Scene 3
Entire scene (irregular surface of the moon; Jupiter's moons; dedication to Cosimo II de Medici):
In the fall of 1609 Galileo began observing the heavens with instruments that magnified up to 20 times. In December he drew the Moon’s phases as seen through the telescope, showing that the Moon’s surface is not smooth, as had been thought, but is rough and uneven. In January 1610 he discovered four moons revolving around Jupiter. He also found that the telescope showed many more stars than are visible with the naked eye. These discoveries were earthshaking, and Galileo quickly produced a little book, Sidereus Nuncius (The Sidereal Messenger), in which he described them. He dedicated the book to Cosimo II de Medici (1590–1621), the grand duke of his native Tuscany, whom he had tutored in mathematics for several summers, and he named the moons of Jupiter after the Medici family: the Sidera Medicea, or “Medicean Stars.”
p. 23
water pump/irrigation system -
In 1593 Galileo was consulted on the placement of oars in galleys and submitted a report in which he treated the oar as a lever and correctly made the water the fulcrum. A year later the Venetian Senate awarded him a patent for a device for raising water by means of one horse.
p. 24
star charts -
Until the end of the fifteenth century, sailors navigated with almost daily reference to land. In the Mediterranean it was difficult to go very far astray, and in western and northwest Europe navigation was coastal. Ships hugged the shore from Gibraltar to the Norway and the Baltic. The only exception to this rule was the trade between Scandinavia, Iceland, and occasionally Greenland. These routes were discovered (probably by accident) by the Vikings around 1000 CE. With the Portuguese voyages of discovery, in the fifteenth century, navigation became more difficult. For some time Portuguese sailors hugged the coast of Africa, as they carefully explored the contours of this continent. Both the winds and the currents there made sailing south difficult, however, and beginning with the voyages of Diaz (who rounded the Cape of Good Hope) in 1486, Columbus in 1492, and da Gama in 1498, Spanish and Portuguese sailors sailed the high seas for weeks on end without seeing land. The only reference points on the high seas were the stars and Sun. Locations and courses now had to be spatial: a navigator needed to locate himself on a grid of imaginary lines of latitude and longitude.
The Portuguese pioneered the method of navigating by latitude. Ships had to be equipped with instruments (astrolabes, cross staffs) to measure the altitudes of stars or the Sun. It was not difficult to determine one's latitude to within about a degree by this method. Longitude was, however, a different matter. Soon after the discovery of the satellites of Jupiter, scientists realized that the formation of the satellites provided a clock whose face could be seen from every vantage point. In 1613 Galileo entered into negotiations with the Spanish Crown to provide Spanish navigators with eclipse tables for the satellites and telescopes with which to make the observations. He worked for many years to perfect his knowledge of the satellites' motions but never published his results (presumably because they were not sufficiently accurate). He did, however, have reasonable hopes of being able to predict eclipses over short periods. But there was a more severe problem. In order to observe the satellites, one needed a telescope of relatively high power, say 15, and given the small field of view of the Galilean telescope (perhaps 20' of arc) it was impossible to make the observation from the deck of a ship on the high seas. Galileo made some trials of a telescope attached to a helmet (he called this device a celatone) on ships riding at anchor in the harbor of Livorno, but this approach only worked with rather low-powered telescopes. The Spanish were not impressed by the method, and negotiations eventually faltered.
p. 25
Galilean satellites -
Galileo proposed that the four Jovian moons he discovered in 1610 be named the Medicean stars, in honour of his patron, Cosimo II de’ Medici, but they soon came to be known as the Galilean satellites in honour of their discoverer. Galileo regarded their existence as a fundamental argument in favour of the Copernican model of the solar system, in which the planets orbit the Sun. Their orbits around Jupiter were in flagrant violation of the Ptolemaic system, in which all celestial objects must move around Earth. In order of increasing distance from the planet, these satellites are called Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto, for figures closely associated with Jupiter in Greek mythology. The names were assigned by the German astronomer Simon Marius, Galileo’s contemporary and rival, who likely discovered the satellites independently.
p. 29
the Court at Florence -
Italian Firenze, Latin Florentia, city, capital of Firenze provincia (province) and Toscana (Tuscany) regione (region), central Italy. The city, located about 145 miles (230 km) northwest of Rome, is surrounded by gently rolling hills that are covered with villas and farms, vineyards, and orchards. Florence was founded as a Roman military colony about the 1st century bce, and during its long history it has been a republic, a seat of the duchy of Tuscany, and a capital (1865–70) of Italy. During the 14th to 16th centuries Florence achieved preeminence in commerce and finance, learning, and especially the arts. The present glory of Florence is mainly its past. Indeed, its historic centre was inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 1982. The buildings there are works of art abounding in yet more works of art, and the splendours of the city are stamped with the personalities of the men who made them. The geniuses of Florence were backed by men of towering wealth, and the city to this day gives testimony to their passions for religion, for art, for power, or for money. Among the most famous of the city’s giants are Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Dante, Machiavelli, Galileo, and its most renowned rulers, the generations of the Medici family.
