Capra studied astronomy at the University of Padua under the guidance of Simon Mayr (1573-1624). He came into conflict with Galileo (1564-1642) on two different occasions. The first clash was provoked by the observation of the New Star in 1604. In a pamphlet printed in 1605, Capra rejected the hypothesis expounded by Galileo in three lectures on the nature of the star delivered at the University of Padua. The second conflict arose over Capra's attempted plagiarism of the Galilean geometric and military compass in Usus et fabrica circini cuiusdam proportionis [Use and construction of proportional compasses] (Padua, 1607).