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Galileo's ‘Lie’ Uncovered after 400 Years

A 1635 portrait of astronomer Galileo Galilei by Dutch painter Justus Sustermans. (Reuters)
A 1635 portrait of astronomer Galileo Galilei by Dutch painter Justus Sustermans. (Reuters)
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Galileo's ‘Lie’ Uncovered after 400 Years

A 1635 portrait of astronomer Galileo Galilei by Dutch painter Justus Sustermans. (Reuters)
A 1635 portrait of astronomer Galileo Galilei by Dutch painter Justus Sustermans. (Reuters)

After drawing the ire of the Catholic Church for declaring that the Earth orbits the Sun, Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei was put on trial at the Inquisition headquarters in Rome. To avoid being burned at the stake, the 69-year-old was forced to renounce his belief in a heliocentric model of the universe.

Nevertheless, the famed polymath still was sentenced to live out his last years under house arrest. As Alison Abbott reports in a Nature News exclusive, a long-lost letter reveals that before Galileo was convicted on “vehement suspicion of heresy,” he already lived in fear of persecution and was willing to spoil any paper on his discovery in an attempt to fool the Inquisition.

Galileo wrote a letter to his friend, the mathematician Benedetto Castelli in 1613. The original letter, recently uncovered in a misdated library catalogue at the Royal Society in London, is believed to be the first documented account of his inflammatory arguments for the secular pursuit of science, and it includes his support of Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus’ 1543 theory of a Sun-centered universe.

Confusingly, two versions of the letter are around today: One contains far more passive language about Galileo’s findings; the other, a more inflammatory copy, is what ultimately ended up in the hands of the Inquisition.

Researchers have long wondered: Which letter was the original? Was the more cautious one written by Galileo himself, in an attempt to soften his revolutionary beliefs? Or was the more radical one doctored by members of the Inquisition, charging Galileo’s language to build their case against him?

The truth of the matter wasn’t resolved until early August, when Salvatore Ricciardo, a science historian at the University of Bergamo in Italy, stumbled upon that original letter in the Royal Society library archives filed under an incorrect date.

The original wording of the letter matched the copy seized by the Inquisition not the one attached to Galileo’s plea. Four centuries after the fact, Galileo has been caught in a lie.

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British Royals to Mark What Would Have Been Late Queen’s 100th Birthday

King Charles in April 2025. (Getty Images)
King Charles in April 2025. (Getty Images)
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British Royals to Mark What Would Have Been Late Queen’s 100th Birthday

King Charles in April 2025. (Getty Images)
King Charles in April 2025. (Getty Images)

King Charles will visit an exhibition dedicated to his late mother's fashion on Monday, the first in a number of events which the British royals will attend to mark what would have been the late Queen Elizabeth's 100th birthday on Tuesday.

Elizabeth, Britain's longest-reigning and longest-lived monarch, was born on April 21, 1926, going on to spend 70 years on the throne before her death in September 2022 at the age of 96.

Such is ‌her enduring ‌impact that a YouGov survey last week found that ‌81% ⁠of those polled ⁠had a positive opinion of her, more than any living member of the royal family.

"I don't think I've ever seen anybody have a sense of duty like she had," Charles' wife, Queen Camilla, told a BBC documentary broadcast on Sunday.

"It must have been so difficult, being surrounded by much older men," Camilla said of Elizabeth's accession to the throne in ⁠1952 aged 25. "There weren't women prime ministers or ‌women presidents. She was the only one, ‌so I think she carved her own role."

To mark the anniversary of her ‌birth, Charles and Camilla will visit a new exhibition, "Queen Elizabeth II: ‌Her Life in Style", which is currently being held at Buckingham Palace.

More than 300 items, ranging from the late queen's wedding dress to the outfit she wore for her cameo appearance at the opening of the London 2012 Olympics, ‌are on display in the largest-ever exhibition of her wardrobe.

Famed for wearing bright colors and matching hats, ⁠she once quipped: "I have ⁠to be seen to be believed."

On Tuesday, the king and other royals will visit the British Museum to view the final designs for a national memorial to his mother, while Charles' sister, Princess Anne, will officially open the Queen Elizabeth II Garden in London's Regent’s Park.

In the evening, Charles and Camilla will host a reception featuring representatives from charities his mother supported as well as a number of people who will be celebrating their 100th birthday.

The royals' commemorations come after the government announced on Sunday that a new independent charity, the Queen Elizabeth Trust, was being launched to focus on restoring shared spaces in communities, backed by 40 million pounds ($54 million) with the king as its patron.

Varieties

Briton in Russia Revives Soviet-Era Watches for Luxury Market

An employee demonstrates a watch at the Raketa Watch Factory in Peterhof, part of Saint Petersburg, Russia, April 1, 2026. (Reuters)
An employee demonstrates a watch at the Raketa Watch Factory in Peterhof, part of Saint Petersburg, Russia, April 1, 2026. (Reuters)
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Briton in Russia Revives Soviet-Era Watches for Luxury Market

An employee demonstrates a watch at the Raketa Watch Factory in Peterhof, part of Saint Petersburg, Russia, April 1, 2026. (Reuters)
An employee demonstrates a watch at the Raketa Watch Factory in Peterhof, part of Saint Petersburg, Russia, April 1, 2026. (Reuters)

When David Henderson-Stewart first visited Russia's Raketa watch factory, its few remaining watchmakers were huddled in winter coats over vintage equipment.

