Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dsjbd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-24T09:09:23.420Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The slow growth of humility

The Fault, Dear Brutus, lies not In the stars but in ourselves

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 November 2010

Tobias Owen  and
Scott Bolton
Tobias Owen
Affiliation:
University of Hawaii, Institute for Astronomy USA email: [email protected]
Scott Bolton
Affiliation:
Space Science Division, Southwest Science Institute, San Antonio, Texas 78228 email: [email protected]
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Galileo's stunning discovery of the four largest satellites of Jupiter forced the over throw of the Earth-centered cosmology that had dominated astronomy for centuries. Such a fundamental transformation of the Western World's view of its importance in the cosmos could be expected to produce some humility in society. However, the deep desire for our uniqueness continues to struggle with the astronomical evidence.

Keywords

GalileoHistory of AstronomyHuygensCosmotheoros
Type
Contributed Papers
Information
Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union , Volume 6 , Symposium S269: Galileo's Medicean Moons: their impact on 400 years of discovery , January 2010 , pp. 13 - 19
Copyright
Copyright © International Astronomical Union 2010

References

The Starry Messenger, Galileo, Galilei (1615), trans. Stillman Drake.Google Scholar
Cosmotheoros, Christiaan, Huygens (1695) (in 1757 trans. anon.).Google Scholar