He was one of the giants in the history of science. Some would say he was the father of modern science itself. At the very least, Galileo was a pioneer, a man who transformed the way we look at the world around us. Beginning with the way we look at the night sky.

It was late spring in 1609 when Galileo heard about a new kind of optical device, one that could make distant objects seem near.

Before long, he was making even better instruments on his own. By the fall of that year, he was aiming his telescope at the heavens. And what he saw on those crisp autumn evenings – exactly 400 years ago – changed everything.