[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1269 Engrossed in House (EH)]

H. Res. 1269

                In the House of Representatives, U. S.,

                                                           May 4, 2010.
Whereas 2009 is the 400th anniversary of the first use of the improved telescope 
        capable of astronomical observations by its developer, the Italian 
        Renaissance scientist Galileo Galilei;
Whereas Galileo, born in Pisa, Italy, in 1564, was educated at the University of 
        Pisa where he became Professor of Mathematics;
Whereas he attained life tenure as Chair of Mathematics at University of Padua;
Whereas Galileo was appointed Chief Philosopher and Mathematician to the Grand 
        Duke of Tuscany, Cosimo de' Medici II, his patron;
Whereas Galileo had an integral role in the Scientific Revolution of the 17th 
        Century due to his major contributions as a physicist, mathematician, 
        astronomer, and philosopher;
Whereas Galileo is universally regarded as the ``Father of Modern Astronomy'', 
        ``Father of Modern Physics'', and ``Father of Modern Science'';
Whereas his experiments on the laws of motion, falling bodies, and the parabolic 
        paths of projectiles and his observations of astronomical bodies were 
        scientific advances;
Whereas his inventions, the enhanced telescope; hydrostatic balance; geometric 
        and military compass; thermoscope (thermometer); perfected compound 
        microscope; pulsilogium (pulsiometer), enabled practical applications in 
        the fields of military and civil engineering, navigation, medicine, and 
        astronomy;
Whereas his newly designed instruments of measurement, coupled with his theory 
        that the natural world was written in the language of mathematics, laid 
        the groundwork for modern scientific method and research;
Whereas Galileo's use of his telescope, the central instrument of the Scientific 
        Revolution, enabled his discovery of certain features of the surface of 
        the moon, the moons of Jupiter, the phases and motion of Venus, and 
        sunspots;
Whereas these findings confirmed that the Copernican Sun Centered Solar System 
        was plausible;
Whereas this changed human understanding of the cosmos;
Whereas Galileo published his theories and findings in several treatises, 
        letters, and books, most importantly, Siderius Nuncius and the Dialogue 
        Concerning the Two Chief World Systems;
Whereas Galileo's body of work enabled subsequent generations, in particular in 
        the United States, to build on the tradition of scientific research, to 
        be in the forefront of new scientific endeavors, specifically in 
        medicine, technology, and space exploration, resulting in the betterment 
        of mankind;
Whereas the United States of America has previously honored the scientist 
        through naming a research aircraft, ``Galileo'', commissioned for the 
        Eclipse Expedition in 1965, and naming one of its major interplanetary 
        missions, the Galileo Expedition to Jupiter, launched in 1989 and ending 
        its 14-year odyssey in 2003;
Whereas America also has built on the legacy of Galileo with NASA's most 
        successful long-term science mission, the launch in 1990 of the Hubble 
        Space Telescope, which contributes to our understanding of the universe;
Whereas as part of NASA's tribute to Galileo, a replica of Galileo's telescope, 
        provided by the Istituto e Museo di Storia della Scienza, Florence, 
        Italy, was carried into space by Italian American astronaut, Michael 
        Massimino, on the May 2009 Atlantis mission to repair and update the 
        orbiting Hubble telescope;
Whereas 2009 also marks the 40th anniversary of the moon landing by the Apollo 
        11 astronauts, which gave mankind first hand knowledge of the moon's 
        surface, first observed in detail when Galileo turned his telescope to 
        the sky in 1609;
Whereas the United Nations ``The International Year of Astronomy 2009'' is a 
        global effort with over 140 countries participating, initiated by the 
        International Astronomical Union (IAU) and UNESCO, at the request of 
        Italy, Galileo's native country; and
Whereas organizations, educational institutions, government entities, most 
        notably in Italy, Istituto e Museo di Storia della Scienza and in the 
        United States, NASA, Smithsonian Institution, Franklin Institute in 
        Philadelphia, Italian Embassy and Italian Consulates, National Italian 
        American Foundation and Italian Heritage and Culture Committee of New 
        York, Inc., are celebrating the genius of Galileo Galilei and ``The 
        International Year of Astronomy 2009'' with numerous public programs, 
        publications, symposia, proclamation ceremonies, and tributes to Galileo 
        and his legacy: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Congress of the United States of America commemorates the 
400th anniversary of the first use of the telescope by Galileo Galilei for 
astronomical observation and marks this discovery as one of the major events 
impacting mankind, and expresses its gratitude for Galileo's expansion of the 
universe and mankind's understanding of his place in the cosmos, and that the 
Congress of the United States of America joins the world in celebration of ``The 
International Year of Astronomy''.
            Attest:

                                                                          Clerk.