Change and Continuity in Early Modern Cosmology (eBook)

Acknowledgements 6
Contents 7
Contributors 8
About the Authors 9
1 Introduction 11
Notes 14
2 The Reality of Peurbach's Orbs: Cosmological Continuity in Fifteenth and Sixteenth Century Astronomy 17
The Status of Celestial Orbs from Peurbach to Copernicus 19
The Status of Celestial Orbs from Copernicus to Kepler 30
Notes 36
3 Continuity and Change in Cosmological Ideas in Spain Between the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries: The Impact of Celestial Novelties 43
Jeronimo Muñoz and the “Nova” of 1572 43
Muñoz’s Students and the “Nova” of 1604 49
The Cosmographers 51
Kepler in Spain 53
Conclusion 54
Notes 55
4 Cornelius Gemma and the New Star of 1572 61
Notes 71
5 Johannes Kepler and David Fabricius: Their Discussion on the Nova of 1604 76
Brief Overview of the Sequence of Discussion and Publications of Fabricius and Kepler on the Nova of 1604 77
Fabricius's Interpretation of the Nova 79
The Generation of the Nova 79
The Meaning of the Nova 81
Kepler's Interpretation of the New Star and His Criticism of Fabricius in De Stella Nova 83
The Generation of the Nova 83
The Meaning of the Nova 86
Conclusion 90
Notes 90
6 Kepler's Copernican Campaign and the New Star of 1604 102
Kepler and Lorenzini on the Distance of the New Star 104
Kepler and Herwart on the “Copernican Abyss” 110
Conclusion 115
Notes 116
7 From Cosmos to Confession: Kepler and the Connection Between Astronomical and Religious Truth 124
The Mysterium Cosmographicum, Religious Community, and the Eucharist Debate 125
The New Star of 1604: Heavenly Representations and the Religious Implications of Astrology 130
Conclusion: Certainty vs. Probability and the Harmony of the Church 135
Notes 138
8 Johannes Phocylides Holwarda and the Interpretation of New Stars in the Dutch Republic 143
The New Star of 1604 144
Philosophers and New Stars 145
Mira Ceti 146
Holwarda and Mira Ceti 148
Holwarda's View of the Universe 151
New Stars and Changing Views of the Cosmos 153
Holwarda's Place in the History of Cosmology 156
Conclusion 157
Notes 157
9 Discovering Mira Ceti: Celestial Change and Cosmic Continuity 161
Fabricius1596 and All That 163
Holwarda—Doubling Down 164
Hevelius—History and Identity 166
Boulliau—Identity and Difference 169
Notes 175
Index 185