[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1269 Introduced in House (IH)]
111th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. RES. 1269
Commemorating the 400th anniversary of the first use of the telescope
for astronomical observation by the Italian scientist Galileo Galilei.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 15, 2010
Mr. Tiberi (for himself, Mr. Bilirakis, Mr. Brown of South Carolina,
Mr. King of New York, and Mr. Pascrell) submitted the following
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Science and
Technology
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Commemorating the 400th anniversary of the first use of the telescope
for astronomical observation by the Italian scientist Galileo Galilei.
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
Philiadelphia, 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''.
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