The British former lawyer knew nothing about watches, but his love of Soviet design led him to see potential in the ailing enterprise, which once employed 7,000 workers and produced timepieces for astronauts and the mass market.

President Vladimir Putin now wears a watch made by its bespoke offshoot, Imperial Peterhof Factory.

"I would never have found something as interesting as Raketa in the West," said Henderson-Stewart, who did not wear a watch until he took over the factory outside St Petersburg with a partner in 2010.

A yearning to ‌live abroad drove ‌Henderson-Stewart to move to Russia to work in law after ‌studying ⁠at Oxford and ⁠at Paris's Sorbonne University. He has stayed, raising three children, who all have Russian citizenship.

Under his leadership, Raketa's pivot to high-end watches with an emphasis on their "Made in Russia" credentials has paid off.

Western sanctions imposed over the war in Ukraine squeezed trade and shuttered foreign luxury stores in Russia from 2022, but domestic demand rose for the largely unsanctioned company, while sales continued to Europe and the Middle East. Its own supply chain was little affected.

"We don't depend on the ⁠West for components. We produce most of them ourselves," Henderson-Stewart said ‌at the revamped Raketa facility, whose industrial roots date ‌to 1721. "That's what our community likes ... that it's a Russian-made watch."

PUTIN BOOST

In the factory, some of the ‌over 200 employees use refurbished machinery to fashion tiny cogs, wheels and springs, continuing the ‌rare practice of making all mechanical parts in-house. Elsewhere, watchmakers with magnifying eyepieces work painstakingly, pop music blaring in the background.

Raketa received a boost in 2022 when Putin was spotted wearing his Imperial Peterhof Factory watch. Some local media read it as a signal of support for domestic production after ‌the invasion of Ukraine.

Putin has since worn the watch regularly, spurring demand for similar designs, said Henderson-Stewart.

"We were told that it would ⁠be better not ⁠to replicate this exact model," he added.

Public records show Raketa posted profit of 109 million roubles ($1.43 million) in 2025, over 15% more than in 2024.

Priced from around $700 to $3,500, Raketa watches are mostly based on Soviet designs, including the steely-faced Baikonur, named after the cosmodrome from which Moscow still launches crewed space flights.

The hands of another of its watches sweep counter-clockwise. This unique model has become a bestseller since it was brought to Henderson-Stewart's attention by head engineer Lyudmila Voynik, 86, who has worked at the factory since the 1950s.

Voynik pulled out a hand-inked technical drawing, patched with tape, from a filing cabinet - one of many she kept safe throughout Raketa's post-Soviet troubles.

"Our Raketas remain the same. Maybe some small changes in details here and there," she said. "I have lived my life here. I am proud that we managed to revive it all once again."

Varieties

Skydiver Left Dangling When Parachute Snags on Stadium Video Board

In this image from video, personnel on a lift work to secure a skydiver that crashed into the Lane Stadium scoreboard before Virginia Tech’s spring NCAA college football game, Saturday, April 18, 2026, in Blacksburg, Va. (Ben Walls/WRIC8 via AP)
In this image from video, personnel on a lift work to secure a skydiver that crashed into the Lane Stadium scoreboard before Virginia Tech’s spring NCAA college football game, Saturday, April 18, 2026, in Blacksburg, Va. (Ben Walls/WRIC8 via AP)
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Skydiver Left Dangling When Parachute Snags on Stadium Video Board

In this image from video, personnel on a lift work to secure a skydiver that crashed into the Lane Stadium scoreboard before Virginia Tech’s spring NCAA college football game, Saturday, April 18, 2026, in Blacksburg, Va. (Ben Walls/WRIC8 via AP)
In this image from video, personnel on a lift work to secure a skydiver that crashed into the Lane Stadium scoreboard before Virginia Tech’s spring NCAA college football game, Saturday, April 18, 2026, in Blacksburg, Va. (Ben Walls/WRIC8 via AP)

A skydiver ‌trailing a large American flag drifted off course and became tangled in the video board at a US college football game on Saturday, leaving him suspended above the field by his parachute until he was rescued.

Viral videos from inside ‌Virginia Tech's ‌Lane Stadium, confirmed ‌by ⁠Reuters, showed two ⁠skydivers descending into the arena before the school's spring game, when one of them missed the designated landing area, hit the electronic scoreboard and ⁠became entangled.

Fans watched in ‌distress as ‌the skydiver, whose name was not ‌immediately released, was left hanging ‌for 15 to 20 minutes before emergency crews using an aerial ladder brought him to safety.

"We ‌are grateful to report that the skydiver was safely ⁠secured ⁠and is currently stable. Our primary focus remains on their well-being," Virginia Tech officials posted on X.

"We extend our sincere appreciation to the first responders, event staff, and medical personnel for their swift, coordinated and professional response."

No injuries were reported during the incident.