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| copernican astronomical phenomena: The Copernican Revolution Thomas S. Kuhn, 1957 An account of the Copernican Revolution, focusing on the significance of the plurality of the revolution which encompassed not only mathematical astronomy, but also conceptual changes in cosmology, physics, philosophy, and religion. |
| copernican astronomical phenomena: The Cambridge History of Philosophy of the Scientific Revolution David Marshall Miller, Dana Jalobeanu, 2022-01-06 A collection of cutting-edge scholarship on the close interaction of philosophy with science at the birth of the modern age. |
| copernican astronomical phenomena: On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres (Concise Edition) Copernicus, Marika Taylor, 2024-03-12 Controversial at the time, Copernicus's discoveries led to the scientific revolution, and a greater understanding of our place in the universe. An accessible, abridged edition with a new introduction. Renaissance Natural philosopher Nicolaus Copernicus's pioneering discovery of the heliocentric nature of the solar system is one of the few identifiable moments in history that define the understanding of the nature of all things. His great work was the consequence of long observation and resulted in the first stage of the Scientific Revolution by correctly positing that the earth and other planets of the solar system revolved around the sun. Not only did this promote further study to understand the place of humanity in the world and the universe, it questioned the authority of the organised Christian Church in the West to be the keeper of fundamental truths. Ultimately this would lead to the Enlightenment, and the separation of religion, government and science. The FLAME TREE Foundations series features core publications which together have shaped the cultural landscape of the modern world, with cutting-edge research distilled into pocket guides designed to be both accessible and informative. |
| copernican astronomical phenomena: Before Copernicus Rivka Feldhay, F. Jamil Ragep, 2017-06-12 In 1984, Noel Swerdlow and Otto Neugebauer argued that Nicolaus Copernicus (1473–1543) explained planetary motion by using mathematical devices and astronomical models originally developed by Islamic astronomers in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Was this a parallel development, or did Copernicus somehow learn of the work of his predecessors, and if so, how? And if Copernicus did use material from the Islamic world, how then should we understand the European context of his innovative cosmology? Although Copernicus’s work has been subject to a number of excellent studies, there has been little attention paid to the sources and diverse cultures that might have inspired him. Foregrounding the importance of interactions between Islamic and European astronomers and philosophers, Before Copernicus explores the multi-cultural, multi-religious, and multi-lingual context of learning on the eve of the Copernican revolution, determining the relationship between Copernicus and his predecessors. Essays by Christopher Celenza and Nancy Bisaha delve into the European cultural and intellectual contexts of the fifteenth century, revealing both the profound differences between “them” and “us,” and the nascent attitudes that would mark the turn to modernity. Michael Shank, F. Jamil Ragep, Sally Ragep, and Robert Morrison depict the vibrant and creative work of astronomers in the Christian, Islamic, and Jewish worlds. In other essays, Rivka Feldhay, Raz Chen-Morris, and Edith Sylla demonstrate the importance of shifting outlooks that were critical for the emergence of a new worldview. Highlighting the often-neglected intercultural exchange between Islam and early modern Europe, Before Copernicus reimagines the scientific revolution in a global context. |
| copernican astronomical phenomena: The Birth of Modern Astronomy Harm J. Habing, 2019-04-02 This richly illustrated book discusses the ways in which astronomy expanded after 1945 from a modest discipline to a robust and modern science. It begins with an introduction to the state of astronomy in 1945 before recounting how in the following years, initial observations were made in hitherto unexplored ranges of wavelengths, such as X-radiation, infrared radiation and radio waves. These led to the serendipitous discovery of more than a dozen new phenomena, including quasars and neutron stars, that each triggered a new area of research. The book goes on to discuss how after 1985, the further, systematic exploration of the earlier discoveries led to long-term planning and the construction of new, large telescopes on Earth and in Space. Key scientific highlights described in the text are the detection of exoplanets (1995), the unexpected discovery of the accelerated expansion of the Universe (1999), a generally accepted model for the large-scale properties of the Universe (2003) and the ΛCDM theory (2005) that explains how the galaxies and stars of the present Universe were formed from minute irregularities in the (almost) homogenous gas that filled the early Universe. All these major scientific achievements came at a price, namely the need to introduce two new phenomena that are as yet unexplained by physics: inflation and dark energy. Probably the deepest unsolved question has to be: Why did all of this start with a Big Bang? |
| copernican astronomical phenomena: Interpreting Kuhn K. Brad Wray, 2021-07-08 One might wonder if there is anything new to say about Thomas Kuhn and his views on science. Scholarship on Kuhn, though, has changed dramatically in the last 20 years. This is so for a number reasons-- |
