Which Renaissance scientist was deemed “vehemently suspect of heresy” by the Catholic Church, forced to recant his support for heliocentrism and spent the last years of his life under house arrest?
Explanation
Answer: E - Galileo was deemed “vehemently suspect of heresy” by the Catholic Church, forced to recant his support for heliocentrism and spend the last years of his life under house arrest. Galileo was the foremost observational astronomer of his time. Through telescopic observation, he confirmed the phases of Venus and discovered Jupiter’s four largest moons. He was a supporter of Copernicus’ heliocentric model and advocated for it openly, which eventually drew negative attention from the Church. Unwilling to relent in his assertion, he was eventually put on trial for heresy at the Roman Inquisition of 1615, where he was found “vehemently suspect of heresy.”
