Galileo and The Solar Sytem

Galileo Galilei, the 16th and 17th century physicist, mathematician, and astrologer, was one of the pioneering minds behind many of the theories we hold true about our solar system. Galileo is credited with the invention of the telescope, and for several years he was one of very few who could make telescopes well enough to observe the heavens. Towards the end of his life, he constructed a telescope with 30x magnification, one of the most powerful of it's time. Galileo also is credited with the discovery of four of Jupiter's 63 moons. These four satellites were the first discovered orbiting Jupiter, and are now known as the Galilean moons. However, more importantly, the discovery of these moons allowed Galileo to disprove the Geocentric model of the universe. By observing the behavior of the moons, Galileo was able to conclude that the moons were orbiting Jupiter, not Earth.
Galileo went on to observe many other extraterrestrial occurences, including sunspots, the Milky Way, Neptune, and the moon's terrain. Credited with countless discoveries not only in the world of astrology, but also in the worlds of math and physics, Galileo can undoubtedly be acclaimed as one of history's most influential men. Galileo's discoveries and theories are still in use today, and may still be used hundreds of years down the road.