| copernican astronomical phenomena: Three Treatises on Copernican Theory Nicolaus Copernicus, 2018-10-17 Includes Commentariolus, Copernicus' hypotheses for heavenly motions; Narratio Prima, popular introduction to Copernican theory; and The Letter Against Werner, refutation of the views of a contemporary. Extensive editorial apparatus. |
| copernican astronomical phenomena: Theories of the World from Antiquity to the Copernican Revolution Michael J. Crowe, 2001-01-01 Revised edition re-creates the change from an earth- to a sun-centered conception of the solar system by focusing on an examination of the evidence available in 1615. |
| copernican astronomical phenomena: To Save the Phenomena Pierre Duhem, 2015-10-01 Duhem's 1908 essay questions the relation between physical theory and metaphysics and, more specifically, between astronomy and physics–an issue still of importance today. He critiques the answers given by Greek thought, Arabic science, medieval Christian scholasticism, and, finally, the astronomers of the Renaissance. |
| copernican astronomical phenomena: On the revolutions Nicolaus Copernicus, 1972 |
| copernican astronomical phenomena: Magic, Science, and Religion in Early Modern Europe Mark A. Waddell, 2021-01-28 An accessible new exploration of the vibrant world of early modern Europe through a focus on magic, science, and religion. |
| copernican astronomical phenomena: Copernicus and Modern Astronomy Angus Armitage, 2012-09-19 Masterly and authoritative, this book by the foremost scholar on the 16th-century astronomer provides lucid accounts of the development and progress of the Copernican theory as well as a fascinating portrait of the man who clarified the basis for modern cosmology. 41 figures. 6 halftones. |
| copernican astronomical phenomena: Copernicus and the Aristotelian Tradition André Goddu, 2010-01-25 Taking into account the most important results of the scholarly literature since 1973 and the best Polish scholarship of the past century, this is the first comprehensive study of Copernicus's achievement in English that examines Copernicus's path to heliocentrism from the perspective of late medieval philosophy, the Renaissance recovery of ancient literature and science, and early-modern editions of books that Copernicus used. The principal goals are to explain his commitment to the existence of celestial spheres, and the logical foundations for his views about hypotheses. In doing so, the work elucidates the logical and philosophical background that contributed to his accomplishments, and explains the limitations of his achievement. Medieval and Early Modern Science, 12 |
| copernican astronomical phenomena: Ptolemy's Almagest Ptolemy, 1998-11-08 Ptolemy's Almagest is one of the most influential scientific works in history. A masterpiece of technical exposition, it was the basic textbook of astronomy for more than a thousand years, and still is the main source for our knowledge of ancient astronomy. This translation, based on the standard Greek text of Heiberg, makes the work accessible to English readers in an intelligible and reliable form. It contains numerous corrections derived from medieval Arabic translations and extensive footnotes that take account of the great progress in understanding the work made in this century, due to the discovery of Babylonian records and other researches. It is designed to stand by itself as an interpretation of the original, but it will also be useful as an aid to reading the Greek text. |
| copernican astronomical phenomena: Copernicus and the Aristotelian Tradition André Goddu, 2010-01-01 Drawing on a half century of scholarship, of Polish studies of Copernicus and Cracow University, and of Copernicus's sources, this book offers a comprehensive re-evaluation of Copernicus's achievement, and explains his commitment to the uniform, circular motions of celestial bodies, and his views about hypotheses. |
| copernican astronomical phenomena: Dark Skies Lonely Planet, Valerie Stimac, 2019-09-01 Witnessing the sweep of the Milky Way, the remains of comets burning up in our atmosphere, or the shimmering aurora, we better understand the universe and our place in it. Lonely Planet's Dark Skies, the first world's guide to astrotourism, can help you experience all of this and more first-hand. Meticulously researched by dark sky expert Valerie Stimac, this comprehensive companion includes guides to 35 dark-sky sites and national parks, where to see the aurora, the next decade of total solar eclipses and how to view rocket launches, plus the lowdown on commercial space flight, observatories and meteor showers. Dark Skies is divided into sections to help you plan your dark sky tour: Stargazing focuses on the basics of appreciating the dark sky, with an overview on how to stargaze and what types of objects to look for, as well as tips for the urban stargazer. Dark Places is devoted to 35 of the best places around the globe for stargazing and experiencing the night sky, including sites designated by the Dark Sky Association. Astronomy in Action features some of the world's top research facilities and observatories,where you can get a closer look at space science. Meteor Showers has everything you need to know about the most consistent and impressive meteor showers that happen annually. Aurora is divided into two parts, one focusing on the aurora borealis in the northern hemisphere and the other on the aurora australis in the southern hemisphere. Eclipses follows the schedule of total solar eclipses over the next decade. If you've never experienced totality, here is your definitive guide to planning your trip. Launches helps you experience a different side of astrotourism: rocket launches and the countries that allow you to travel to see them. Space Tourism discusses the future of humans in space - including you! The major players in the evolving space tourism market are detailed, plus the world's most common destinations and experiences. About Lonely Planet: Lonely Planet is a leading travel media company and the world's number one travel guidebook brand, providing both inspiring and trustworthy information for every kind of traveller since 1973. Over the past four decades, we've printed over 145 million guidebooks and grown a dedicated, passionate global community of travellers. You'll also find our content online, on mobile, video and in 14 languages, 12 international magazines, armchair and lifestyle books, ebooks, and more. Important Notice: The digital edition of this book may not contain all of the images found in the physical edition. |
