Medieval astronomers had generally accepted the Ptolemaic
system. Some students before Copernicus had indeed suggested that the
earth and planets might rotate about a central sun, but he first gave reasons
for such a belief. The new theory met much opposition, not only in the
universities, which clung to the time-honored Ptolemaic system, but also among
theologians, who thought that it contradicted many statements in the Bible.
Moreover, people could not easily reconcile themselves to the idea that the
earth, instead of being the center of the universe, is only one member of the
solar system, that it is, in fact, only a mere speck of cosmic dust.
GALILEO, 1564-1642 A.D.
An Italian scientist, Galileo, made one of the first
telescopes—it was about as powerful as an opera glass—and turned it on the
heavenly bodies with wonderful results. He found the sun moving unmistakably on
its axis, Venus showing phases according to her position in relation to the
sun, Jupiter accompanied by revolving moons, or satellites, and the Milky Way
composed of a multitude of separate stars. Galileo rightly believed that these
discoveries confirmed the theory of Copernicus.
