Advertisement

400 years of gazing at Heavens

There was one who dared to gaze at the Heavens rather than bow with fear and reverence.

Shivangi Singh
There was one who dared to gaze at the Heavens rather than bow with fear and reverence. The sky and the Earth did not meet in the days of Galileo, the great Italian Renaissance man. Up there was a starry, magical world of gods and goddesses, who ruled the life of ordinary mortals on this planet. Earth was considered to be the centre of the universe. The gods were feared, trusted and worshipped. But Galileo doubted this; there were too many contradictions. While working as a Mathematics professor at the University of Padua, Galileo set on a lone journey to unravel the secret of the Universe. He aspired to create an optical instrument based on spyglasses developed by Dutch spectacle makers. It is said that the Venetian Senate was about to purchase those popular gadgets when Galileo stepped in with his own version of the revolutionary stargazing tool – the telescope. Galileo’s telescope, invented in 1609, was made of wood and leather and had a convex main lens with a concave eyepiece like the original, Dutch-made telescopes, but his version had the viewing power to eight-time magnification. With his newly acquired ‘eyes’, Galileo discovered the four satellites of Jupiter, which removed "major doubt about the heliocentric model - namely that the Earth appeared at the centre of things because only it had a satellite," as Physics world puts it. The Starry Messenger In 1610, Galileo published the first telescopic ‘observing reports’ (Sidereus Nuncius – The Starry Messenger) describing the beauty of the night sky. And in that report, which built a bridge between the Earth and the sky, Galileo talked about the wonders of the sky. "Great things embodying the spirit of truth based on observation and contemplation of nature do I propose in this short treatise. Large, I say, and for the clarification of truth, based on an innovation never heard throughout the centuries, and finally I extol the instrument by which means these same things have been revealed to our perception," Galileo said. "Most beautiful and admirable is it to see the Moon`s luminous form… At nearly thirty diameters – some 900 times greater in region – anyone can perceive that the Moon is not covered with a smooth and uniform surface, but in fact reveals great mountainous shelves, deep cavities, and gorges just like those of the Earth," Galileo said after observing the Moon. “By far and exceeding every other wonder, and mainly promoted for the contemplation of all astronomers and philosophers, is the discovery of four wandering stars. For I propose that they – like Venus and Mercury around the Sun – have revolutions around a conspicuous star among the known wanderers. And in their lesser wanderings they may precede the greater – sometimes before it and sometimes after – never going beyond some pre-determined limits," he discovered. "With the aid of this new instrument one looks upon the face of the Moon, the expanse of the Milky Way, innumerable fixed stars, faint nebulosities and asterisms, and the four wandering stars attending Jupiter never before seen. Moreover let us not underestimate the questions surrounding the Milky Way. For it has revealed to the senses its essence (through the turning of our instrument upon it). And in so doing out of its cloudy substance numerous stars are called forth," Galileo elaborated. "Perhaps other miraculous things from both myself and others will be discovered in the future aided by this instrument…” Galileo prophesized. However, the astronomer paid dearly for gazing unabashedly at the heavens. When he defended his views of the Universe in his most famous work, ‘Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems’ in 1632, he was "vehemently suspect of heresy." Such was the writ of the Church that anyone who challenged the Genesis was virtually or actually killed. He was tried, and forced to spend the rest of his life under house arrest. He died a blind man in 1642 at his home outside Florence. 400 years later… Galileo`s telescope was a breakthrough invention, which changed the way we now view the world. And the year 2009 commemorates 400 years of Galileo’s unparalleled contribution to the world of science and astronomy. The world is celebrating the great man’s super achievement. In New Delhi, an astro-fortnight ‘From Galileo to Modern Frontiers’ has been organised by the Embassy of Italy and the Italian Cultural Centre in collaboration with Nehru Planetarium to celebrate astronomy and science. The celebrations are different in that they are combining various diverse creative elements with science, such as listening to sounds from celestial objects such as pulsars, Jupiter, sun and viewing the images reminiscent of famous artist Vincent van Gogh’s paintings. The multidisciplinary fortnight also boasts of scientific workshops, a play of Galileo and amazing exhibitions. In the 1990s, Pope John Paul II had apologized to the scientist on behalf of the Catholic Church for condemning him when he was alive. The Roman Catholic Church has since exonerated him. In the context of history this is Galileo’s redemption. Unfortunately, the world has always condemned men like Galileo, who dare to think ahead of their time, but it should be acknowledged that those who walk ahead leave imprints on the sands of time for others to follow.