| copernican astronomical phenomena: New Heavens and a New Earth Jeremy Brown, 2013-06-13 Jeremy Brown offers the first major study of the Jewish reception of the Copernican revolution, examining four hundred years of Jewish writings on the Copernican model. Brown shows the ways in which Jews ignored, rejected, or accepted the Copernican model, and the theological and societal underpinnings of their choices. |
| copernican astronomical phenomena: The History and Practice of Ancient Astronomy James Evans, 1998-10-01 The History and Practice of Ancient Astronomy combines new scholarship with hands-on science to bring readers into direct contact with the work of ancient astronomers. While tracing ideas from ancient Babylon to sixteenth-century Europe, the book places its greatest emphasis on the Greek period, when astronomers developed the geometric and philosophical ideas that have determined the subsequent character of Western astronomy. The author approaches this history through the concrete details of ancient astronomical practice. Carefully organized and generously illustrated, the book can teach readers how to do real astronomy using the methods of ancient astronomers. For example, readers will learn to predict the next retrograde motion of Jupiter using either the arithmetical methods of the Babylonians or the geometric methods of Ptolemy. They will learn how to use an astrolabe and how to design sundials using Greek and Roman techniques. The book also contains supplementary exercises and patterns for making some working astronomical instruments, including an astrolabe and an equatorium. More than a presentation of astronomical methods, the book provides a critical look at the evidence used to reconstruct ancient astronomy. It includes extensive excerpts from ancient texts, meticulous documentation, and lively discussions of the role of astronomy in the various cultures. Accessible to a wide audience, this book will appeal to anyone interested in how our understanding of our place in the universe has changed and developed, from ancient times through the Renaissance. |
| copernican astronomical phenomena: The Copernicus Complex Caleb Scharf, 2014-09-09 Longlisted for the 2015 PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award Short-listed for Physics World's Book of the Year The Sunday Times (UK) Best Science Book of 2014 A Publishers Weekly Top 10 Science Book of Fall 2014 An NBC News Top Science and Tech Book of 2014 A Politics & Prose 2014 Staff Pick In the sixteenth century, Nicolaus Copernicus dared to go against the establishment by proposing that Earth rotates around the Sun. Having demoted Earth from its unique position in the cosmos to one of mediocrity, Copernicus set in motion a revolution in scientific thought. This perspective has influenced our thinking for centuries. However, recent evidence challenges the Copernican Principle, hinting that we do in fact live in a special place, at a special time, as the product of a chain of unlikely events. But can we be significant if the Sun is still just one of a billion trillion stars in the observable universe? And what if our universe is just one of a multitude of others-a single slice of an infinity of parallel realities? In The Copernicus Complex, the renowned astrophysicist Caleb Scharf takes us on a scientific adventure, from tiny microbes within the Earth to distant exoplanets, probability theory, and beyond, arguing that there is a solution to this contradiction, a third way of viewing our place in the cosmos, if we weigh the evidence properly. As Scharf explains, we do occupy an unusual time in a 14-billion-year-old universe, in a somewhat unusual type of solar system surrounded by an ocean of unimaginable planetary diversity: hot Jupiters with orbits of less than a day, planet-size rocks spinning around dead stars, and a wealth of alien super-Earths. Yet life here is built from the most common chemistry in the universe, and we are a snapshot taken from billions of years of biological evolution. Bringing us to the cutting edge of scientific discovery, Scharf shows how the answers to fundamental questions of existence will come from embracing the peculiarity of our circumstance without denying the Copernican vision. With characteristic verve, Scharf uses the latest scientific findings to reconsider where we stand in the balance between cosmic significance and mediocrity, order and chaos. Presenting a compelling and bold view of our true status, The Copernicus Complex proposes a way forward in the ultimate quest: determining life's abundance, not just across this universe but across all realities. |
