Gal ‧ i ‧ le ‧ o /ˌɡæləˈleɪəʊ, ˌɡælɪˈleɪəʊ/ BrE AmE
(1564–1642) an Italian ↑ astronomer (=a scientist who studies the stars) , ↑ mathematician , and ↑ physicist whose many discoveries had a great influence on modern science. He saw mountains and ↑ crater s (=round holes) on the surface of the Moon, and his study of the changes in the appearance of ↑ Venus proved that it was moving around the Sun. He also discovered that if you drop objects of different weights in a ↑ vacuum , they fall at the same speed. He was punished by the ↑ inquisition (=a Roman Catholic organization that punished people who had unacceptable religious beliefs) because he believed that the Sun, not the Earth, was the centre of the universe.