Measuring the Sun's Mass The Sun, the principal mass in the solar system, exerts a force on the planet where r is the radius of the planet's orbit. If we can measure the radius of the orbit, we can with a little algebra derive the mass of the Sun. Galileo faced the Inquisition because of a conflict between two ways of knowing and understanding the world. The Church taught faith and understanding through revelation, but the scientists of the age were inventing a new way to understand nature that relied on evidence. In astronomy, evidence means observations, so our story turns now from the philosophical problem of the place of the earth to the observational problem of the motion of the planets.
Religions die when they are proved to be true.
Science is the record of dead religions. Religion is a way of life and an attitude to the universe. It brings man into closer touch with the inner nature of reality. Statements of fact made in its name are untrue in detail, but often contain some truth at their core. Science is also a way of life and an attitude to the universe.