Cosimo de’ Medici (Cosimo the Elder; died 1464) became the leading citizen in Florence after his return in 1434 from a year of exile. He achieved this position by virtue of his great wealth (the result of the largest banking network in Europe) and an extensive network of patronage obligations. While he never accepted public office, his faction dominated the city. He lived an increasingly opulent life, as is apparent in the ostentation of the Medici Palace and the patronage of churches such as San Lorenzo and the monastery of St. Mark, with its frescoes by Fra Angelico. Investment in culture, including the patronage of artists and architects and the purchase of books and manuscripts, became a fundamental expression of the Medici’s aristocratic way of life; it was continued by Cosimo’s son, Piero, and his grandson, Lorenzo (died 1492; dubbed “the Magnificent”). In all but name, Florence was now ruled by a Medici prince, whose position resembled that of the tyrants in other Italian cities such as Milan, Ferrara, Mantua, and Urbino.
With the rise of Cosimo I to titled nobility and to absolute rule in Florence, the political and cultural vitality of the city had all but ebbed, prompting a modern scholar to refer to the succeeding era as the “forgotten centuries.” Florence’s dukes had become minor players in the broader European balance of great powers, and they linked themselves chiefly with the noble houses of France. Marital alliances of Medici family members with members of the French nobility include those of Catherine de Médicis (died 1589), queen of Henry II and later regent of France; Grand Duke Ferdinand I (died 1609), who married Christine of Lorraine; and Marie de Médicis (died 1642), who married King Henry IV of France. The city generally declined under prolonged Medici rule, a process that was marked only by the extended reign of Cosimo III (1670–1723) and the end of the family with the death of his son, Gian Gastone (died 1737).
Excerpted from Encyclopedia Britannica
In the fall of 1609 Galileo began observing the heavens with instruments that magnified up to 20 times. In December he drew the Moon’s phases as seen through the telescope, showing that the Moon’s surface is not smooth, as had been thought, but is rough and uneven. In January 1610 he discovered four moons revolving around Jupiter. He also found that the telescope showed many more stars than are visible with the naked eye. These discoveries were earthshaking, and Galileo quickly produced a little book, Sidereus Nuncius (The Sidereal Messenger), in which he described them. He dedicated the book to Cosimo II de Medici (1590–1621), the grand duke of his native Tuscany, whom he had tutored in mathematics for several summers, and he named the moons of Jupiter after the Medici family: the Sidera Medicea, or “Medicean Stars.”
p. 23
water pump/irrigation system -
In 1593 Galileo was consulted on the placement of oars in galleys and submitted a report in which he treated the oar as a lever and correctly made the water the fulcrum. A year later the Venetian Senate awarded him a patent for a device for raising water by means of one horse.
p. 24
star charts -
Until the end of the fifteenth century, sailors navigated with almost daily reference to land. In the Mediterranean it was difficult to go very far astray, and in western and northwest Europe navigation was coastal. Ships hugged the shore from Gibraltar to the Norway and the Baltic. The only exception to this rule was the trade between Scandinavia, Iceland, and occasionally Greenland. These routes were discovered (probably by accident) by the Vikings around 1000 CE. With the Portuguese voyages of discovery, in the fifteenth century, navigation became more difficult. For some time Portuguese sailors hugged the coast of Africa, as they carefully explored the contours of this continent. Both the winds and the currents there made sailing south difficult, however, and beginning with the voyages of Diaz (who rounded the Cape of Good Hope) in 1486, Columbus in 1492, and da Gama in 1498, Spanish and Portuguese sailors sailed the high seas for weeks on end without seeing land. The only reference points on the high seas were the stars and Sun. Locations and courses now had to be spatial: a navigator needed to locate himself on a grid of imaginary lines of latitude and longitude.
