The Thermometer
Galileo is credited with the invention of the first thermometer in 1606.
The Sector
A sector is an instrument that has a plumb, two legs with measurements on them, and a right angle. Galileo taught his students to use a sector for a variety of purposes, including gunning. He started a small enterprise producing sectors for his students to buy.
The Hydrostatic Balance
Intrigued by the "Eureka" story about Archimedes and the King of Syracuse's crown, Galileo spent some time inventing a hydrostatic balance. The hydrostatic balance was an accurate balance that could weigh objects both in water and in the air. A metal wire wrapped around the counterweight was twisted and the amount of movement measured to determine what the proportion of one substance to another was.
The Microscope
Though it is sometimes said that Galileo invented the microscope, he really did not. The microscope was invented by Anton van Leeuwenhoek around Galileo's time. Galileo made sketches and designs for a microscope but didn't actually invent one.
Galileo's Telescope
He was the man who made the telescope famous. His discoveries with the telescope convinced him that the sun, not the earth, was the center of the solar system.
Galileo constructed his own telescope. This telescope was awkward to use and only magnified about 30 times but it was enough to make some of the most important discoveries in the history in astronomy.
Almost immediately after building it, Galileo turned his telescope to the heavens. What he saw changed our view on the world forever.
The Moon
Galileo observed the moon through his telescope and discovered that it had craters, mountains,and valleys. He made several sketches of the moon's features. Some of these sketches are still around today.
Venus's phases
Galileo was the first to discover that Venus had phases like the moon. This was great evidence that the center of the solar system is the sun and the planets revolve around it. It had been argued that if the solar system was heliocentric (sun centered),Mercury and Venus would exhibit phases like the moon. Since the phases are invisible to the naked eye, Copernicus had to make up the explanation that the planets were transparent and the sun's rays passed through it.
Jupiter's Satellites
Galileo discovered the four largest satellites of Jupiter. These four moons, Io, Europa, Ganymede,& Callisto, were named the "galilean" moons in honor of galileo. Galileo observed that the moons revolved around Jupiter like a miniature model of us.
Sunspots
Galileo used his telescope to observe the sun too. He discovered sunspots that drifted from one side of the sun's disc to the other.Galileo was not the first to observe sunspots. Galileo's blindness later in life was probably caused by looking at the sun so carelessly. Looking at the sun for even a second through binoculars or a telescope is very dangerous.
Galileo is credited with the invention of the first thermometer in 1606.
The Sector
A sector is an instrument that has a plumb, two legs with measurements on them, and a right angle. Galileo taught his students to use a sector for a variety of purposes, including gunning. He started a small enterprise producing sectors for his students to buy.
The Hydrostatic Balance
Intrigued by the "Eureka" story about Archimedes and the King of Syracuse's crown, Galileo spent some time inventing a hydrostatic balance. The hydrostatic balance was an accurate balance that could weigh objects both in water and in the air. A metal wire wrapped around the counterweight was twisted and the amount of movement measured to determine what the proportion of one substance to another was.
The Microscope
Though it is sometimes said that Galileo invented the microscope, he really did not. The microscope was invented by Anton van Leeuwenhoek around Galileo's time. Galileo made sketches and designs for a microscope but didn't actually invent one.
Galileo's Telescope
He was the man who made the telescope famous. His discoveries with the telescope convinced him that the sun, not the earth, was the center of the solar system.
Galileo constructed his own telescope. This telescope was awkward to use and only magnified about 30 times but it was enough to make some of the most important discoveries in the history in astronomy.
Almost immediately after building it, Galileo turned his telescope to the heavens. What he saw changed our view on the world forever.
The Moon
Galileo observed the moon through his telescope and discovered that it had craters, mountains,and valleys. He made several sketches of the moon's features. Some of these sketches are still around today.
Venus's phases
Galileo was the first to discover that Venus had phases like the moon. This was great evidence that the center of the solar system is the sun and the planets revolve around it. It had been argued that if the solar system was heliocentric (sun centered),Mercury and Venus would exhibit phases like the moon. Since the phases are invisible to the naked eye, Copernicus had to make up the explanation that the planets were transparent and the sun's rays passed through it.
Jupiter's Satellites
Galileo discovered the four largest satellites of Jupiter. These four moons, Io, Europa, Ganymede,& Callisto, were named the "galilean" moons in honor of galileo. Galileo observed that the moons revolved around Jupiter like a miniature model of us.
Sunspots
Galileo used his telescope to observe the sun too. He discovered sunspots that drifted from one side of the sun's disc to the other.Galileo was not the first to observe sunspots. Galileo's blindness later in life was probably caused by looking at the sun so carelessly. Looking at the sun for even a second through binoculars or a telescope is very dangerous.