What did Galileo about the Moon?
He soon made his first astronomical discovery. At the time, most scientists believed that the Moon was a smooth sphere, but Galileo discovered that the Moon has mountains, pits, and other features, just like the Earth.
What did Galileo name the moons?
Today, Jupiter’s four largest satellites—Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto—are named the Galilean Moons in honor of their discoverer. Galileo’s discovery provided evidence for the Copernican understanding of the universe. This was the idea that everything in existence did not, indeed, move around Earth.
How many moons did Galileo see?
Astronomers still refer to the four moons as the Galilean satellites in honor of their discoverer. The German astronomer Johannes Kepler suggested naming the satellites after mythological figures associated with Jupiter, namely Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto, but his idea didn’t catch on for more than 200 years.
What did Galileo prove about the Moon How did he do that?
The Moon’s surface was not smooth and perfect as received wisdom had claimed but rough, with mountains and craters whose shadows changed with the position of the Sun. Galileo was able to use the length of the shadows to estimate the height of the lunar mountains, showing that they were similar to mountains on Earth.
When did Galileo see the Moon?
On this night in 1609, astronomer Galileo Galilei trained his telescope on the Moon for the first time. What he saw would overturn an ancient model of the universe.
How did Galileo draw the Moon?
He watched the dark lines change and he saw light spots in the unilluminated part of the Moon that gradually merged with the illuminated part as this part grew. The conclusion he drew was that the changing dark lines were shadows and that the lunar surface has mountains and valleys.
How did the Galilean moons form?
Like the rest of the Solar System planets, Jupiter formed out of the disc of dust and gas surrounding the young Sun. Once this gas and dust had condensed to form Jupiter, the leftover material coalesced and grew over time to form the Galilean moons.
When was the Moon discovered?
But there’s another class of lunar heroes — scientists who made fundamental discoveries in the 360 years between Galileo’s first observations of the Moon in 1609 and the Apollo 11 landing in 1969. These 11 scientists set the stage for humankind’s personal encounter with the Moon.
Who named the Galilean moons?
astronomer Galileo Galilei
The planet Jupiter’s four largest moons, or satellites, are called the Galilean moons, after Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei, who observed them in 1610. The German astronomer Simon Marius apparently discovered them around the same time.
Did Galileo discovered craters on the Moon?
Galileo Galilei was probably the first scientist to recognize that the circular features on the moon are depressions (i.e., “craters”), not mountains, when he directed his telescope at the moon in 1609.
How did Galileo discover craters on the Moon?