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Kepler
Excerpt from Kepler
In order to emphasise the importance of the reforms introduced into astronomy by Kepler, it will be well to sketch briefly the history of the theories which he had to overthrow. In very early times it must have been realised that the sun and moon were continually changing their places among the stars. The day, the month, and the year were obvious divisions of time, and longer periods were suggested by the tabulation of eclipses. We can imagine the respect accorded to the Chaldaean sages who first discovered that eclipses could be predicted, and how the philosophers of Mesopotamia must have sought eagerly for evidence of fresh periodic laws. Certain of the stars, which appeared to wander, and were hence called planets, provided an extended field for these speculations. Among the Chaldaeans and Babylonians the knowledge gradually acquired was probably confined to the priests and utilised mainly for astrological prediction or the fixing of religious observances. Such speculations as were current among them, and also among the Egyptians and others who came to share their knowledge, were almost entirely devoted to mythology, assigning fanciful terrestrial origins to constellations, with occasional controversies as to how the earth is supported in space.
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Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
In order to emphasise the importance of the reforms introduced into astronomy by Kepler, it will be well to sketch briefly the history of the theories which he had to overthrow. In very early times it must have been realised that the sun and moon were continually changing their places among the stars. The day, the month, and the year were obvious divisions of time, and longer periods were suggested by the tabulation of eclipses. We can imagine the respect accorded to the Chaldaean sages who first discovered that eclipses could be predicted, and how the philosophers of Mesopotamia must have sought eagerly for evidence of fresh periodic laws. Certain of the stars, which appeared to wander, and were hence called planets, provided an extended field for these speculations. Among the Chaldaeans and Babylonians the knowledge gradually acquired was probably confined to the priests and utilised mainly for astrological prediction or the fixing of religious observances. Such speculations as were current among them, and also among the Egyptians and others who came to share their knowledge, were almost entirely devoted to mythology, assigning fanciful terrestrial origins to constellations, with occasional controversies as to how the earth is supported in space.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
66 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1920
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 2, 2025
Honestly, this is a remarkable story. Kepler was one among a handful of men that invented science during the Scientific Revolution of the 16th and 17th centuries. And it’s quite shocking to see how beholden he was (and the others were) to magic, mysticism, and religion. It’s almost unbelievable that they could have shuffled off that snake skin to give us the scientific method.
Also, Kepler’s three laws of planetary motion were amazing. He was the first one to describe their motion as elliptical! In 1609! Astronomers had been working on that for literal millennia! He just needed Tycho Brahe’s 20 years of data on the motion of Mars and ten years of his own to study said data. Easy-peasy!
And those three laws presaged Newton’s own laws of (universal) motion. I don’t know how well Newton knew Kepler’s work, but I plan to find out! I’m reading a bio of Newton right now. :)
This is a lovely slim volume (about 75 pages). I listened to it for free on LibriVox. It’s startlingly science-y, that is, the author doesn’t shy away from describing the science of Kepler. Indeed he even uses a lot of (but not too many) old-timey science terms. Wish I had listened to the glossary first, rather than last!
Also, Kepler’s three laws of planetary motion were amazing. He was the first one to describe their motion as elliptical! In 1609! Astronomers had been working on that for literal millennia! He just needed Tycho Brahe’s 20 years of data on the motion of Mars and ten years of his own to study said data. Easy-peasy!
And those three laws presaged Newton’s own laws of (universal) motion. I don’t know how well Newton knew Kepler’s work, but I plan to find out! I’m reading a bio of Newton right now. :)
This is a lovely slim volume (about 75 pages). I listened to it for free on LibriVox. It’s startlingly science-y, that is, the author doesn’t shy away from describing the science of Kepler. Indeed he even uses a lot of (but not too many) old-timey science terms. Wish I had listened to the glossary first, rather than last!
May 22, 2017
Kepler vivió en una época en que la ciencia no tenía la menor noción de las
leyes físicas ocultas en la naturaleza.
Fue la primera persona en la historia de la especie humana en entender correcta y cuantitativamente la mecánica de los planetas y el Sistema Solar.
Introdujo tres leyes importantes acerca del movimiento de los planetas, y ayudó a que el modelo del Sistema Solar de Copérnico obtuviera aprobación general.
A través de su obra podemos encontrar la armonía y la resonancia entre nuestros pensamientos y la forma en que funciona el mundo.
Aceptó los hechos a pesar de ir en contra de sus muy queridas creencias, prefirió la dura realidad a sus más caras ilusiones.
leyes físicas ocultas en la naturaleza.
Fue la primera persona en la historia de la especie humana en entender correcta y cuantitativamente la mecánica de los planetas y el Sistema Solar.
Introdujo tres leyes importantes acerca del movimiento de los planetas, y ayudó a que el modelo del Sistema Solar de Copérnico obtuviera aprobación general.
A través de su obra podemos encontrar la armonía y la resonancia entre nuestros pensamientos y la forma en que funciona el mundo.
Aceptó los hechos a pesar de ir en contra de sus muy queridas creencias, prefirió la dura realidad a sus más caras ilusiones.
February 15, 2022
Short and concise biography of a great scientist
December 31, 2023
Not the underrated gem I'd hoped for. A lackluster end to the year. Simply put, it's a rather dull book with, at times, dated language.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews