Dava Sobel - Galileo's Daughter

I finished Dava Sobel's Galileo's Daughter the other day. The book had everything I had expected te read. After reading Longitude, I knew I was in for another good read on science history.
In June I had also read Steven Shapin's The Scientific Revolution for a more philosophical approach to the whole matter, encompassing a few centuries of -his conclusion- a non-revolution.
I even had to recommend the book to someone teaching at the history department at my university. The lady in question had never heard of Torricelli. She mistakenly proclaimed Blaise Pascal to be the inventor of the barometer.
Luckily she had corrected her mistake before she forwarded the handouts to all of the students.
So I highly recommend reading Galileo's Daughter. It discusses (among other things) Galileo's Inquisition Trail plus all the events leading up to it.
And I highly recommend Longitude too, if you haven't done so already.

So I added a little cartoon for comic relief's sake. But it is inaccurate (if you read the book you'll know why). And if you haven't or aren't planning on doing so, here are the reasons:

- Galileo discovered the moons of Jupiter in 1610. He measured observed mountains on the Moon in 1609.
- The edict against Copernican doctrine wasn't issued until 1616.
- The pope 'in charge' as you will when the Inquisition Trial was in effect was pope Urban VIII. He didn't become pope untill 1623.
- The papal grudge against Galileo only took form around 1632 after the publication of his Dialogues.

Now I feel like a real pedant. And the cartoon isn't funny to me anymore. It is factually wrong.
Meh. Sometimes being a geek feels like a curse instead of a blessing.