Starry Messenger

A detailed Summary of Starry Messenger

I cannot recall its origin but there is an old adage that says one's way of thinking and speculating depends on his/her perspective. There is no need to argue about its validity for I am sure everyone would agree from their own experience. With the adage said above, I would like to propose a theory that there was a great gap between Galileo's way of thinking and those of others (like the priests at Vatican and people who worshiped the Aristotelian philosophies) for the difference in their perspective was far greater than anyone can imagine. It is no exaggeration to state that no one has spent as much time looking up the night sky as Galileo in his time. Everyone who has looked up the constellation in the night sky without an aid of any instrument would see that the full moon appears perfectly round. And given that those people have not been taught about the modern astronomy, it would be difficult to convince them that it is otherwise. One can only wonder how difficult it must have been for Galileo and his colleagues to convince their opposers. As obviously as it may sound, Galileo's sole purpose of using detailed illustrations and diagrams within his Starry Messenger was to convince its readers; and an attempt to prevent an

y possible refutations as much as possible. The illustrations and diagrams were his hard-earned evidence that is also backed up by his countless observations and written documents.

There is no doubt that Galileo's work in Starry Messenger has set the standard for the modern scientific experiment. The experiments conducted at schools today require students to come up with a question, formulate a hypothesis, identify the control and the experimental group, etc. This typical genre of scientific experiment is taught in schools and is practiced by modern scientists. Using this method, one can easily find out whether or not if his/her hypothesis was right and only the experiments conducted with this method are accepted by the majority. If one has perused and understood Galileo's writing in Starry Messenger, he/she would be able to identify all of the elements that are required in the modern scientific experiments. Needless to say, he provides countless observations and records. In order to explain why the lighted part of the moon does not appear to be perfectly elliptical but rather the line formed by the lighted parts and dark spots irregularly crosses the ideal line, he asks the following question to provide a logical answer:

Galileo indeed is indispensable individual if we are to make a list of "the most influential contr

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Approximate Word count = 903
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History