Galileo's "Sidereus Nuncius" and Our Perception of The Universe

Galileo’s “Sidereus Nuncius”
and our perception

of the Universe
Massimo Robberto
STScI
Feb. 24, 2009 Loyola College in Maryland

Venice, 1609

New Maritime Technologies
Better Maps
Hartman Astrolabe
(1532) Mariner’s Compass
(Chinese)
Sextant
Ian Vermeer
De astronoom, 1668

Hans Lippershey (Amsterdam, ca. 1600)
the “looker”
(spyglass, eyeglass)

Venice, 1609

Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)
by D. Robusti, 1606

Galileo’s cannocchiale

Selling the cannocchiale
“ The power of my cannocchiale [telescope] to show

distant objects as clearly as if they were near
should give us an inestimable advantage in any
military action on land or sea. At sea, we shall be
able to spot their flags two hours before they can
see us; and when we have established the number
and type of the enemy craft, we shall be able to
decide whether to pursue and engage him in
battle, or take flight. Similarly, on land it should
be possible from elevated positions to observe the
enemy camps and their fortifications. “

Galileo’s telescope

Like a “Letter to Nature”
announcing the discovery of:
 Astronomical Telescope
 Structure of the Moon surface
 Enormous number of stars invisible to the
naked eye
 Nature of the Milky Way
 Existence of Nebulae
 Jovian Planets
 Evidence in support of Copernican system

The Moon
 The surface of the

moon is not a
perfect sphere.
 There are
mountains and
valleys and
“perfect circles”.

New stars

the Milky Way
our galaxy
you are here

Nebulae

Nebulae

Star and Planet Formation in Orion

Photoevaporation of circumstellar disks

Orion Proplyds

Jovian Planets

“Medicei” satellites
Io Europa Ganymedes Callisto

Io
Galileo NASA probe IRTF (Hawaii) – Infrared Image
With over 400 active volcanoes, Io is the most

geologically active object in the Solar System

Ptolemaic vs. Copernican system

Where was the problem?
 The moon revolves around the Earth.

 Why should not the other planets do the same?
Galileo’s point:
1) If Jupiter has 4 moons

2) The Earth has one moon
3) Then Earth is no special; planets may have satellites!
Conclusion:
Jupiter moons support Copernican system

Aristotle’s cosmos
 The heavens, starting at the Moon, were
the realm of perfection.
 The sublunary region was the realm of
change and corruption.
 Christian philosophers liked
the idea.

Dante Alighieri
(1264-1321)

Troubles begin
Copernican system is elegant, however
1) A moving Earth seems to be a problem (no

wind!)
2) We do not see stellar parallaxes
3) Circular orbits still problematic
No silver bullet, yet.

Stellar parallax

Galileo answers
1) Everything moves with the Earth, including

atmosphere.
=> Can you discern if a boat is moving or
not in a perfectly calm see with uniform
wind?
DISCOVERY OF INERTIA!
2) No parallax because the stars are too far.
3) Circular orbit problem: ignored.
4) Silver bullet: new theory of tides (1616)
WRONG!

Galileo’s personality
 Frequent strokes of
creative genius
 Visionary-far reaching
 Very often (but not always)
right
 Profound knowledge of
scholastic philosophy
 Sarcastic (more than ironic)
 Self-confident
 True catholic

Galileo’s enemies in Florence
 Niccolo’ Lorini (Dominican, 1612)

 “that …Ipernico”
 “the devil’s sect of mathematicians…”
 Tommaso Caccini (Dominican, 1613)
 “Mens of Galilee, why you stay there looking at the
sky?...”
 Joshua commanded: “Move not, O sun, toward Gabaon…”
This passage becomes a BIG PROBLEM:

arguing that the Sun does not move is against the Bible

1616 – first “process”
 Lorini brings the case to S. Uffizio
 Galileo is not charged/defendant
 2 sentences of Copernicus are condemned:
 The Sun is is the center of the world and therefore
immobile: UNCORRECT, ABSURD AND FORMALLY
HERETIC
 The Earth is not the center of the world but it is in
daily motion: DESERVES SAME CENSORSHIP IN
PHILOSOPHY AND FROM THE P.O.V. OF
THEOLOGICAL TRUTH IS AT LEAST AS WRONG
IN WHAT CONCERNS FAITH.
 “De Revoluzionibus Orbium Coelestium” has to be
corrected. In the meantime, it is forbidden.

Meeting Bellarmino-Galileo: Feb.26, 1616
 Bellarmino calls immediately
Galileo (as the champion of
Copernicanism)
 3 levels:
 Monitum
 Preceptum
 Prison
 Galileo receives a “monitum”
 The general secretary Seghizzi
(dominican) still prepares the
Preceptum; it is left unsigned in
the folder. BIG ERROR.
 Bellarmino soon later writes a
friendly letter to Galileo
allowing him to discuss “in
theory” the copernican system.

1623: il Saggiatore (“The Assayer”)
 In 1619 G. starts a controversy with Orazio
Grassi (Jesuit astronomer) over the nature of
Comets
 Grassi: An Astronomical Disputation on the Three
Comets of the Year 1618
 Guiducci (G.): Discourse on the Comets
 Grassi (“Lotario Sarsi”): The Astronomical and
Philosophical Balance
 Galileo: The Assayer
 Dedicated to Pope Urbano VIII
 Galileo’s scientific manifesto
 A masterpies of polemical literature
 Alienates many of his Jesuits friends

Urbano VIII
 Aug. 16, 1623: Card. Maffeo
Barberini of Florence, Galileo
friends and great estimator,
becomes Pope Urbano VIII.
 A new age?
 Galileo start working on the
Dialog Concerning the Two
Chief World Systems.
 Salvati/Sagredo/Simplicio
 4 days
 Formally neutral, it is blatantly
biased pro-copernicus
 Completed in 1629, printed in
1631 after approval from the
inquisition.

