Philosophy
Tycho Brahe, the most prominent and accomplished astronomer of his era, made measurements of the apparent sizes of the Sun, Moon, stars, and planets. From these he showed that within a geocentric cosmos these bodies were of comparable sizes, with the Sun being the largest body and the Moon the smallest. He further showed that within a heliocentric cosmos, the stars had to be absurdly large — with the smallest star dwarfing even the Sun. (The results of Tycho’s calculations are illustrated in this paper.) Various Copernicans responded to this issue of observation and geometry by appealing to the power of God: They argued that giant stars were not absurd because even such giant objects were nothing compared to an infinite God, and that in fact the Copernican stars pointed out the power of God to humankind. Tycho rejected this argument.
"REGARDING HOW TYCHO BRAHE NOTED THE ABSURDITY OF THE COPERNICAN THEORY REGARDING THE BIGNESS OF STARS, WHILE THE COPERNICANS APPEALED TO GOD TO ANSWER THAT ABSURDITY" by Christopher M. Graney Jefferson Community & Technical
- Exhumation Of Tycho Brahe
"Something is rotten in the state of Denmark," said Marcellus [an officer] having just seen the ghost of Hamlet's father, the late king of Denmark----"Hamlet" Act I, Scene 4...William Shakespeare. Why did they do this? Was it worth the expense?...
- Tycho Brahe...an Early Astronomical Observer
Goes to illustrate that science is a function of team work. "A feisty man of science" by Perry Vlahos October 27th, 2011 The Sydney Morning Herald Tycho Brahe observed the sky before the age of telescopes. MANY think of Tycho Brahe as the most significant...
- Dead Dane To Be Exhumed
Is this really necessary? "Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe exhumed to solve mystery" A portrait of Tycho Brahe, thought to have been made around 1600 Was the astronomer murdered? Tests may provide the answer November 15th, 2010 BBC NEWS The body of a...
- Bad Boys Of Astronomy
I was amused at a recent entry at New Scientist..."Meet the scoundrels of astronomy"... History is littered with astronomers who doggedly pursued fame at the expense of the scientific method. While researching a biographical encyclopaedia, Thomas Hockey...
- Double Star Observations--galileo Galilei
Galileo Galilei Demonstrates His Astronomical Theories to a Monk This is somewhat unusual...that earlier observations of double stars negated the conclusions written in Galileo Galilei's Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems [1632]...such...
Philosophy
An issue between Tycho Brahe and Copernicus
Tycho Brahe, the most prominent and accomplished astronomer of his era, made measurements of the apparent sizes of the Sun, Moon, stars, and planets. From these he showed that within a geocentric cosmos these bodies were of comparable sizes, with the Sun being the largest body and the Moon the smallest. He further showed that within a heliocentric cosmos, the stars had to be absurdly large — with the smallest star dwarfing even the Sun. (The results of Tycho’s calculations are illustrated in this paper.) Various Copernicans responded to this issue of observation and geometry by appealing to the power of God: They argued that giant stars were not absurd because even such giant objects were nothing compared to an infinite God, and that in fact the Copernican stars pointed out the power of God to humankind. Tycho rejected this argument.
"REGARDING HOW TYCHO BRAHE NOTED THE ABSURDITY OF THE COPERNICAN THEORY REGARDING THE BIGNESS OF STARS, WHILE THE COPERNICANS APPEALED TO GOD TO ANSWER THAT ABSURDITY" by Christopher M. Graney Jefferson Community & Technical
- Exhumation Of Tycho Brahe
"Something is rotten in the state of Denmark," said Marcellus [an officer] having just seen the ghost of Hamlet's father, the late king of Denmark----"Hamlet" Act I, Scene 4...William Shakespeare. Why did they do this? Was it worth the expense?...
- Tycho Brahe...an Early Astronomical Observer
Goes to illustrate that science is a function of team work. "A feisty man of science" by Perry Vlahos October 27th, 2011 The Sydney Morning Herald Tycho Brahe observed the sky before the age of telescopes. MANY think of Tycho Brahe as the most significant...
- Dead Dane To Be Exhumed
Is this really necessary? "Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe exhumed to solve mystery" A portrait of Tycho Brahe, thought to have been made around 1600 Was the astronomer murdered? Tests may provide the answer November 15th, 2010 BBC NEWS The body of a...
- Bad Boys Of Astronomy
I was amused at a recent entry at New Scientist..."Meet the scoundrels of astronomy"... History is littered with astronomers who doggedly pursued fame at the expense of the scientific method. While researching a biographical encyclopaedia, Thomas Hockey...
- Double Star Observations--galileo Galilei
Galileo Galilei Demonstrates His Astronomical Theories to a Monk This is somewhat unusual...that earlier observations of double stars negated the conclusions written in Galileo Galilei's Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems [1632]...such...