Galileo came after Copernicus and added to the evidence in favour of the Copernican model of the solar system. He was the first astronomer to make and use a telescope,

He observed

When he tried to publish his ideas, he was tried by inquisition and forced to renounce his observations and ideas. He is supposed to have muttered, 'still it moves', under his breath during his trial, referring to the motion of the Earth around the Sun.