Disaster with Urbano VIII
 The Dialog ends with Simplicio making a
shallow observation: “God… could have
made the universe any way he wanted to
and still made it appear to us the way it
does”
 This is the point Pope had explicitly asked
to address
 Galileo puts these words in the mouth of
Simplicio and does not really bother to
expand on the argument:
The end of a friendship

Note on Pope’s point
 Galileo had no “proofs”. His point is:

“If Copernicus is right, then tides have a
simple and elegant explanation.”
 Is this LOGICALLY right? If something is
“reasonable”, is it also “true”?
 Can we reach certainty about reality
(“penetrate the design of God”) by
observing and explaining phenomena?
 Can you “rationally” know something on the
basis of experimental science?

Epilogue
 Pope is VERY angry

 Process starts immediately
 “Preceptum” (unsigned) is found in the 1616 folder
 Galileo has the letter of Bellarmino (dead in the
meantime) but it does not really help
 Galileo is condemned in 1633
 “vehemently suspect of heresy”, he is required to
“abjure, curse and detest” those opinions
 Ordered imprisoned, commuted to house arrest
 The “Dialog” is banned.
 After the trial, all his works, past and future, are forbidden

Arcetri, il Gioiello

Still active, almost
completely blind,
Galileo will write his
final masterpiece
“Discourses and
Mathematical
Demonstrations
Relating to Two New
Sciences “ (1638)
setting the
foundations of
Physics.

Galileo’s legacy

Earth and Moon from Mars

Earth and Moon fromLoyola
Feb. 24, 2009
Saturn (Cassini)
College in Maryland
“Copernican Principle”
 Earth is not the center of the Universe

 Sun is not the center of the Universe
 Galaxy is not the center of the Universe
 …
Principle of “mediocrity”
Fundamental assumption of modern physics and

cosmology

The foundation of Science
 "Philosophy is written in this grand book,

the universe ... It is written in the language
of mathematics, and its characters are
triangles, circles, and other geometric
figures; ..."
Nature is intelligible

Conclusion
“It looks to me as something almost

incredible that an invention of the human
intellect and the structure of the universe
coincide; the mathematics we invent gives
really access to the nature of the universe
and makes it useful for us. Therefore the
intellectual structure of the human subject
and the objective structure of reality
coincide: the subjective reason and the
reason “objectivated” of nature are
identical.

I think that this coincidence between what
we have thought and how nature realizes
itself and behaves is an enigma and a great
challenge, because we see that, at the end,
it is “ONE” reason that connects both: our
reason could not discover the other one if
it would not be an identical reason that
precedes both.”
Benedict XVI, Rome , April 6 2006

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Galileo’s “Sidereus Nuncius”

and our perception

Feb. 24, 2009 Loyola College in Maryland

Feb. 24, 2009 Loyola College in Maryland

Feb. 24, 2009 Loyola College in Maryland

Feb. 24, 2009 Loyola College in Maryland

Feb. 24, 2009 Loyola College in Maryland

Feb. 24, 2009 Loyola College in Maryland

Feb. 24, 2009 Loyola College in Maryland

“ The power of my cannocchiale [telescope] to show

Feb. 24, 2009 Loyola College in Maryland

Feb. 24, 2009 Loyola College in Maryland

Feb. 24, 2009 Loyola College in Maryland

 The surface of the

Feb. 24, 2009 Loyola College in Maryland

Feb. 24, 2009 Loyola College in Maryland

you are here

Feb. 24, 2009 Loyola College in Maryland

Feb. 24, 2009 Loyola College in Maryland

Feb. 24, 2009 Loyola College in Maryland

Feb. 24, 2009 Loyola College in Maryland

Feb. 24, 2009 Loyola College in Maryland

Feb. 24, 2009 Loyola College in Maryland

Feb. 24, 2009 Loyola College in Maryland

Io Europa Ganymedes Callisto

Feb. 24, 2009 Loyola College in Maryland

Galileo NASA probe IRTF (Hawaii) – Infrared Image

With over 400 active volcanoes, Io is the most

Feb. 24, 2009 Loyola College in Maryland

Feb. 24, 2009 Loyola College in Maryland

 The moon revolves around the Earth.

1) If Jupiter has 4 moons

Jupiter moons support Copernican system

Feb. 24, 2009 Loyola College in Maryland

Feb. 24, 2009 Loyola College in Maryland

Feb. 24, 2009 Loyola College in Maryland

Copernican system is elegant, however

1) A moving Earth seems to be a problem (no

No silver bullet, yet.

Feb. 24, 2009 Loyola College in Maryland

Feb. 24, 2009 Loyola College in Maryland

1) Everything moves with the Earth, including

Feb. 24, 2009 Loyola College in Maryland

Feb. 24, 2009 Loyola College in Maryland

 Niccolo’ Lorini (Dominican, 1612)

This passage becomes a BIG PROBLEM:

Feb. 24, 2009 Loyola College in Maryland

Feb. 24, 2009 Loyola College in Maryland

Feb. 24, 2009 Loyola College in Maryland

Feb. 24, 2009 Loyola College in Maryland

Feb. 24, 2009 Loyola College in Maryland

Feb. 24, 2009 Loyola College in Maryland

 Galileo had no “proofs”. His point is:

Feb. 24, 2009 Loyola College in Maryland

 Pope is VERY angry

Feb. 24, 2009 Loyola College in Maryland

Feb. 24, 2009 Loyola College in Maryland

Feb. 24, 2009 Loyola College in Maryland