Galileo Galilei was born in the Italian town of Pisa in 1564. He was very talented boy and kept himself busy making many scientific toys. He observed keenly things around him. All this paid off when he grew into an adult.
Galileo was very interested in astronomy. He spent several nights studying the skies and the heavenly objects. He was not satisfied watching the sky with his naked eyes. He wanted to see everything very clearly. His scientific mind soon came up with a solution. He invented the astronomical telescope. With the help of his invention he was able to study the sun and its sunspots. He was also the first to sight the four moons of Jupiter, the mountains and craters on the Moon and study the appearances of Venus going through its "phases", thus proving that it revolved round the sun.
The telescope widened, mans sight to great distances. Galileo was now able to make out the Universe more clearly. He understood quite clearly the validity of Copernicus theory that the sun was the centre of the solar system. Copernicus was a polish astronomer who had studied and worked in Italy.
Galileo, like Copernicus before him, defied the Christian church, which at that time believed that the earth was the centre of the solar system. His views were published in a book. His statements offended the churchmen, as they did not comply with the accepted notion of that time.
He was imprisoned for his "blasphemous" views. They told him that they would free him if he retracted his statements. They even pressurized the old Galileo. However, he refused to budge from his stand. Ironically, the man who gave the human race the ability to see into the distant space became blind in 1637. He died in 1642.
