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English statesman and author Francis Bacon had a deep love for science. He thought that scientists would produce useful knowledge that would enhance people's lives if they had a greater grasp of the world. Bacon criticized medieval scholars in his writings for depending too heavily on the ideas of Aristotle and other ancient thinkers. He advised scientists to conduct experiments before drawing conclusions rather than doing so based on theoretical abstractions.
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Galileo discovered when he was a young man that a Dutch lens maker had created a device that could magnify distant things. In 1610, he released a short book titled Starry Messenger in which he detailed his astounding discoveries. Galileo declared that the sun had dark patches and that Jupiter had four moons. The idea put out by Aristotle that the moon and stars were composed of a perfect, pure substance was disproved by this. Galileo's findings and laws of motion confirmed Copernicus' theories.