Galileo Galilei arrives in Rome for his trial before the Inquisition.

The Inquisition of Galileo Galilei was one of the most infamous clashes between science and religious authority in history. In 1633, the Roman Catholic Church tried Galileo for heresy due to his advocacy of heliocentrism—the idea that the Earth orbits the Sun, which contradicted the Church-endorsed geocentric model. Although Galileo initially enjoyed favor with the Church, his 1632 book, Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, strongly supported the Copernican system and seemingly ridiculed Pope Urban VIII, which angered Church authorities. Under threat of torture, Galileo was forced to recant his views and was sentenced to house arrest for the remainder of his life. Despite this condemnation, his work laid the foundation for modern astronomy and physics, influencing later scientists such as Isaac Newton. The Catholic Church officially acknowledged its mistake in 1992, over 350 years after Galileo’s trial.