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The original copy of the letter sent by Galileo Galilei proposing that the Earth is not the center of the universe. The letter, which has long been considered by historians as lost, has been found erroneous in the Royal Society Library. ( Nature )
A letter written by Galileo Galilei, defending the heliocentric model of the solar system and challenging religious doctrines, has recently been discovered.
The 7-page letter addressed to a friend and written on December 21, 1613 is considered the beginning of the battle between the renowned astronomer and the Catholic Church.
An important artifact found
The letter long lost by historians was discovered by a postdoctoral historian in science, Salvatore Ricciardo, from the University of Bergamo in Italy. He visited the Royal Society in August for a different purpose, but found an important artifact in the story.
"I thought," I can not believe that I discovered the letter that virtually all Galileo scholars thought was desperately lost, "he said. Nature. "It seemed even more incredible because the letter was not in an obscure library, but in the library of the Royal Society."
The Battle of Galilee Galilee with the Catholic Church
Two different versions of the letter exist: one was sent to the Inquisition in Rome by a Dominican friar while the other, with less accusatory language, is now kept in the secret archives of Vatical. Because the original was supposed to be lost, historians had no way of knowing if any of the letters had been edited by clerics to help their heresy against the astronomer.
However, the original letter found by Ricciardo while browsing the Royal Society's online catalog proves that Galileo has published his own words to appear less critical of the Catholic Church. The newly discovered letter contains amendments.
In the letter, Galileo explained that the heliocentric model of the Earth orbiting the Sun, proposed for the first time by Nicolas Copernicus in the book On the revolutions of the celestial spheres, do not really go against theological doctrine. He stated that references to astronomical events in the Bible should not be taken literally, as the descriptions in the scriptures were too simplified to be understood by the public.
In addition, the astronomer argued that there should be a separation between scientific research and theological doctrine.
Copernicus himself did not live to see the impact of his theory that the Earth is not the center of the universe. His book was published just before his death in 1543.
However, Galileo did it. The church accused the astronomer of heresy and warned him to abandon his controversial claim.
16 years after his first fight with the Church, Galilei published Dialogue on the two global systems, a book that once again discussed the Copernican model of the solar system. He was again the subject of an investigation and was forced to testify about himself during a trial. He was convicted of "vehement suspicion of heresy".
Galileo was under house arrest for the rest of his life.
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