Change and Continuity in Early Modern Cosmology

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xii

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2. Introduction

   • Patrick J. Boner

   Pages 1-6

3. The Reality of Peurbach’s Orbs: Cosmological Continuity in Fifteenth and Sixteenth Century Astronomy

   • Peter Barker

   Pages 7-32

4. Continuity and Change in Cosmological Ideas in Spain Between the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries: The Impact of Celestial Novelties

   • Víctor Navarro Brotóns

   Pages 33-50

5. Cornelius Gemma and the New Star of 1572

   • Dario Tessicini

   Pages 51-65

6. Johannes Kepler and David Fabricius: Their Discussion on the Nova of 1604

   • Miguel A. Granada

   Pages 67-92

7. Kepler’s Copernican Campaign and the New Star of 1604

   • Patrick J. Boner

   Pages 93-114

8. From Cosmos to Confession: Kepler and the Connection Between Astronomical and Religious Truth

   • Aviva Rothman

   Pages 115-133

9. Johannes Phocylides Holwarda and the Interpretation of New Stars in the Dutch Republic

   • Rienk Vermij

   Pages 135-152

10. Discovering Mira Ceti: Celestial Change and Cosmic Continuity

    • Robert Alan Hatch

    Pages 153-176

11. Back Matter

    Pages 177-181

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Viewed as a flashpoint of the Scientific Revolution, early modern astronomy witnessed a virtual explosion of ideas about the nature and structure of the world. This study explores these theories in a variety of intellectual settings, challenging our view of modern science as a straightforward successor to Aristotelian natural philosophy. It shows how astronomers dealt with celestial novelties by deploying old ideas in new ways and identifying more subtle notions of cosmic rationality. Beginning with the celestial spheres of Peurbach and ending with the evolutionary implications of the new star Mira Ceti, it surveys a pivotal phase in our understanding of the universe as a place of constant change that confirmed deeper patterns of cosmic order and stability.

• Astronomy
• Cosmology
• Early Modern Europe
• Philosophy

From the reviews:

“This collection of essays, originally written for a conference held at Johns Hopkins in 2009 … . ‘New stars’ have long captured the attention of historians, but to my knowledge this is the first set of studies to focus on how early modern astronomers dealt with new stars from 1572 to the late seventeenth century. … A particular strength of this volume is its expansion beyond Kepler and Galileo to the larger communities engaged in astronomical and mathematical pursuits.” (Richard Oosterhoff, British Journal for the History of Science, Vol. 45 (3), September, 2012)

• , Department of the History of Science and, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA

  Patrick J. Boner

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