Galileo was a polymath who lived in the 1500s and 1600s. A polymath is a person who is an expert in several subjects. Galileo was an expert in several kinds of math and science. He was the first to describe several of Jupiter’s moons and Saturn’s rings.

Galileo may be best known for his view that the sun was the center of the solar system and that all planets rotated around it. This view was first described by a scientist named Nicholas Copernicus. This view, however, was rejected by the Pope. The Pope was a powerful man in charge of the Catholic Church. He wanted the people to believe that the planets and sun rotated around the Earth. The Pope punished Galileo and made him admit his views were wrong.