On This Day In History: Galilei Galileo Demonstrates His First Telescope – August 25, 1609

MessageToEagle.com – On 25 August 1609, exactly 407 years ago today, the Italian astronomer and philosopher Galilei Galileo showed Venetian merchants his new invention, a telescope, an important instrument to observe the sky.

Much later, this invention made him famous but at the time of the invention brought him many troubles.

Galileo Galilei and his telescope
Galileo demonstrated one of his early telescopes, with a magnification of about 8 or 9, to Venetian lawmakers. His telescopes were also a profitable sideline for Galileo, who sold them to merchants who found them useful both at sea and as items of trade. He published his initial telescopic astronomical observations in March 1610

Galileo’s eight-powered telescope, and the more powerful models he soon produced, when pointed skywards gave the fascinating image of the night sky.

The moon was not, as long believed, completely smooth. Another planet, Jupiter, also had moons. Meanwhile, Venus showed a range of moon-like phases, something which could not happen if both it and the sun orbited the Earth.

As it was earlier predicted, Galileo’s discoveries were not best welcomed by the Catholic church, and he spent the final decade of his life under house arrest.

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