DOCSLIB.ORG

Kepler and the Jesuits, Michael Walter Burke-Gaffney, S.J. (1944).Pdf

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Kepler and the Jesuits, Michael Walter Burke-Gaffney, S.J. (1944).Pdf ixNM^KrnrFRi^ mji iiiNir*! CO c >KU\ ic»n \f» v Mftimioriiu'.t n ( < nice r O Mai mi v* Nf amtouvs LHrJUULI m nc. xwii § m m > z a H m3C jftaUISp m en C H theJESU CD BY M.W. BURKE - GAFFNEY ST. IGNATIUS LIBRARY »**,.* ^ » 980 T- PARK AVENUE / »naT,„, oh NEW YORK CITY 28 "«w Vowk Date Loaned ©23 IM ^0*0v&*0v&A&*&*&*&H&*&*&*&K&r&*&*.&>»&*'&*&*,O'*'&*-0*&*&* Kepler and the Jesuits ^^<^W^Jl^X^lt^>C^lC^X^X^K^>t^X^5<^X^X^K^X^X^X^X^X^l<^)t^l<^> "My thoughts are with the Dead; with them 1 live in long-past years, Their virtues love, their faults condemn, Partake their hopes and fears, And from their lessons seek and find Instruction with a humble mind." — SOUTHEY. M. W. BURKE-GAFFNEY, S.J. 'I measured the skies." Johann Kepler THE BRUCE PUBLISHING COMPANY MILWAUKEE Imprimi potest: T. J. Mullai-ly, S.J. Nihil obstat: H. B. Rjes, Censor librorum Imprimatur: + Moyses E. Kiley. Archiepiscopus Milwaukiensis Die 11 Aprilis. 1944 CONTENTS Page Chapte f 1 I Introducing Kepler II The Imperial Mathematician 15 III . 26 IV V . 60 VI Sunspots ..... • 71 VII Mercury in the Sun . 8s 9i WAR FORMAT VIII Heliocentric Hypothesis • This book is produced in complete accord with the Governinem regulations for the conservation of paper and other essential materials. IX X Aids to Astronomy . 117 XI The Last Chapter 129 Bibli Copyright. 1944 The Bruce Publishing Company Indej Printed in the United States of America CHAPTER I INTRODUCING KEPLER Johann Kepler was enjoying a studentship at the University of Tubingen when the Parodies, the Lutheran school at Graz, applied for a teacher of astronomy. Kepler was recommended and elected on the score of his mathematical ability. As he tells us, he had no particular taste for astronomy; but he had little choice. His patrons had recommended him; his penniless father had already deserted a querulous wife, and left creditors behind — beggars cannot choose. At Graz Kepler had not only to lecture in astronomy, but had also to construct an almanac for each year, foretelling future events. He threw himself into the study of astrology, studying it with all the more zest when private prognosticating proved a lucrative practice. To gain experience and guidance, he noted the positions of the planets against the events of his own life, and those of his relatives — to these records we are indebted for the minutiae of his biography. He himself enters the picture at the instant of his birth, of which he gives us the time to the nearest minute: half-past one in the morning of December 27, 1571, at Weil, in Wurttemberg — a premature and sickly son, as, he says, the planets had foretold. He was born in the best-known house in Weil, the residence of the Burgomaster, his paternal grandfather. It was only after Johann's birth that his parents set up house for themselves. The venture was not very successful; they fought like cat and dog. In 1574 Herr Kepler deserted his wife and two sons, to go and fight in Belgium. When Frau Kepler learned where he was, she went to the front herself and fetched him back. They bought a little farm in the village of Leonberg; but after he had been to war, there was no keeping Heinrich Kepler on a KEPLER AND THE JESUITS INTRODUCING KEPLER 3 the farm. In 1576 he was off to Belgium again. This time he and his textbook was the second edition of Mastlin's Epitome got a little more than bargained he had for. On November 4, of Astronomy. Mastlin's book made no mention of Copernicus 1576, Spanish fury was let loose in Antwerp; the town was or his theory. But Kepler tells us that Mastlin explained the sacked; the German mercenaries, under Count Oberstein, were Copernican theory to him, and that he himself admired it. His completely routed and dispersed; and Kepler's father was home admiration sowed a seed which was to be the source of much again. This time he bought a tavern in the village of Elmen- fruit after he left Tubingen. However, he did not leave im- digen, and Johann started to school. He went to a school mediately after receiving his master's degree; but was kept on, where German was the medium of instruction, and not Latin, carried by funds supplied from the foundation of the Uni- as at the next schools he was to attend. He recalls having heard versity. He was waiting and hoping to be promoted to Witten- much talk of the comet of this year, 1577, and of having been berg, to proceed to his doctorate in theology. Meanwhile, he brought up to a high place by his mother to see it. The comet wrote a paper on the