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Home , Galileo (spacecraft), Galileo Galilei, Maria Celeste, Marina Gamba, Vera Rubin

Ga li l eo’s Battle for the He aven s AIRING OCTOBER 29, 2002

1564 Born in ,, on February 15. Who Was Galilei? 1579 Studies at a Benedictine monastery and considers Galileo was a man of many interests. Unlike becoming a monk. today’s who become experts in very 1581 Begins studies at the of Pisa,Italy. specialized areas, Galileo studied a wide range 1585 Leaves Pisa without a degree. of topics from to to Unfortunately, one of the books Galileo pub- 1589 Takes a teaching position at . He was also a teacher, inventor, and lished included a strong argument that the Pisa.Three years later, begins . and not was at the center of the solar sys- teaching at the University of Galileo may be best known for opposing the tem.This went against church teachings, and . ’s view that Earth was the center Galileo was brought before a church organiza- 1597 Develops a geometric and of the univer s e , but he was in a religious per- tion known as the . military compass. 1599 Enters a relationship with son . As a teenager, he attended school in a In 1633, the Inquisition placed Galileo ,who bears his mon a s t e r y and dreamed of becoming a monk . under house arrest,where he stayed until he three children. In 1581, Galileo’s father sent him to the died in 1642. Although Galileo was old and 1600 Daughter,Virginia , Italy, to study medicine. He sick at this point, he continued scientific experi- (1600–1634),is born. wanted Galileo to become a doctor so he could mentation. Going blind, he could no longer 1601 Daughter, Livia (1601–1659), make a good living and eventually support his study astronomy. Instead, he returned to his is born. 1602 Conducts with a younger siblings. Galileo had other ideas. While studies on . Galileo’s studies of inclined . at the University, he became fascinated with planes, falling bodies, projectiles, and other laws 1604 Begins experimenting with mathematics. He left the University to become of motion became the foundation of modern accelerated motion on an a tutor of mathematics and then a professor. physics.Throughout his life, Galileo was . Galileo next became interested in falling strongly supported by his eldest daughter, 1606 Son, Vincenzio (1606–1649), bodies. Whether or not he dropped cannonballs Virginia (Sister ), who entered is born. 1609 Improves the and from the is not known, into a convent in 1613 and corresponded with becomes first to use it for ser i- but he did discover that the at which him regularly. ous astronomical . objects fall depends on air resistance, not on By following his many interests and 1610 Discovers the of how much they weigh. pursuing questions that intrigued him, ; appointed chief math- At around this , Galileo’s love for tin- Galileo contributed greatly to . He ematician and philosopher to kering with mechanical things led to his inven- made many discoveries in astronomy and laid the Grand Duke of , tion of a simple , a geometric and the foundation for modern physics. Cosimo II. 1632 Publishes on the military compass, and an improved telescope. Two Chief World Systems: He observed the surface of the and Galileo Resources Ptolemaic and Copernican. found it to be surprisingly similar to Earth; he 1633 Submits to trial for by witnessed four objects circling around Jupiter Galileo’s Battle for the Heavens. The Holy Office of the (four of its moons); and then he sketched WGBH Boston Video, 2002. Inquisition and abjures his pictures of the changing pattern of Find out more about Galileo’s discoveries, his views;is allowed to retire to clash with the Catholic Church, and more in his villa in Arcetri near spots on the Sun. He proposed, , Italy, where he quite rightly, that these the two-hour NOVA program that airs spends the remainder of his were on the surface of the Sun October 29, 2002. Call 1-800-949-8670 or life under house arrest. and that their changing visit main.wgbh.org/wgbh/shop/nova.html 1638 Becomes blind. pattern was evidence that to order. ya a 1642 Dies on in Arcetri, the Sun rotated. Italy. In a companion Web site, learn about Galileo’s 1892 Awarded honorary degree life, his place in of science, his experi- from the University of Pisa. 1981 Pope John Paul II establishes ments, and his mistaken belief that Earth’s daily the Galileo Commission to rotation and its annual around the Sun study the Galileo case. trigger ocean . ya a 1992 Pope John Paul II officially www.pbs.org/nova/galileo/ closes the of the com- mission,affirming that his Discover more at your local library. predecessor,Pope Urban VIII (1568–1644),had unfairly condemned Galileo for his beliefs. The following icons indicate whether a resource is recommended for children, young adult, and/or adult audiences.