The Portuguese pioneered the method of navigating by latitude. Ships had to be equipped with instruments (astrolabes, cross staffs) to measure the altitudes of stars or the Sun. It was not difficult to determine one's latitude to within about a degree by this method. Longitude was, however, a different matter. Soon after the discovery of the satellites of Jupiter, scientists realized that the formation of the satellites provided a clock whose face could be seen from every vantage point. In 1613 Galileo entered into negotiations with the Spanish Crown to provide Spanish navigators with eclipse tables for the satellites and telescopes with which to make the observations. He worked for many years to perfect his knowledge of the satellites' motions but never published his results (presumably because they were not sufficiently accurate). He did, however, have reasonable hopes of being able to predict eclipses over short periods. But there was a more severe problem. In order to observe the satellites, one needed a telescope of relatively high power, say 15, and given the small field of view of the Galilean telescope (perhaps 20' of arc) it was impossible to make the observation from the deck of a ship on the high seas. Galileo made some trials of a telescope attached to a helmet (he called this device a celatone) on ships riding at anchor in the harbor of Livorno, but this approach only worked with rather low-powered telescopes. The Spanish were not impressed by the method, and negotiations eventually faltered.
p. 25
Galilean satellites -
Galileo proposed that the four Jovian moons he discovered in 1610 be named the Medicean stars, in honour of his patron, Cosimo II de’ Medici, but they soon came to be known as the Galilean satellites in honour of their discoverer. Galileo regarded their existence as a fundamental argument in favour of the Copernican model of the solar system, in which the planets orbit the Sun. Their orbits around Jupiter were in flagrant violation of the Ptolemaic system, in which all celestial objects must move around Earth. In order of increasing distance from the planet, these satellites are called Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto, for figures closely associated with Jupiter in Greek mythology. The names were assigned by the German astronomer Simon Marius, Galileo’s contemporary and rival, who likely discovered the satellites independently.
p. 29
the Court at Florence -
Italian Firenze, Latin Florentia, city, capital of Firenze provincia (province) and Toscana (Tuscany) regione (region), central Italy. The city, located about 145 miles (230 km) northwest of Rome, is surrounded by gently rolling hills that are covered with villas and farms, vineyards, and orchards. Florence was founded as a Roman military colony about the 1st century bce, and during its long history it has been a republic, a seat of the duchy of Tuscany, and a capital (1865–70) of Italy. During the 14th to 16th centuries Florence achieved preeminence in commerce and finance, learning, and especially the arts. The present glory of Florence is mainly its past. Indeed, its historic centre was inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 1982. The buildings there are works of art abounding in yet more works of art, and the splendours of the city are stamped with the personalities of the men who made them. The geniuses of Florence were backed by men of towering wealth, and the city to this day gives testimony to their passions for religion, for art, for power, or for money. Among the most famous of the city’s giants are Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Dante, Machiavelli, Galileo, and its most renowned rulers, the generations of the Medici family.
Cosimo de’ Medici (Cosimo the Elder; died 1464) became the leading citizen in Florence after his return in 1434 from a year of exile. He achieved this position by virtue of his great wealth (the result of the largest banking network in Europe) and an extensive network of patronage obligations. While he never accepted public office, his faction dominated the city. He lived an increasingly opulent life, as is apparent in the ostentation of the Medici Palace and the patronage of churches such as San Lorenzo and the monastery of St. Mark, with its frescoes by Fra Angelico. Investment in culture, including the patronage of artists and architects and the purchase of books and manuscripts, became a fundamental expression of the Medici’s aristocratic way of life; it was continued by Cosimo’s son, Piero, and his grandson, Lorenzo (died 1492; dubbed “the Magnificent”). In all but name, Florence was now ruled by a Medici prince, whose position resembled that of the tyrants in other Italian cities such as Milan, Ferrara, Mantua, and Urbino.
With the rise of Cosimo I to titled nobility and to absolute rule in Florence, the political and cultural vitality of the city had all but ebbed, prompting a modern scholar to refer to the succeeding era as the “forgotten centuries.” Florence’s dukes had become minor players in the broader European balance of great powers, and they linked themselves chiefly with the noble houses of France. Marital alliances of Medici family members with members of the French nobility include those of Catherine de Médicis (died 1589), queen of Henry II and later regent of France; Grand Duke Ferdinand I (died 1609), who married Christine of Lorraine; and Marie de Médicis (died 1642), who married King Henry IV of France. The city generally declined under prolonged Medici rule, a process that was marked only by the extended reign of Cosimo III (1670–1723) and the end of the family with the death of his son, Gian Gastone (died 1737).
Excerpted from Encyclopedia Britannica