| copernican astronomical phenomena: A More Perfect Heaven Dava Sobel, 2011-10-04 By 1514, the reclusive cleric Nicolaus Copernicus had written and hand-copied an initial outline of his heliocentric theory-in which he defied common sense and received wisdom to place the sun, not the earth, at the center of our universe, and set the earth spinning among the other planets. Over the next two decades, Copernicus expanded his theory through hundreds of observations, while compiling in secret a book-length manuscript that tantalized mathematicians and scientists throughout Europe. For fear of ridicule, he refused to publish. In 1539, a young German mathematician, Georg Joachim Rheticus, drawn by rumors of a revolution to rival the religious upheaval of Martin Luther's Reformation, traveled to Poland to seek out Copernicus. Two years later, the Protestant youth took leave of his aging Catholic mentor and arranged to have Copernicus's manuscript published, in 1543, as De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres)-the book that forever changed humankind's place in the universe. In her elegant, compelling style, Dava Sobel chronicles, as nobody has, the conflicting personalities and extraordinary discoveries that shaped the Copernican Revolution. At the heart of the book is her play And the Sun Stood Still, imagining Rheticus's struggle to convince Copernicus to let his manuscript see the light of day. As she achieved with her bestsellers Longitude and Galileo's Daughter, Sobel expands the bounds of narration, giving us an unforgettable portrait of scientific achievement, and of the ever-present tensions between science and faith. |
| copernican astronomical phenomena: Highlights of Astronomy G. Contopoulos, International Astronomical Union, 1974-07-31 The year 1973 marked the highest peak of IAU activity up to now. Besides the Gen eral Assembly in Sydney, and the Extraordinary General Assembly in Poland, there were held eleven IAU Symposia and one Colloquium. Several IAU Publications cover this activity. The Proceedings of the Symposia are published in separate Volumes, while the Transactions of the General Assembly and of the Extraordinary General Assembly contain short reports of the Commission meetings, the administrative sessions, and the opening ceremonies. The present Volume covers some of the scientific Highlights of the General As sembly and of the Extraordinary General Assembly. It contains five Invited Dis courses given in Sydney and Poland, some selected papers, and the Joint Discussions at the General Assembly of Sydney. Of course, there were many more papers of special interest presented in Sydney that could not be included in this Volume. Their titles can be seen in the reports of the various Commissions. It is regrettable that the Invited Discourses of C. H. Townes (Interstellar Molecules) and F. J. Low (Infrared Astronomy) were not submitted for publication. Also only five papers or abstracts of the Joint Discussion on the 'Origins of the Moon and Satellites' have been available. Despite these minor shortcomings, I believe that the present Volume is faithful to its title: it gives a substantial part of the Highlights of Astronomy in 1973. |
| copernican astronomical phenomena: Leibniz on Time, Space, and Relativity Richard T. W. Arthur, Richard Arthur, 2021 In this book, Arthur gives fresh interpretations of Gottfried Leibniz's theories of time, space, and the relativity of motion, based on a thorough examination of Leibniz's manuscripts as well as his published papers. These are analysed in historical context, but also with an eye to their contemporary relevance. Leibniz's views on relativity have been extremely influential, first on Mach, and then on Einstein, while his novel approach to geometry in his analysis situs inspired many later developments in geometry. Arthur expounds the latter in some detail, explaining its relationship to Leibniz's metaphysics of space and the grounding of motion, and defending Leibniz's views on the relativity of motion against charges of inconsistency. The brilliance of his work on time, though, has not been so well appreciated, and Arthur attempts to remedy this through a detailed discussion of Leibniz's relational theory of time, showing how it underpins his theory of possible worlds, his complex account of contingency, and his highly original treatment of the continuity of time, providing formal treatments in an appendix. In other appendices, Arthur provides translations of previously untranslated writings by Leibniz on analysis situs and on Copernicanism, as well as an essay on Leibniz's philosophy of relations. In his introductory chapter he explains how the framework for the book is provided by the interpretation of Leibniz's metaphysics he defended in his earlier Monads, Composition, and Force (OUP 2018, winner of the 2019 annual JHP Book Prize for best book in the history of philosophy published in 2018). |
| copernican astronomical phenomena: Copernicus Angus Armitage, 2025-05-01 Copernicus (1938) presents an account of the astronomer Copernicus, and of the historic book in which he laid the foundations of the heliocentric theory of the planetary motions. The book is of great interest to students of the history of astronomy, and those interested in Copernicus as one of the makers of modern thought. |
| copernican astronomical phenomena: The Reception of Copernicus’ Heliocentric Theory J. Dobrzycki, 2013-06-29 In 1965 the International Union of the History and Philosophy of Science founded the Nicolas Copernicus Committee whose main task was to explore the means by th which different nations could co-operate in celebrating the 5 centenary of the great scholar's birth. The committee initiated the publication of a collection of studies dealing with the effect that Copernicus' theory has had on scientific developments in centres of learning all over the world. An Editorial Board, consisting of J. Dobrzycki (Warsaw), J. R. Ravetz (Leeds), H. Sandblad (Goteborg) and B. Sticker (Hamburg), was nominated. We found that our initiative aroused a lively interest among Copernicus scholars; the present volume, with 11 articles by authors from nine American, Asian and European countries, contains the result of their research. It appears in the series 'Studia Coper nicana' by agreement with the Polish Academy of Science, and we hope to publish a number of other contributions in a subsequent volume. We are happy to say that our efforts have been fruitful and that this volume presents not only several in-depth studies, but also a more general survey of the rules governing the evolution of science, rules set within the framework of Copernicus' theory as it developed among various nations and in various scientific institutions over the centuries. It has been shown once again that, 500 years after his birth, the work of Copernicus remains a source of scientific interest and continues to stimulate fresh study and research. |