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Learning More Scientists Today Rubin, Vera C. Astronomy and physics are much different today than they were in Galileo’s time. Today’s Bright ,. scientists are much more likely to subspecialize in a main area of interest. For example, Woodbury, NY:American interested in subatomic objects are called particle physicists. interested Institute of Physics Press, in the origin of life in the are called astrobiologists. 1997. Almost anyone can become a . Here are brief biographies of some of Rubin narrates her research in who are making contributions to astronomy and physics today. such areas as galactic motion and dark matter and the course of her own career. a Vera Cooper Rubin Since 1995, Tyson has written a monthly ’s interest in essay “Universe” for Natural History magazine. Women in Astronomy: An He has also written numerous books to help Introductory Resource Guide stars began when she was 10 years old. Her others understand the universe. His research www.astrosociety.org/ interests include star formation, exploding stars, education/resources/ father helped her build a telescope from scratch dwarf galaxies, and the structure of our Milky womenast_bib06.html Way. He has two children. Provides a reading list of and attended amateur astronomy club meetings books about women in astronomy. ya a with her. In the early ✷ ✷ 1960s, Rubin became the first woman Stephen Hawking likes to permitted to observe at the Palomar think big. He spends time Tyson, Neil de Grasse Observatory, which is run by the California working as a cosmologist, The Sky Is Not the Limit: Institute of Technology. One of her major a person who studies the Adventures of an Urban contributions to astronomy was finding origin, present state, and Astrophysicist. evidence to support the theory that there may future of the universe. New York: Doubleday, 2000. be large amounts of unseen matter, known as One of his greatest con- Offers Tyson’s perspectives dark matter, in the universe. tributions has been in the and experiences—from his She is currently an at the understanding of black childhood in the Bronx to his Carnegie Institution of Washington (D.C.) holes, which are thought to be places in current post as director of for the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism. where there is so much concentrated that Hayden Planetarium. a In 1993, she was awarded the National Medal anything nearby is sucked into their gravita- Neil de Grasse Tyson of Science. She has four children, all of whom tional pull. www.wnyc.org/legacy/shows/ have pursued careers in science. In addition, Hawking has also had to overcome great survivalkit/tyson042802.html she has been very active in encouraging physical challenges. For most of his adult life, In this National Public Radio women and minorities to pursue science he has had a disease called amyotrophic lateral interview, find out what careers. sclerosis,or ALS. Also known as Lou Gehrig’s Tyson would put in a survival disease, this illness makes it progressively more kit if he were stranded Neil de Grasse Tyson difficult to move, speak, breathe, and swallow. somewhere.(Requires Adaptive technologies have allowed him to Neil de Grasse Tyson is RealPlayer plug-in.) a continue to write and deliver scientific papers an astrophysicist who ✷ ✷ and lectures worldwide. He has three children has pursued science and McDaniel, Melissa and Jerry and one grandchild. Lewis. spent years helping oth- Stephen Hawking: ers understand it. Revolutionary . Tyson first looked New York: Chelsea House up at the sky from the Publishers, 1994. rooftop of his Bronx, New York,apartment house with a pair of Relates Hawking’s life from his binoculars. He was 9 years old. He would later childhood to the present.This become the youngest-ever director of the book is part of the series, Great Hayden Planetarium at the American Achievers:Lives of the Museum of Natural History in New York Physically Challenged. ya a City. He also spends time as a visiting Stephen Hawking’s Web Site research scientist in at Princeton www.hawking.org.uk/home/ University, New Jersey. The following icons indicate whether a hindex.html resource is recommended for children, Profiles personal and profes- young adult, and/or adult audiences. sional information about c children Hawking. ya ya young adult a adult

