Christianity in the 17th century 1640s. In 1610, Galileo Galilei published his "Sidereus Nuncius", describing observations that he had made with the new telescope. These and other discoveries exposed difficulties with the understanding of the heavens current since antiquity and raised interest in teachings such as the heliocentric theory of Copernicus. In reaction, scholars such as Cosimo Boscaglia maintained that the motion of the Earth and immobility of the Sun were heretical, as they contradicted some accounts given in the Bible as understood at that time. Galileo's part in the controversies over theology, astronomy and philosophy culminated in his trial and sentencing in 1633, on
Science and technology of the Han dynasty Han astronomers believed the Sun, Moon, and planets were spherical like balls or crossbow bullets. He also wrote that the Moon and planets produce no light of their own, are viewable to people on Earth only because they are illuminated by the Sun, and those parts not illuminated by the Sun would be dark on the other side. For this, Jing compared the Moon to a mirror illuminating light. In the 2nd century CE, Zhang Heng drew a similar comparison to Jing's by stating that the Sun is like fire and the Moon and planets are like water, since fire