| copernican astronomical phenomena: The Genesis of the Copernican World Hans Blumenberg, 1987 This major work by the German philosopher Hans Blumenberg is a monumental rethinking of the significance of the Copernican revolution for our understanding of modernity. |
| copernican astronomical phenomena: The Scientific World of Copernicus B. Biékowska, 2012-12-06 On February 19, 1973, five centuries have elapsed since the birth of Nicolaus Coperni cus - the greatest astronomer of the Renaissance period - who rediscovered for us the heliocentric model of the solar system, and documented it by his life's work in such a manner as to make its concept a permanent property of mankind. The life of Copernicus, extending from 19 February 1473 to his death on 24 May 1543, was not too rich in adventures or biographical facts. Born in Toruti from a family of Polish burghers, he received his first university training in Cracow between 1491-1494. From Cracow he proceeded to Italy to spend the years between 1496-1503 at the Universities of Bologna, Padua and Ferrara - with occasional visits to Rom- in preparation for an ecclesiastical career. When Bishop Watzenrode - his patron and maternal uncle - could no longer extend his leave, Copernicus returned to Poland in 1503 to enter the service of the church establishment, which soon led to a canonry at the Frombork (Frauenburg) Cathedral in Warmia. And there - in the northern mists not far from the Baltic shores - in a land so different in climate from the sunny Italy of his youth - he was destined to spend the rest of his life. |
| copernican astronomical phenomena: Copernicus, Darwin, and Freud Friedel Weinert, 2009-03-12 Using Copernicanism, Darwinism, and Freudianism as examples of scientific traditions, Copernicus, Darwin and Freud takes a philosophical look at these three revolutions in thought to illustrate the connections between science and philosophy. Shows how these revolutions in thought lead to philosophical consequences Provides extended case studies of Copernicanism, Darwinism, and Freudianism Integrates the history of science and the philosophy of science like no other text Covers both the philosophy of natural and social science in one volume |
| copernican astronomical phenomena: Copernicus' Secret Jack Repcheck, 2007-12-04 The surprising, little-known story of the scientific revolution that almost didn't happen: how cleric and scientific genius Nicolaus Copernicus's work revolutionized astronomy and altered our understanding of our place in the world. Nicolaus Copernicus gave the world perhaps the most important scientific insight of the modern age, the theory that the earth and the other planets revolve around the sun. He was also the first to proclaim that the earth rotates on its axis once every twenty-four hours. His theory was truly radical: during his lifetime nearly everyone believed that a perfectly still earth rested in the middle of the cosmos, where all the heavenly bodies revolved around it. One of the transcendent geniuses of the early Renaissance, Copernicus was also a flawed and conflicted person. A cleric who lived during the tumultuous years of the early Reformation, he may have been sympathetic to the teachings of the Lutherans. Although he had taken a vow of celibacy, he kept at least one mistress. Supremely confident intellectually, he hesitated to disseminate his work among other scholars. It fact, he kept his astronomical work a secret, revealing it to only a few intimates, and the manuscript containing his revolutionary theory, which he refined for at least twenty years, remained hidden among my things. It is unlikely that Copernicus' masterwork would ever have been published if not for a young mathematics professor named Georg Joachim Rheticus. He had heard of Copernicus' ideas, and with his imagination on fire he journeyed hundreds of miles to a land where, as a Lutheran, he was forbidden to travel. Rheticus' meeting with Copernicus in a small cathedral town in northern Poland proved to be one of the most important encounters in history. Copernicus' Secret recreates the life and world of the scientific genius whose work revolutionized astronomy and tells the fascinating story behind the dawn of the scientific age. |
| copernican astronomical phenomena: Between Copernicus and Galileo James M. Lattis, 2010-12-15 Between Copernicus and Galileo is the story of Christoph Clavius, the Jesuit astronomer and teacher whose work helped set the standards by which Galileo's famous claims appeared so radical, and whose teachings guided the intellectual and scientific agenda of the Church in the central years of the Scientific Revolution. Though relatively unknown today, Clavius was enormously influential throughout Europe in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries through his astronomy books—the standard texts used in many colleges and universities, and the tools with which Descartes, Gassendi, and Mersenne, among many others, learned their astronomy. James Lattis uses Clavius's own publications as well as archival materials to trace the central role Clavius played in integrating traditional Ptolemaic astronomy and Aristotelian natural philosophy into an orthodox cosmology. Although Clavius strongly resisted the new cosmologies of Copernicus and Tycho, Galileo's invention of the telescope ultimately eroded the Ptolemaic world view. By tracing Clavius's views from medieval cosmology the seventeenth century, Lattis illuminates the conceptual shift from Ptolemaic to Copernican astronomy and the social, intellectual, and theological impact of the Scientific Revolution. |
