Is it true that Galileo’s brother Merle discovered the planet Pluton, but Galileo took all the credit for it?
I overheard someone say this in the museum a few minutes ago. I think it was one of the tour guides. It sounds like speculation, but I guess it’s just crazy enough to be true.
According to my book on Galileo, he had 2 sisters, and 1 brother, called Michelangelo, (not Merle). He was a composer and a lutenist, and a bit of a dilettante, so it is doubtful that he discovered anything. Tour guides are not authorities on anything, or they would be doing something better than tour-guiding.
Galileo's telescope was a 20x telescope, he could just see Jupiter and four of it's many moons. Even with today's telescopes, it's really hard to see Pluto. There's no way Galileo or his brother could've seen Pluto, it'll be like saying you could see individual atoms with a magnifying glass.
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Pluto was discovered about 100 years ago, not in the times of Galileo. So no.
According to my book on Galileo, he had 2 sisters, and 1 brother, called Michelangelo, (not Merle). He was a composer and a lutenist, and a bit of a dilettante, so it is doubtful that he discovered anything. Tour guides are not authorities on anything, or they would be doing something better than tour-guiding.
Well, ..., no that was quite impossible given the crummy optics and very low magnification. The tour guide was flat out wrong.
Clyde Tombaugh discovered Pluto in 1930.
Galileo's telescope was a 20x telescope, he could just see Jupiter and four of it's many moons. Even with today's telescopes, it's really hard to see Pluto. There's no way Galileo or his brother could've seen Pluto, it'll be like saying you could see individual atoms with a magnifying glass.
Since Galileo is not credited with discovering any planets, I would say not.
No, not true. In several different ways.
I'll just add another not true, for two points.