Galileo Galilei, Notables Proposal

Dear Mr Crerar,

For many astronomers, the telescope is their most important tool. All those cool images of space are taken from a telescope. Without the telescope, we wouldn’t know about stars and galaxies. Galileo Galilei perfected the telescope and he is the notable I have chosen. I strongly believe that Galileo Galilei is a notable. He fits my criteria of being a notable. Personally, I think a notable is a person who has impacted the world in a good way or has spoken out against common ideology or tyranny.

I definitely think that Galilei should be my notable because he was the father of astronomy. He condemned the idea that the sun was the centre of the solar system, not the earth. He perfected the model of the telescope which was used all around in Europe in around the 16th to 17th centuries. This model of the telescope was used to search the far reaches of space. He was the one responsible for discovering the four largest moons of Jupiter including Europa which is an ice planet and could host life. He also used a telescope and discovered that the moon wasn’t smooth but mountainous like Earth.

Furthermore, Galilei should be my notable because he opposed public and popular ideas with his own ideology. Through his observations, Galilei strengthened his belief in Copernicus’s theory which was the fact that the universe revolved around the sun. It isn’t true that the universe revolved around the sun but astronomy was still in its early stages and Galilei’s telescope couldn’t see as much as we can see. Most people believed that the universe revolved around the Earth.

Moreover, I strongly believe that Galilei should be my notable because he opposed the Catholic Church. At the time, the Catholic Church was very powerful and influential. They believed in theory of a geocentric meaning Earth-centred. Galilei repeatedly wrote articles about how the Earth revolved around the sun. The Catholic Church wrongly accused Galilei of being a heretic, a person who opposed them. Galilei had stated what he thought was right and could have been sentenced to death. He was cleared of charges but the Catholic Church warned Galilei to never ever publicly state his belief that the Earth revolved around the sun. Despite warnings, he continued to publicly state his opinion and was sentenced to life imprisonment.

In conclusion, Galilei should be my notable because he was the father of astronomy, posed his opinion to the public and continued to pose his opinion despite threats. He is a role model to me as I have always been interested in astronomy. Please let Galileo Galilei be my notable.

Yours Sincerely,

Roderick Shen