The Italian mathematician, astronomer, and physicist whose telescopic observations, defense of heliocentrism, and development of experimental method made him a founding figure of the Scientific Revolution — and whose conflict with the Roman Inquisition became the paradigm case for the relationship between science and religious authority.
In 1633, one of the greatest scientists who ever lived was forced to kneel before a church tribunal and declare that the earth does not move. The story of how that happened — and what it actually means — is more complicated than the legend suggests.