Sidereus Nuncius, or The Sidereal Messenger

Sidereus Nuncius, or The Sidereal Messenger PDF

Author: Galileo Galilei

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2016-01-19

Total Pages: 154

ISBN-13: 022632012X

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The “revolutionary, scintillating book” in which Galileo revealed his wondrous astronomical discoveries, with accompanying notes and historical context (Metascience). Galileo Galilei’s Sidereus Nuncius is arguably the most dramatic scientific book ever published. It announced new and unexpected phenomena in the heavens, “unheard of through the ages,” revealed by a mysterious new instrument. Galileo had ingeniously improved the rudimentary “spyglasses” that appeared in Europe in 1608, and in the autumn of 1609 he pointed his new instrument at the sky, discovering astonishing sights: mountains on the moon, fixed stars invisible to the naked eye, individual stars in the Milky Way, and four moons around the planet Jupiter. These discoveries changed the terms of the debate between geocentric and heliocentric cosmology and helped ensure the eventual acceptance of the Copernican planetary system. Albert Van Helden’s beautifully rendered and eminently readable translation is based on the Venice 1610 edition’s original Latin text. An introduction, conclusion, and copious notes place the book in its historical and intellectual context, and a new preface, written by Van Helden, highlights recent discoveries in the field, including the detection of a forged copy of Sidereus Nuncius, and new understandings about the political complexities of Galileo’s work.

The Starry Messenger, Venice 1610

The Starry Messenger, Venice 1610 PDF

Author: Galileo Galilei

Publisher:

Published: 1610

Total Pages: 209

ISBN-13: 9781929154494

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A facsimile of a copy of Galileo's Sidereus nuncius in the Library of Congress, Rare Book and Special Collections.

Galileo's Instruments of Credit

Galileo's Instruments of Credit PDF

Author: Mario Biagioli

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2007-07-15

Total Pages: 315

ISBN-13: 0226045625

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Annotation. In six years, Galileo Galilei went from being a mathematics professor to a star in the court of Florence to a target of the Inquisition. And during that time, Galileo made a series of astronomical discoveries that reshaped the ideas of the physical nature of the heavens and transformed him from a university mathematician into a court philosopher. Galileo's Instruments of Creditproposes radical new interpretations of key episodes of Galileo's career, including his telescopic discoveries of 1610, the dispute over sunspots, and the conflict with the Holy Office over the relationship between Copernicanism and Scripture. Galileo's tactics shifted as rapidly as his circumstances, argues Mario Biagioli, and these changes forced him to respond swiftly to the opportunities and risks posed by unforeseen inventions, other discoveries, and his opponents. Focusing on the aspects of Galileo's scientific life that extended beyond court culture and patronage, Biagioli offers a revisionist account of the different systems of exchanges, communication, and credibility at work in Galileo's career. Galileo's Instruments of Creditwill fascinate readers interested in the history of astronomy and the history of science in general.

Starry Messenger

Starry Messenger PDF

Author: Peter Sís

Publisher:

Published: 1996

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780329040826

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Describes the life and work of the courageous man who changed the way people saw the galaxy, by offering objective evidence that the earth was not the fixed center of the universe.

On Sunspots

On Sunspots PDF

Author: Galileo Galilei

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2010-10-30

Total Pages: 431

ISBN-13: 0226707164

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Galileo’s telescopic discoveries, and especially his observation of sunspots, caused great debate in an age when the heavens were thought to be perfect and unchanging. Christoph Scheiner, a Jesuit mathematician, argued that sunspots were planets or moons crossing in front of the Sun. Galileo, on the other hand, countered that the spots were on or near the surface of the Sun itself, and he supported his position with a series of meticulous observations and mathematical demonstrations that eventually convinced even his rival. On Sunspots collects the correspondence that constituted the public debate, including the first English translation of Scheiner’s two tracts as well as Galileo’s three letters, which have previously appeared only in abridged form. In addition, Albert Van Helden and Eileen Reeves have supplemented the correspondence with lengthy introductions, extensive notes, and a bibliography. The result will become the standard work on the subject, essential for students and historians of astronomy, the telescope, and early modern Catholicism.

Discoveries and Opinions of Galileo

Discoveries and Opinions of Galileo PDF

Author: Galileo

Publisher: Anchor

Published: 1957-04-01

Total Pages: 321

ISBN-13: 0385092393

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Directing his polemics against the pedantry of his time, Galileo, as his own popularizer, addressed his writings to contemporary laymen. His support of Copernican cosmology, against the Church's strong opposition, his development of a telescope, and his unorthodox opinions as a philosopher of science were the central concerns of his career and the subjects of four of his most important writings. Drake's introductory essay place them in their biographical and historical context.

The Invention of the Telescope

The Invention of the Telescope PDF

Author: Albert Van Helden

Publisher: Philadelphia : American Philosophical Society

Published: 1977

Total Pages: 72

ISBN-13:

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Ours is an age of science and technology, based on precision instruments. The first such device to strengthen our feeble human senses in our striving to comprehend the strange and elusive universe around us was the telescope. Cornelis de Waard, in his "De uitvinding der verrekijkers" (The Hague, 1906), had uncovered many new documents bearing on the genesis of the telescope. Van Helden began this project as a translation of de Waard's study. However, Van Helden decided that the profession and de Waard's memory would be better served by a collection and translation of all the relevant primary sources named in his study. Contents of this volume: Intro.; The Background; Between Porta and Lipperhey, 1589-1608; and Documents. Illus. Reprint.

The Essential Galileo

The Essential Galileo PDF

Author: Galileo Galilei

Publisher: Hackett Publishing

Published: 2008-09-15

Total Pages: 392

ISBN-13: 1603840508

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Finocchiaro's new and revised translations have done what the Inquisition could not: they have captured an exceptional range of Galileo's career while also letting him speak--in clear English. No other volume offers more convenient or more reliable access to Galileo's own words, whether on the telescope, the Dialogue, the trial, or the mature theory of motion. --Michael H. Shank, Professor of the History of Science, University of Wisconsin–Madison

Galileo’s Telescope

Galileo’s Telescope PDF

Author: Massimo Bucciantini

Publisher: Harvard University Press

Published: 2015

Total Pages: 361

ISBN-13: 0674736915

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Between 1608 and 1610 the canopy of the night sky was ripped open by an object created almost by accident: a cylinder with lenses at both ends. Galileo’s Telescope tells how this ingenious device evolved into a precision instrument that would transcend the limits of human vision and transform humanity’s view of its place in the cosmos.