Galileo affair

The Galileo affair was a conflict in the early 17th century between scientist Galileo Galilei and the Catholic Church. Galileo supported the heliocentric model, which placed the Sun at the center of the universe, contrary to the Church’s geocentric view that Earth was the center. His observations with a telescope, like Jupiter’s moons, provided strong evidence for heliocentrism. The Church, fearing heresy, ordered Galileo to abandon this view. In 1633, Galileo was tried, found guilty of heresy, and forced to recant. The affair highlighted the tension between scientific discovery and religious authority.