GALILEO AND COPERNICUS

Astronomers used

The stars to tell the future

Since the second century

People were taught that the Earth did not move and that the sun and other planets revolved around it

This theory was developed by

Greek astronomer, Ptolemy

Nicolaus Copernicus

A Polish astronomer and mathematician

Copernicus believed

The sun is at the centre of the universe and other planets revolve around it

This idea was so shocking at the time that

He kept his theories secret until his death

It was not until nearly a hundred years

That another scientist argued that Copernicus could be right

Galileo Galilei

An astronomer and physicist

He was born in

The Italian town of Pisa in 1564

He challenged many scientific theories at the time

And took pleasure in disproving them

His first big scientific success

Law of Falling Bodies (objects fall at the same speed no matter how much they weigh)

Thanks to the development of the telescope

Galileo discovered that the moon faced the sun at different angles at different times. This proved Copernicus’ theory.

He published a book called

The Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems

He was arrested

And put on trial before the Inquisition

To save his life

He was forced to withdraw his claims

He was sentenced to

House arrest until his death in 1642