A quiz question · hard
Who was Galileo's main rival in the 1610s sunspot priority dispute?
Scheiner observed sunspots from Ingolstadt in March 1611 and published his findings later that year under a pseudonym, interpreting the spots as small satellites orbiting the Sun. Galileo argued they were features on the solar surface and accused Scheiner of theological motivation. Harriot saw spots in England in late 1610 but, in his usual habit, published nothing. The dispute fed Galileo's general conflict with Jesuit astronomy.
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The Year the Sun Was Found to Have Blemishes In 1610 four astronomers in four countries pointed early telescopes at the Sun and saw spots. They spent the next decade arguing about who had seen them first.
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