the Tuscany region and controlled by the Medici family.

Galileo died on January 8, 1642, in Arcetri, near Florence, Italy. He was 77 years old. He is buried in the Santa Croce cemetery in Florence.

Galileo's observations of the planet Jupiter were very important. To honor his contributions, the four moons of Jupiter which Galileo discovered are called the Galilean Moons. These are Jupiter's largest moons.

There is also a spacecraft named after Galileo. It was launched on October 18, 1989, to orbit Jupiter. It went into orbit around Jupiter in 1995.

Galileo proved the earth revolved around the sun.

He was a great astronomer and scientist. Galileo spent the last years of his life under house arrest on orders of the Inquisition. Today he is considered a pioneer in the science of astronomy.