What key observation was missing that prevented Galileo from fully proving the Earth's motion using contemporary standards?
Answer
Observable stellar parallax
The strongest scientific argument remaining against the moving Earth was the absence of observable stellar parallax—the apparent shift in nearby stars' positions during Earth's supposed orbit. Galileo's supporters argued stars were too far away to measure this shift.
Frequently Asked Questions
What key observation was missing that prevented Galileo from fully proving the Earth's motion using contemporary standards?In what year did Galileo significantly improve his telescope and begin systematically using it to gather astronomical data?Which of Galileo's discoveries delivered a direct, physical blow to the geocentric dogma that everything orbited the Earth?What aspect of Venus's appearance, observed through the telescope, proved it must orbit the Sun?What was the dual impact of Galileo's discovery concerning sunspots?What system, besides Copernicus's, was considered a viable explanation for the known observations at the time Galileo made his discoveries?In what year did the Inquisition formally declare the proposition of a moving Earth to be 'erroneous in faith'?What was the primary theological basis for rejecting the moving Earth proposition?What was the significant political error Galileo made in his 1632 publication?How was Copernicus generally treating his heliocentric model decades before Galileo publicized his physical evidence?What was the ultimate sentence Galileo received in 1633 after being found 'vehemently suspect of heresy'?