September 25, 2018

  • Lost letter

    A letter written by Galileo in 1613 has turned up in a misdated library catalogue in London, revealing that he toned down his argument against the church’s geocentric doctrine. The letter was thought to be hopelessly lost, but a postdoctoral science historian found it in the Royal Society’s library while searching for something else.

    Writing to his friend Benedetto Castelli, Galileo set out for the first time his argument that Copernicus’s heliocentric model was not incompatible with the Bible. But the letter is strewn with amendments, thought to be in Galileo’s hand, softening the wording before he asked Castelli to send it to the Vatican. 

    NewScientist

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