Roman Meteorite 1642

[tom]

Suppose a meteorite the size of an 18-wheeler falls in a plaza in Rome the night Galileo died, excavating a hole big enough for a house (assume no-one is killed...everyone was in bed or something. Does the Church admit that the heavens are material and changeable, does it say that giant boulders float high up in the sky and occasionally fall down, does it say God is testing our Faith, does it say a hoaxer built a hundred foot scaffold in the night, carried the boulder up to the top, dropped it, and disassembled the tower all without being seen or heard, or what?

[basileus]

Originally Posted by tom

Suppose a meteorite the size of an 18-wheeler falls in a plaza in Rome the night Galileo died, excavating a hole big enough for a house (assume no-one is killed...everyone was in bed or something. Does the Church admit that the heavens are material and changeable, does it say that giant boulders float high up in the sky and occasionally fall down, does it say God is testing our Faith, does it say a hoaxer built a hundred foot scaffold in the night, carried the boulder up to the top, dropped it, and disassembled the tower all without being seen or heard, or what?

Those idiots would not admit it even in Hell after an entire comet hit Rome

[Abdul Hadi Pasha]

Originally Posted by tom

Suppose a meteorite the size of an 18-wheeler falls in a plaza in Rome the night Galileo died, excavating a hole big enough for a house (assume no-one is killed...everyone was in bed or something. Does the Church admit that the heavens are material and changeable, does it say that giant boulders float high up in the sky and occasionally fall down, does it say God is testing our Faith, does it say a hoaxer built a hundred foot scaffold in the night, carried the boulder up to the top, dropped it, and disassembled the tower all without being seen or heard, or what?

A meteorite the size of an 18-wheeler falling into a plaza in Rome would incinerate the entire city and miles in every direction, and leave a huge crater where the city used to be. I assume in this case Galileo would be the furthest thing from most people's minds.

But seriously, if a meteorstone fell from the sky, it's path would be clearly visible to everyone, and the impact would cause an explosion; I presume the people of Rome would assume divine wrath, but wouldn't be likely to tie the event to Galileo's execution, nor would a meteor be recognized as a cosmic body falling to earth.

[Otis Tarda]

John, for God's Sake!!!! Galileo wasn't executed - he died of natural reasons.
He was condemned to house arrest, and malicious Inquisition just scared him with sight of instruments for torturing.
Probably it's one of the most popular myth about Inquisition.

[tom]

An iron meteor smaller than a cottage would burst into several fragments in the lower atmospher and each piece would decelerate to its terminal velocity (I assume the chunk is such). There would be a flash and bang...people would maybe think a big bolt from the blue at first. A few eardrums might get broken, some windows and plaster ceilings definitely. Since the iron would absorb the heat, fire might start if it were in contact with something flamable. Neighboring buildings would have some damage. BTW, a stoney meteor might have an even bigger bang, since more of the kinetic energy would contribute to the bang. Eardrums would definitely break, and some lungs hemmorage. Buildings would be damaged over a wider area. But it would be easier to "explain away" since there would not be any large fragments for this initial size.
But maybe it would be better to shave it down to an SUV in size, after all.

[Abdul Hadi Pasha]

I interpreted the comment to mean that's how big the meteor was hen it hit the ground.

Ooops, really got the Galileo thing wrong.

[carlton_bach]

If a meteor hit Rome, left a crater, but did not cause any massive damage (unlike a truck-sized one which could get rather hairy) the people on the street would very likely consider it a sign of divine wrath. They would more likely tie it to the war in Germany, or the French revolt, or the troubles the Stuart dynasty is in, or the latest conflict with the Turks, or just about anything at the to of the agenda rather than an old and rather obscure Inquisition case. After all, Galileo only becomes a cause celebre after the majority of people realise he's right.

The stone itself would have to be explained somehow. Perhaps a group of experts would use the opportunity to develop an idea of 'bits breaking off planets' or similarly mundane explanations in order to point out how stupid the Muslims are for venerating such a bit in Mecca. I'm fairly sure that prior to Newton, nobody would even try to come up with the idea of bodies 'floating' in empty space. I don't think the Curia (unlike the preaching orders) would accept a simple 'miracle to show the wrath of God' conclusion.

Interestingly, this could result in the Catholic church having a system that explains meteorites whereas the Newtonian-Galileians in the 18th century do not. Might some scientists become more pious?

[tom]

That was about right...I assumed the meteor broke in an asymetrical way, and the biggest part hit the plaza. I was going for the largest slab that would not flatten square blocks, to make it as hard as possible for the clerics to wiggle out. But as I admitted, I may have gone too far. Even an SUV sized boulder would be tough to handwave, anyway.

[tom]

But if it was a piece broken off a planet, than the planets must be huge stones. Doesn't that mean stones in the sky anyway?

[carlton_bach]

Originally Posted by tom

But if it was a piece broken off a planet, than the planets must be huge stones. Doesn't that mean stones in the sky anyway?

Sure, but nobody has a problem with the planets being big rocks hanging in the sky. The moon is obviously a big rock, and if you look closely at Mars through a telescope the same thing is obvious. The point is, in an ordered, divinely ordained universe the idea of planets moving along their appointed tracks (be it pushed by angels or impelled by divine will) is perfectly conceivable, but only if you put earth in the center can you justofy broken-off bits falling to earth. In a hekliocentric system they'd drop into the sun. Without a mechanistic explanation (like gravity), that could be a real problem. After all, many astronomers in the 18th century, Newtonians to the bone, simply refused to believe meteorites existed. Reports were shrugged off as superstitious peasants observing volcanic activity. With a report of meteoric impact from the most credible of sources imaginable, that will not be possible.