Galileo Galilei discoveries

Galileo Galilei is credited with discovering the first four moons of Jupiter.

Credit: NASA

NEW YORK — In 1610, Galileo Galilei peered through his telescope and discovered four moons orbiting around Jupiter, a breakthrough that helped confirm the heliocentric theory that the Earth revolves around the sun, and not the other way around.

To mark the 400th anniversary of Galileo's discovery, Officine Panerai, a high-end Italian watchmaker, crafted three exclusive timepieces to pay tribute to the scientist himself. Two of the pieces debuted in January 2010, exactly four centuries after Galileo's pivotal observations, but all three were the centerpiece of an event held here Tuesday (Nov. 1) at the Explorer's Club on Manhattan's Upper East Side.

"To celebrate the discovery of those main satellites that Galileo discovered in 1610, we developed three products, " said Frank Stalder, director of research and development at the Officine Panerai. "The very big interest in this discovery is it was the first one made thanks to an optical instrument — the telescope. Second, is that it was the first time that we observed some moons turning around another planet than the Earth, so it gave weight to the heliocentric theory versus the geocentric one which was thought at the time by the church."

Stalder discussed the significance of Galileo's 15th century find, and how the famed astronomer's work continues to impact modern-day watchmaking. He then presented Officine Panerai's three timepieces that are dedicated to Galileo: two wristwatches called L'Astronomo and Lo Scienziato, and a unique planetarium clock called Jupiterium.

Italian watchmaker Officine Panerai crafted this planetarium clock, called Jupiterium, to mark the 400th anniversary of Galileo's discovery of the four main moons around Jupiter.

Credit: Officine Panerai