| copernican astronomical phenomena: Copernicus in the Cultural Debates of the Renaissance Pietro Daniel Omodeo, 2014-06-12 In Copernicus in the Cultural Debates of the Renaissance, Pietro Daniel Omodeo presents a general overview of the reception of Copernicus’s astronomical proposal from the years immediately preceding the publication of De revolutionibus (1543) to the Roman prohibition of heliocentric hypotheses in 1616. Relying on a detailed investigation of early modern sources, the author systematically examines a series of issues ranging from computation to epistemology, natural philosophy, theology and ethics. In addition to offering a pluralistic and interdisciplinary perspective on post-Copernican astronomy, the study goes beyond purely cosmological and geometrical issues and engages in a wide-ranging discussion of how Copernicus’s legacy interacted with European culture and how his image and theories evolved as a result. |
| copernican astronomical phenomena: The Astronomical Revolution Alexandre Koyre, 2013-04-15 Originally published in English in 1973. This volume traces the development of the revolution which so drastically altered man’s view of the universe in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The astronomical revolution was accomplished in three stages, each linked with the work of one man. With Copernicus, the sun became the centre of the universe. With Kepler, celestial dynamics replaced the kinematics of circles and spheres used by Copernicus. With Borelli the unification of celestial and terrestrial physics was completed by abandonment of the circle in favour the straight line to infinity. |
| copernican astronomical phenomena: Measuring Shadows Raz Chen-Morris, 2016-03-31 In Measuring Shadows, Raz Chen-Morris demonstrates that a close study of Kepler’s Optics is essential to understanding his astronomical work and his scientific epistemology. He explores Kepler’s radical break from scientific and epistemological traditions and shows how the seventeenth-century astronomer posited new ways to view scientific truth and knowledge. Chen-Morris reveals how Kepler’s ideas about the formation of images on the retina and the geometrics of the camera obscura, as well as his astronomical observations, advanced the argument that physical reality could only be described through artificially produced shadows, reflections, and refractions. Breaking from medieval and Renaissance traditions that insisted upon direct sensory perception, Kepler advocated for instruments as mediators between the eye and physical reality, and for mathematical language to describe motion. It was only through this kind of knowledge, he argued, that observation could produce certainty about the heavens. Not only was this conception of visibility crucial to advancing the early modern understanding of vision and the retina, but it affected how people during that period approached and understood the world around them. |
| copernican astronomical phenomena: Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems Galileo, 2001-10-02 Galileo’s Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, published in Florence in 1632, was the most proximate cause of his being brought to trial before the Inquisition. Using the dialogue form, a genre common in classical philosophical works, Galileo masterfully demonstrates the truth of the Copernican system over the Ptolemaic one, proving, for the first time, that the earth revolves around the sun. Its influence is incalculable. The Dialogue is not only one of the most important scientific treatises ever written, but a work of supreme clarity and accessibility, remaining as readable now as when it was first published. This edition uses the definitive text established by the University of California Press, in Stillman Drake’s translation, and includes a Foreword by Albert Einstein and a new Introduction by J. L. Heilbron. |
| copernican astronomical phenomena: The Copernican Question Robert Westman, 2020-04-21 In 1543, Nicolaus Copernicus publicly defended his hypothesis that the earth is a planet and the sun a body resting near the center of a finite universe. But why did Copernicus make this bold proposal? And why did it matter? The Copernican Question reframes this pivotal moment in the history of science, centering the story on a conflict over the credibility of astrology that erupted in Italy just as Copernicus arrived in 1496. Copernicus engendered enormous resistance when he sought to protect astrology by reconstituting its astronomical foundations. Robert S. Westman shows that efforts to answer the astrological skeptics became a crucial unifying theme of the early modern scientific movement. His interpretation of this long sixteenth century, from the 1490s to the 1610s, offers a new framework for understanding the great transformations in natural philosophy in the century that followed. |
