The revelation in August that a manuscript attributed to Galileo Galilei was a forgery has led to the discovery of a different book that the celebrated Italian astronomer actually wrote.
In the aftermath of the forgery's discovery, Galileo's previously unpublished notes show that he was the true author of the "Considerazioni Astronomiche di Alimberto Mauri", an Italian book about astronomy.
Galileo was thought to be the author of the work when it was published, even though it was attributed to a different person. A common practice at the time was to write under a different name. The author of "Considerazioni Astronomiche" had not been confirmed until now.
Galileo toned down his heretical words and a long lost letter proves it.
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Matteo Cosci is a researcher in the Department of Philosophy and Cultural Heritage at the Ca' Foscari University of Venice and he said that the book is written by one of the most brilliant minds of Western science.
Galileo's famous work "Sidereus Nuncius" (Italian for "Starry Messenger"), which describes his breakthrough observations of Earth's moon and four of Jupiter's moons, was published a few years before the treatise.
"'Sidereus Nuncius' was the no- turning-back work that changed the history of astronomy and science in general," Cosci said. This is a great source of information for historians of philosophy.
A manuscript attributed to Galileo in the University of Michigan's library was found to be a forgery.
The document was a fake due to the fact that the paper watermarks showed it had been written more than 100 years ago. The manuscript was donated to the university in 1936 after it was acquired at an auction in 1934.
The investigation found that two letters used to verify the manuscript were forgeries and that one of the letters also claimed Galileo had written "Considerazioni Astronomiche."
The only proof that Galileo wrote the "Considerazioni Astronomiche di Alimberto Mauri" was a forged letter. A note written by Galileo in a library in Florence was discovered earlier this year by Cosci. When "Alimberto Mauri" was criticized in print, Galileo felt attacked.
Cosci said that Galileo recognized himself as Mauri when he wrote in his private note that "Lodovico della Colombe speaks of me with contempt."
The "new star" seen in 1604 was not new at all, but it was occasionally visible and was written about by delle Colombe. Ptolemy's model of the solar system was based on the idea that the sun, planets and stars were fixed and unchanging, and that they traveled around the Earth.
There is a question about why the planets in the solar system circle on the same plane.
Galileo proposed that the "new star" was actually new and suggested ways to create it. The moon might have mountains was one of the radical ideas introduced by him.
Peter Barker is a professor of the history of science at the University of Oklahoma. You can say it was me if it flies.
Barker is convinced by Cosci's research, even though he wasn't involved in it. Nick Wilding is a historian at Georgia State University who discovered the forgery of the University of Michigan manuscript.
Wilding said that patient and intelligent archival research can restore some of the damage done by forgers. A combination of skepticism and skill will lead us to historical truth, according to Dr. Cosci.
The University of Padua was governed by the Republic of Venice when Galileo taught there. The Pope's treasurer may have been the subject of the treatise as it was dedicated to him.
But Rome and Venice were engaged in a diplomatic quarrel at that time, "so it would have been unwise of Galileo to place his name on a treatise that was dedicated to the public enemy," Cosci said.
Originally published on Live Science.
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