Galileo + Astronomy Project

Born on February 15, 1564 in Pisa, Italy, Galileo Galilei would eventually become one of history’s greatest thinkers. Although controversial in his own lifetime, Galileo’s astronomical discoveries – in conjunction with those of Johannes Kepler and Nicolaus Copernicus – ignited a scientific paradigm shift in the last century of the Renaissance. Combined with his work in math, physics, astronomy, engineering, and philosophy, Galileo’s astronomical breakthroughs molded our modern understanding of the Earth and the infinity that lies beyond it. So strong are Galileo’s influences that he has been hailed as both “father of science” and “father of observational astronomy.”

Decades before his renowned astronomical studies, Galileo Galilei moved to Florence, Italy at nine years old, where he would begin formal education at the Calmaldolese Monastery in Vallombrosa. Armed with clear intellect and talent, Galileo entered the University of Pisa ten years later to study medicine, but would never finish his degree. Allegedly, upon accidentally attending a Geometry lecture, Galileo was so fascinated by mathematics that he changed his entire course of study. Only a few years later, in 1589, he would be appointed chair of mathematics in Pisa. In 1592, he moved to the University of Padua where he taught geometry, mechanics, and astronomy until 1610. During this period of time began Galileo’s significant discoveries in fundamental, astronomical, and even astrological sciences.

In 1610 – with the use of his newly engineered telescope, 20X stronger than any other before it – he made observations of 4 objects surrounding Jupiter that behaved unlike stars. These “satellites” turned out to be Jupiter’s four largest moons: Io, Callisto, Europa and Ganymede. They were later renamed the Galilean satellites in honor of Galileo himself. This discovery, in conjunction with his observations of the phases of Earth’s moon, led Galileo to accept and make early confirmations of Heliocentrism. For his eager defense of it, Galileo would be excommunicated from the Catholic Church, ridiculed by many, and put on house arrest for the remainder of his life. He would not be pardoned for his truths until the late 20^th century…

Inspired by Galileo’s groundbreaking observations of Jupiter’s four moons, our project hoped to somehow incorporate them. Greatly influenced by Galileo’s visionary discovery of 4 of Jupiter’s many moons, this collaborative project attempts to created a dialogue between the diametrically opposed notions of primitive and contemporary understandings of space. Interested in the banality with which the fact of these discoveries are treated, the piece addresses the complexity and implications of these astronomical discoveries whilst also alluding to the unfathomable nature of such ascertainments.

Though Galileo dedicated these moons to the Medici family, They were subsequently given the names of Europa, Io, Ganymede, and Callisto, (given by Simon Marius whom made the same discoveries around the same time), based on the stories of Jupiter (Zeus) in Greek mythology. Each respective tale tells of Jupiter, disguising himself in various forms in the pursuit of the abduction of Zeus’ lovers. In incorporating the notions of associating orbital/celestial bodies with feats in scientific discovery, our work attempts to merge the ethereal sense of spacial discovery in the renaissance, with the empirical digestion of such matters in a contemporary environment. The 4 compositions (named simply numerically in referencing Galileo’s refusal to adopt the mythological names of these celestial bodies) reference some of the most famed renditions of these allegorical tales (such as Correggio’s The Abduction Of Ganymede) in highlighting the ubiquity of the Greek allegorical paradigm throughout the vast expanse of renaissance art, discovery and life. 

Playing on the dichotomy between the astounding size of these 4 moons and the limited fashion in which they could be perceived at the time of their discovery, the humble