Giovanni Battista Riccioli

Giovanni Battista Riccioli was an Italian astronomer from the 17th century, known for his precise observations of the night sky and for developing a detailed map of the Moon's surface. He also proposed a formal lunar nomenclature, assigning names to lunar features that are still used today. Riccioli was an advocate of heliocentrism—the idea that Earth orbits the Sun—and his work contributed to debates about planetary motion. Beyond astronomy, he conducted experiments on gravity and was a respected scientist of his time, helping to advance our understanding of celestial bodies and advocating for scientific inquiry.