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Galileo Galilei (1564–1642) continued the revolution by providing even more technical and mathematical explanations of the universe. He has been called the father of observational astronomy because he invented the telescope. The Church had mistakenly believed the sun symbolized perfection, even though through his telescope Galileo discovered there were sunspots on the sun that changed day to day. He reasoned that the sun was not perfect, which provided a powerful symbol of freedom from theological interference in the pursuit of science.

The invention of the telescope had significant psychological implications. Human behavior could now be subject to mathematical laws and observed through technical instruments. The telescope, as an extension of the human eye, symbolized humanity inseparability from the natural world and, like the sun, imperfect.