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In the Swing of Things Learning More Bonnet , Robert L. and Dan Keen. Science Fair Projects: Physics. For ages 10 and older. What to do New York: Sterling Publishing, 1999. 1 Measure out an 18-inch length of Presents projects and experiments that use It is thought that Galileo first started string.Tie a washer to one end. easy-to-find materials to explore the studying when, in 1583, Measure and mark the string 12 inches world of physics, covering such topics as he watched a suspended lamp swing from the washer.Find a surface from , flow, , back and forth in the cathedral of Pisa. which you can freely swing the pendu- sound, pendulums, ,magnet- He used his pulse to time the swings lum, such as the corner of a table or ism, and solar heat. and discovered that the duration of desk. Tape the string to the edge of the each swing was the same.This would Galileo’s Pendulum Experiments surface, making sure that the marked later become an important concept in es.rice.edu/ES/humsoc/Galileo/ part of the string sits right on the edge. regulating . Do this Student_Work/Experiment95/galileo_ with a pendulum and see whether you 2 Raise the washer to the height of the pendulum.html can learn what makes it work. table. As you drop the washer, start Relates the Galileo made in your timing. Count how many his pendulum experiments, reproduces the You need the pendulum swings in 15 seconds. experiments, and reports the results. Record the on a sheet of • cotton string How Pendulum Clocks Work notepaper. • flat metal washers www.howstuffworks.com/clock.htm • ruler 3 Add a second washer to your pendu- Describes the workings of the pendulum • scissors lum and repeat the experiment. Count , the first clock made that had any • tape the number of swings in 15 seconds accuracy. • watch with a second hand and record that number. • notepaper The Pendulum 4 • ballpoint pen Add two more washers (for a total of .tau.ac.il/museum/galileo/ four) and repeat the procedure one pendulum.html#a1 more time. Explains the mechanism that drives the pendulum,why Galileo became interested 5 Cut a new piece of string 30 inches in pendulums, and Galileo’s conclusions long and create a pendulum that is 24 about the pendulum. inches long, twice as long as in your first experiment. Repeat the experi- ment above. 6 Now take a look at your results. What You’re affects the timing of the swing? What Getting do you think would happen if you Very Sleepy started the pendulum from different Have you heights? ever seen a hypnotist swing a watch back and forth to put somebody in a very relaxed state? The watch on a chain is a type of pendulum.The idea is that the swinging motion is so regular that the person looking at it will become so entranced that she will be susceptible to anything you tell her.Whether this is true is debatable. But how a pendulum works is not. Galileo discovered the laws under which pendulums work, one of the main principles being that they swing in an almost constant, steady interval. Later, scientists used those principles to design pendulum clocks.

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The Tick Tock of a Water Clock Learning More Llewellyn, Claire. For ages 10 and older. What to do My First Book of Time. New York: DK Publishing, 1992. 1 On a sheet of paper, start from the bot- Water clocks measure time by using the tom and mark up four inches, drawing Covers such topics as days, seasons, sim- fact that water will flow at a constant rate lines at every half inch. Label the lines ple fractions, clocks, measuring time, and through a certain size hole.The same and cut out your ruler. time zones. amount of water flows into its receiving 2 Have an adult help you remove the AWalk through Time: Early Clocks container every second. By measuring the bottle label and cut the bottle in half. physics.nist.gov/GenInt/Time/ amount of water in the container, it is Tape your paper ruler onto the bottle early.html possible to measure how much time has so that the bottom of the ruler lines up Provides a descriptive look at the history passed. In this experiment, you will build a with the bottom of the bottle. Tape the of timekeeping from ancient to modern water clock that measures time. bottle onto the front of the cardboard methods. shoebox top. You will need 3 Use the ballpoint pen to make a small Clock a History • cardboard shoebox top hole in the bottom of the paper cup. www.ernie.cummings.net/clock.htm • 1 paper cup Make the hole about a quarter-inch Includes information on who invented the • 1-liter flat-bottomed clear plastic bottle from the outer edge of the bottom. Use clock, the world’s official timekeepers, and • 1-cup measuring cup tape to secure the cup to the shoebox various types of clocks, such as the sand, • 1/2 cup of water lid so that the hole in the cup is closest Sun, water, and candle clocks, and more. • scissors to you. • clear tape 4 Hold your finger under the hole in the • stop watch or watch with second hand top container and pour in about 1/2 Telling Time • notepaper cup of water. • ballpoint pen 5 Remove your finger and begin timing. Today it is difficult not Time how long it takes the water to fill to be conscious of time. the bottom container a half inch. Can Wall clocks, radio you make a scale that measures time announcements, com- periods of one minute? How accurate puter monitors, watches, and cell is your clock? What affects the accura- phones all tell us how much time is cy? Try changing the variables, such as passing. Thousands of years ago, the size of the hole or the number of measuring time was more cups you use. What happens? Make difficult.The ancient observations and note what you see. Egyptians, Greeks, What are some ways you could use Romans, and Chinese your clock? used clocks that depended on . For instance, the sundial kept track of the time during daylight hours. To measure smaller increments of time, or when the Sun was not shining, ancient peo- ple used different variations of clocks, such as water, sand, or candle clocks.

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“G a l i l e o ’s Battle for the Heaven s ” is a prod u c t i o n by Gree n U m b re ll a ,L t d . , for WGB H / B o s t o n in association with Channel 4.

Major funding for “Galileo’s Battle for the Heavens”provided by the National Science Foundation. Any opinions,findings,and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. Major funding for NOVA is provided by the Park Foundation, the Northwestern Mutual Foundation,and Sprint. Additional funding is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and public television viewers. Illustrations by Hannah Bonner

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