Astronomer · 1564 – 1642
Galileo Galilei
Little-Known Facts
- He did not invent the telescope but dramatically improved it and was the first to use it systematically for astronomy.
- He named Jupiter's moons the 'Medicean stars' to honor his patrons.
Myths & Misconceptions
Did Galileo drop balls from the Leaning Tower of Pisa?
The famous story is probably apocryphal, but Galileo did establish — through experiment and reasoning — that objects fall at the same rate regardless of weight.