Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei, commonly referred to as Galileo Galilei or simply Galileo, was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a polymath. He was born in the city of Pisa, then part of the Duchy of Florence. Galileo has been called the father of observational astronomy, modern-era classical physics, the scientific method, and modern science.
1636 portrait
Portrait believed to be of Galileo's elder daughter Virginia, who was particularly devoted to her father.
Galileo's "cannocchiali" telescopes at the Museo Galileo, Florence
An illustration of the Moon from Sidereus Nuncius, published in Venice, 1610
An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, moons, comets and galaxies – in either observational or theoretical astronomy. Examples of topics or fields astronomers study include planetary science, solar astronomy, the origin or evolution of stars, or the formation of galaxies. A related but distinct subject is physical cosmology, which studies the Universe as a whole.
A voting session is conducted in 2006 International Astronomical Union's general assembly for determining a new definition of a planet
Galileo is often referred to as the Father of modern astronomy. Portrait by Justus Sustermans.
Johannes Kepler, one of the fathers of modern astronomy
Portrait of the Flemish astronomer Ferdinand Verbiest who became Head of the Mathematical Board and Director of the Observatory of the Chinese emperor in 1669