Question

In what ways did Galileo' observations of Venus and Jupiter conflict with the prevailing view at the time?

Answer 1

Prevailing view of that time was that earth is the center of solar system.

In 1609 Galileo observed sky through his home made telescope.

He found 4 moons orbiting Jupiter..It was a proof that bodies are orbiting other planets Not earth alone.

He found the crescent shape of Venus through his telescope.This could happen only if Sun is at center,.

Nicholas Copernicus, a Polish scientist living about a century before Galileo, had already come up with the unorthodox idea that the Sun was at the center of the solar system. Galileo knew about and had accepted Copernicus's heliocentric (Sun-centered) theory.

It was Galileo's observations of Venus that proved the theory. Using his telescope, Galileo found that Venus went through phases, just like our Moon. But, the nature of these phases could only be explained by Venus going around the Sun, not the Earth. Galileo concluded that Venus must travel around the Sun, passing at times behind and beyond it, rather than revolving directly around the Earth.

Galileo's observations of the phases of Venus virtually proved that the Earth was not the center of the universe. It was this assertion which most angered the Church leaders of the time.