Reverend Giovanni Battista Riccioli | |
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| Born | Galeazzo Riccioli 17 April 1598 |
| Died | 25 June 1671 (aged 73) Bologna, Papal States |
| Nationality | Italian |
| Known for | Experiments with pendulums and with falling bodies Introducing the current scheme of lunar nomenclature |
| Parent(s) | Giovanni Battista Riccioli and Gaspara Riccioli (née Orsini) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Astronomy, experimental physics, geography, chronology |
Giovanni Battista Riccioli, SJ (17 April 1598 – 25 June 1671) was an Italian astronomer and a Catholic priest in the Jesuit order. He is known, among other things, for his experiments with pendulums and with falling bodies, for his discussion of 126 arguments concerning the motion of the Earth, and for introducing the current scheme of lunar nomenclature. He is also widely known for discovering the first double star. He argued that the rotation of the Earth should reveal itself because on a rotating Earth, the ground moves at different speeds at different times.