

Galileo used his telescope to study the sky and in 1610 he discovered the four moons that orbit Jupiter (individually called Io, Callisto, Europa and Ganymede, but more collectively now known as the Galilean Moons). In his lifetime he managed to improve the magnification of his telescope from 3x to 30x. In 1609, Galileo developed the idea for a more powerful telescope after a Dutchman invented a low magnification telescope. He also suggested that if something is moving along a flat surface, it will move at a constant speed unless something interferes with it – this went on to become Newton’s First Law of Motion. He also noticed that when things fall they accelerate in a constant way – he came up with the idea that the distance something falls is proportional to the time it falls for, squared. He suggested that all things fall to the ground at the same speed, even with different masses. Galileo developed many mathematical theories about motion and mechanics.


He was also interested in the way in which pendulums worked. He was fascinated by geometry and after his studies taught mathematics at both the University of Pisa and the University of Padau.ĭuring his time teaching, Galileo carried out lots of experiments exploring mechanics and the speed with which things fall. He began studying medicine in 1581 at the University of Pisa, before swapping to mathematics. Galileo's tomb in Santa Croce, Florenceīorn in 1564, in Pisa, Italy, Galileo Galilei went to school at the Camaldolese Monastery.This ultimately led him to his work on a pendulum clock. As a young man, Galileo was fascinated by the pendulum movement of a chandelier he was watching.Effectively Galileo developed what we now know as ‘the scientific method’ of experimentation. Galileo’s approach to science was unusual at the time – scientists didn’t generally carry out experiments to test out their theories.His two daughters became nuns and Galileo used to fix things at the convent where they lived. Although Galileo never married he did have three children with a woman called Marina Gambia – two daughters and a son.This particular theory of Galileo’s was in fact wrong. Galileo thought that the tides on the Earth were caused by the rotation of the Earth rather than anything to do with the moon (as had been suggested by Kepler).He became interested in mathematics after accidentally attending a lecture on geometry. While studying medicine Galileo decided to become a monk, but soon left the monastery he had joined in order to study mathematics.Galileo discovered that our moon has mountains and craters.Galileo’s first job was as an art teacher.Galileo was the first person to spot the four moons of Jupiter – they are known as the Galilean moons.It wasn’t until 1992 that the Catholic Church officially cleared Galileo of wrong-doing for his scientific opinions.Galileo was sent to prison for his scientific belief that the sun was at the centre of the solar system.Galileo was the first person to officially study the night sky with a telescope.There is a very famous play called ‘Life of Galileo’ by the German playwright Bertolt Brecht.Galileo played the lute to a very high standard – his dad taught him!.Galileo’s dad, Vincenzo, was a famous musician and composer.Galileo originally began studying medicine, but switched to mathematics.Galilei was also interested in mechanics and motion and carried out many successful experiments to investigate his ideas. He developed the telescope to enable close observation of the night sky and was famously imprisoned for his (correct) theory that the sun was at the centre of the universe. Scientist Galileo Galilei was born in 1564 and became famous for his work on mathematics and astronomy.
