#ThrowBackToday: When astronomer Galileo was asked to abandon the belief that the Earth revolves around the Sun 

Science versus religion is the oldest war that is being fought in various ways in different parts of the world since time immemorial. We take you back to one such case, the Catholic church versus astronomer Galileo Galilei.

As per the church, it was a fact straight from the scripture that it was the Sun that revolved around the Earth while Galileo, and many before him, believed otherwise, which is now a fact beyond argument. Thus, on February 26, 1616, he was merely forbidden to hold such beliefs. But this was just the beginning. In 1633, the inquisition began yet again because the Italian polymath did not stop. In his defense, he said that he continued to write about the theory merely for the sake of discussions rather than a belief. But this defense did not go down well with the Church orthodoxy. Thus, not only was his book Dialogues of Galileo Galilei prohibited, but they also condemned him, "to the prison of this Holy Office during Our will and pleasure".

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After spending a day in prison, the man who discovered craters and mountains on the Moon, was sentenced to "villa arrest" under which he remained for the rest of his life.