| copernican astronomical phenomena: A Cultural History of Physics Károly Simonyi, 2025-02-28 While the physical sciences are a continuously evolving source of technology and of understanding about our world, they have become so specialized and rely on so much prerequisite knowledge that for many people today the divide between the sciences and the humanities seems even greater than it was when C. P. Snow delivered his famous 1959 lecture, The Two Cultures. In A Cultural History of Physics, Hungarian scientist and educator Károly Simonyi succeeds in bridging this chasm by describing the experimental methods and theoretical interpretations that created scientific knowledge, from ancient times to the present day, within the cultural environment in which it was formed. Unlike any other work of its kind, Simonyi’s seminal opus explores the interplay of science and the humanities to convey the wonder and excitement of scientific development throughout the ages. These pages contain an abundance of excerpts from original resources, a wide array of clear and straightforward explanations, and an astonishing wealth of insight, revealing the historical progress of science and inviting readers into a dialogue with the great scientific minds that shaped our current understanding of physics. Beautifully illustrated, accurate in its scientific content and broad in its historical and cultural perspective, this book will be a valuable reference for scholars and an inspiration to aspiring scientists and humanists who believe that science is an integral part of our culture. |
| copernican astronomical phenomena: Kepler’s New Star (1604) , 2020-12-15 The supernova of 1604 marks a major turning point in the cosmological crisis of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Capturing the eyes and imagination of Europe, it ignited an explosion of ideas that forever changed the face of science. Variously interpreted as a comet or star, the new luminary brought together a broad network of scholars who debated the nature of the novelty and its origins in the universe. At the heart of the interdisciplinary discourse was Johannes Kepler, whose book On the New Star (1606) assessed the many disputes of the day. Beginning with several studies about Kepler’s book, the authors of the present volume explore the place of Kepler and the ‘new star’ in early modern culture and religion, and how contemporary debate shaped the course of science down to the present day. Contributors are: (1) Dario Tessicini, (2) Christopher M. Graney, (3) Javier Luna, (4) Patrick J. Boner, (5) Jonathan Regier, (6) Aviva Rothman, (7) Miguel Á. Granada, (8) Pietro Daniel Omodeo, (9) Matteo Cosci, and (10) William P. Blair. |
| copernican astronomical phenomena: Studies on the Transmission of Medieval Mathematical Astronomy Raymond Mercier, 2024-12-11 Studies on the Transmission of Medieval Mathematical Astronomy opens with a new survey of the transmission of Hellenistic astronomy, followed by two studies on how the notion of precession was treated by Babylonian, Greek, Indian, Arabic and Latin hands. Next is a survey of the astronomical tables that appeared in Latin during the 12th century, drawn mainly from Arabic and to some extent from Hebrew, as well as a special study of the Latin tables for London and Pisa drawn originally from the 10th-century Islamic astronomer al-Sufi. For the Sanskrit texts the focus is on the demonstration that the systems were founded on observations made in India, even though much of the theory was Greek in origin. On Byzantine material there are studies of the Persian Syntaxis whose source lay in the Persian Zij-i Ilkhani, and of the diverse materials drawn on by Gemistus Plethon. Mercier's work shows that there is a unity in medieval astronomy in spite of the great diversity in cultural settings, which included South and Central Asia, the Middle East, Byzantium, and Europe. The texts were recorded in all the major languages of this great region, from Sanskrit to Latin, over a period of time stretching from the late classical world to late medieval Europe. Yet these astronomical texts have much in common, drawn from the whole apparatus of Ptolemaic, or rather more inclusively, Greek astronomy. Transmission is demonstrated partly by the continuity of technical terms, and partly by the conservation and development of numerical parameters. |
| copernican astronomical phenomena: Natural Law and Laws of Nature in Early Modern Europe Michael Stolleis, 2016-04-22 This impressive volume is the first attempt to look at the intertwined histories of natural law and the laws of nature in early modern Europe. These notions became central to jurisprudence and natural philosophy in the seventeenth century; the debates that informed developments in those fields drew heavily on theology and moral philosophy, and vice versa. Historians of science, law, philosophy, and theology from Europe and North America here come together to address these central themes and to consider the question; was the emergence of natural law both in European jurisprudence and natural philosophy merely a coincidence, or did these disciplinary traditions develop within a common conceptual matrix, in which theological, philosophical, and political arguments converged to make the analogy between legal and natural orders compelling. This book will stimulate new debate in the areas of intellectual history and the history of philosophy, as well as the natural and human sciences in general. |
| copernican astronomical phenomena: On the Heavens Aristotle, 2021-11-14 On the Heavens Aristotle - On the Heavens is Aristotle's chief cosmological treatise: written in 350 BC it contains his astronomical theory and his ideas on the concrete workings of the terrestrial world. This work is significant as one of the defining pillars of the Aristotelian worldview, a school of philosophy that dominated intellectual thinking for almost two millennia. Similarly, this work and others by Aristotle were important seminal works by which much of scholasticism was derived. |
