St.Peter Museum of Fine Arts
Great Astronomers of the Renaissance Exhibit!
Exhibit Includes:
Famous Renaissance Astronomers
Astronomical Discoveries
Astronomical Inventions
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St.Peter Museum of Fine Arts
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Famous Renaissance Astronomers!
Johannes Kepler (1571-1630)
Of Kepler's many astronomical contributions a major one was his development of the three laws of planetary motion. 1) The law of ellipses. 2) The law of equal areas. 3) The law of harmonies. He also correctly predicted many planetary positions.
Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)
Galileo used knowledge of a Holland invention to build a telescope. With this Galileo made many astronomical discoveries such as the moons of Jupiter, sunspots, and the ¨appendages¨, now known as the rings, of Saturn.
Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543)
Copernicus was a firm believer that the Earth rotated around the sun. He wrote extensive documents on it that he did not publish until on his death bed in fear of punishment. The papers also included knowledge of Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn.
Famous Astronomical Discoveries!
Supernova
In 1572 Tycho Brahe discovered a supernova (new star) that appeared out of nowhere and remained in view for about 18 months. The supernova stayed constant with the other stars but changed in comparison to the Earth. This supported the stationary sun theory.
The Moon's Surface
After Galileo made his telescope he made many astronomical discoveries. One discovery was that the moon's surface included mountains and craters. Prior to this people believed the moon was smooth and flat.
The Rings of Saturn
Galileo also observed the rings of Saturn using his telescope. He referred to them as Saturn's "appendages" or "arms". It wasn't until 1659 that Christiaan Huygens discovered that these "appendage"s were actually rings.
Famous Astronomical Inventions!
The Telescope
Galileo Galilei was a professor of mathematics. He heard about a devise that was being used in Holland that made use of two curved pieces of glass in tube that would allow a person to see great distances. After hearing this he constructed his own form of this devise called a telescope. This short video clip will greater inform you about that invention.
GALILEO'S TELESCOPE
Church Opposition to Renaissance Astronomy
Religion was a major part of daily life during the Renaissance time period. One of the concepts that the church enforced was the idea of a stationary heaven. They believed that the Earth was the center of the universe and that heaven was stationary. This is why when astronomers began to public works that claimed the Earth to revolve around the sun, the church immediately opposed the idea. The church also banned the reading of controversial books and punished those who wrote them. Copernicus waited until he was on his death bed to publish his books in order to avoid punishment. However Galileo, not being as lucky, was sentenced to house arrest after having to recant his ideas in front of a court system.
One of Copernicus's drawings with the Earth and other plants rotating around the sun.
An artist's depiction of Galileo while on house arrest.
Galileo's diagrams of the moon's phases from one of his more rare books "Sidereus Nuncius".