The article argues that astronomical observations, in particular the measurements of the visible diameter of Sun according to the method described by Riccioli in «Almagestum Novum», led Grimaldi to his discovery of the diffraction of light. Unlike Newton, Grimaldi was interested primarily in qualitative, non-mathematical aspects of light. His physics can be characterized as «pseudo-Jesuit»: while retaining loyalty, at least on the surface, to Aristotelian and Jesuit philosophies, he used a hypothetical style to introduce mechanical philosophy.
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