| copernican astronomical phenomena: Science Teaching Michael R. Matthews, 2015-12-22 Science Teaching argues that science teaching and science teacher education can be improved if teachers know something of the history and philosophy of science and if these topics are included in the science curriculum. The history and philosophy of science have important roles in many of the theoretical issues that science educators need to address: what constitutes an appropriate science curriculum for all students; how science should be taught in traditional cultures; how scientific literacy can be promoted; and the conflict which can occur between science curriculum and deep-seated religious or cultural values and knowledge. Outlining the history of liberal approaches to the teaching of science, Michael Matthews elaborates contemporary curriculum developments that explicitly address questions about the nature and the history of science. He provides examples of classroom teaching and develops useful arguments on constructivism, multicultural science education and teacher education. |
Copernican Revolution - Wikipedia
The term " Copernican Revolution " was coined by the German philosopher Immanuel Kant in his 1781 work Critique of Pure Reason. It was the paradigm shift from the Ptolemaic model of the …
Copernican Revolution | History, Science, & Impact | Britannica
Copernican Revolution, shift in the field of astronomy from a geocentric understanding of the universe, centred around Earth, to a heliocentric understanding, centred around the Sun, as …
Copernicus: Facts, Model & Heliocentric Theory | HISTORY
Nov 9, 2009 · It was not until the early 17th century that Galileo and Johannes Kepler developed and popularized the Copernican theory, which for Galileo resulted in a trial and conviction for …
COPERNICAN Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster
The meaning of COPERNICAN is of or relating to Copernicus or the belief that the earth rotates daily on its axis and the planets revolve in orbits around the sun. How to use Copernican in a …
Copernican Heliocentrism – History and Major Facts
Oct 20, 2023 · The Copernican heliocentric model, positing that the Earth and planets revolve around the Sun, marked a revolutionary shift in astronomical thought. This concept, presented …
Copernican principle - Wikipedia
In physical cosmology, the Copernican principle states that humans are not privileged observers of the universe, [1] that observations from the Earth are representative of observations from …
Copernican Revolution - (History of Science) - Fiveable
The Copernican Revolution refers to the fundamental shift in astronomical thought that occurred in the 16th century, when Nicolaus Copernicus proposed a heliocentric model of the universe, …
Copernican system | Definition, Description, & Facts | Britannica
Copernican system, in astronomy, model of the solar system centered on the Sun, with Earth and other planets moving around it, formulated by Nicolaus Copernicus, and published in 1543.
Significance of the Copernican Principle - ThoughtCo
Jul 3, 2019 · The Copernican principle (in its classical form) is the principle that the Earth does not rest in a privileged or special physical position in the universe. Specifically, it derives from the …
2.6 The Birth of Modern Astronomy – Copernicus and Galileo
After Galileo’s work, it became increasingly difficult to deny the Copernican view, and Earth was slowly dethroned from its central position in the universe and given its rightful place as one of …
Copernican Revolution - Wikipedia
The term " Copernican Revolution " was coined by the German philosopher Immanuel Kant in his 1781 work Critique of Pure Reason. It was the paradigm shift from the Ptolemaic model of the …
Copernican Revolution | History, Science, & Impact | Britannica
Copernican Revolution, shift in the field of astronomy from a geocentric understanding of the universe, centred around Earth, to a heliocentric understanding, centred around the Sun, as …
Copernicus: Facts, Model & Heliocentric Theory | HISTORY
Nov 9, 2009 · It was not until the early 17th century that Galileo and Johannes Kepler developed and popularized the Copernican theory, which for Galileo resulted in a trial and conviction for …
COPERNICAN Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster
The meaning of COPERNICAN is of or relating to Copernicus or the belief that the earth rotates daily on its axis and the planets revolve in orbits around the sun. How to use Copernican in a sentence.
Copernican Heliocentrism – History and Major Facts
Oct 20, 2023 · The Copernican heliocentric model, positing that the Earth and planets revolve around the Sun, marked a revolutionary shift in astronomical thought. This concept, presented by …
Copernican principle - Wikipedia
In physical cosmology, the Copernican principle states that humans are not privileged observers of the universe, [1] that observations from the Earth are representative of observations from the …
Copernican Revolution - (History of Science) - Fiveable
The Copernican Revolution refers to the fundamental shift in astronomical thought that occurred in the 16th century, when Nicolaus Copernicus proposed a heliocentric model of the universe, …
Copernican system | Definition, Description, & Facts | Britannica
Copernican system, in astronomy, model of the solar system centered on the Sun, with Earth and other planets moving around it, formulated by Nicolaus Copernicus, and published in 1543.
Significance of the Copernican Principle - ThoughtCo
Jul 3, 2019 · The Copernican principle (in its classical form) is the principle that the Earth does not rest in a privileged or special physical position in the universe. Specifically, it derives from the …
2.6 The Birth of Modern Astronomy – Copernicus and Galileo
After Galileo’s work, it became increasingly difficult to deny the Copernican view, and Earth was slowly dethroned from its central position in the universe and given its rightful place as one of the …
