Galileo Galilei 1609
The Star Voyagers 2
Johannes Kepler discovered the ecliptical orbit of the planets (and described these in his Keplerian laws) and thus improved the copernican systems. His contemporary Galilei was the first one to raise the newly invented telescope to the sky and he discovered the moons of Jupiter, thus confirming that the earth were not the center of all movement. His invitation „measure what can be measured and make measurable what is not yet measurable“ cleared the way for empirical science. With his law of falling bodies he established the classical mechanics. Only 100 years after Kopernikus' death the philosophical and religious implications of his theory could be felt. Galilei fell a victim to the inquisition. To safe his life he recanted his theory in 1633 and was sentenced to lifelong house arrest.