motion of the earth, and how it might of 1577 was the one which Tycho Brahe proved to be more be reconciled with Sacred Scripture. Then, in 1594, Graz, in distant than the moon. By comparing observations made of it the Province of Styria, applied to Tubingen for a scholar from Uraniburg and from Prague (which are about 400 miles capable of teaching astronomy. The Senate of Tubingen sug- apart), Brahe showed that it seemed to occupy the same position gested Kepler; the Rector advised him to accept. among the stars from wherever seen. The background of the Graz is pretty. It is on the banks of the Mur (the Napoleonic moon, on the other hand, varies with the point of view. Eleven French called it la ville des Graces sur la riviere de I Amour). years later, Brahe published his facts which exploded the notion Lutheran doctrine found its way to Graz as early as 1530, and that comets were sublunary phenomena. in 1540, a Lutheran school, the Parodies, was opened. The After three years at the school at Elmendigen, Kepler had Archduke Charles recognized the teacher of astronomy at the to stay at home to help his parents. He worked in the fields at Parodies as Provincial Mathematician. When Kepler went to the tender age of nine, and never forgot how hard it was. Graz, there was no Archduke in residence. Charles had died One day he was called to look at an eclipse of the sun, and in 1590, when his eldest son and heir, Ferdinand, was twelve was struck by the redness around the moon as it blotted out years of age. The young Archduke did not take over the gov- the sunlight. It must have been, he later calculated, the eclipse ernment of Styria until 1590. Until he took over, Kepler's of January 31, 1580. Lutheranism was no impediment to his being Provincial Three years later his father lost all he possessed by a forfeited Mathematician in a Catholic province. security; and Johann was free to return to school. Moreover, Kepler went down to Graz all but convinced of the truth as the son of a pauper he was a deserving object of charity. of the Copernican theory. The only difficulties he had in The Monastery School at Adelberg opened its doors to him admitting it were other than mathematical. He could under- on October 16, 1584. After two years he was received into the stand the earth being the center of the universe, as Ptolemy Protestant Seminary of Maulbroon. There, in 1589, he passed would have it. All things were created for men who live on a brilliant bachelor's examination, and was sent to the Uni- the earth. Why then should the sun be the center of our versity of Tubingen to master in philosophy. As part of the system? He thought up this answer for himself: usual course, Kepler had to study astronomy. Though inter- Of all the bodies in the universe the most excellent is the ested, he did not then suspect that astronomy was to be sun, his whose whole essence is nothing else but the purest light. life's work. His professor I of astronomy was Michael Mastlin; han it there is no greater star; singly and alone it is the 4 KEPLER AND THE JESUITS INTRODUCING KEPLER 5 producer, conserver, and warmer of all things. It is a fountain hedron in which was inscribed a sphere, a great circle of which of light, rich in fruitful heat, most fair, limpid, and pure to the circle of Mercury. Near the center of Mercury's sphere the sight. It is was the source of vision and the portrayer of all sun. Since, according to Copernicus, the colours, though itself devoid of colour. was the immobile circled about a point on their circles, it was necessary There planets remained other difficulties. Why were there five planets to give each sphere a thickness, to afford room for the planet's besides the earth? Why not more or less? And why had the peregrinations. A model of the solar system designed according all-wise Creator placed them as He did? For their distances to Kepler's plan would be very close to a true-to-scale model. Its from the sun, as given by Copernicus, there seemed to be slight deviations from the proportions of Copernicus' system, neither rhyme nor reason. Taking the distance of Mercury Kepler attributed to errors in observations which Copernicus as unity, their mean distances were proportioned as follows: used for his calculations. Mercury ,.00 It was to Mastlin that Kepler broke the news of his discovery, Venus 1.87 and wrote of his desire to publish.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Archivum Historicum Societatis Iesu Table of Contents
    VOL. LXXIX FASC. 158 JULY-DECEMBER 2010 ARCHIVUM HISTORICUM SOCIETATIS IESU Paul Oberholzer, S.J. Editor Advisory Editors Sibylle Appuhn-Radtke (Munich) Julius Oswald S.J. (Munich) Pau! Begheyn S.J. (Amsterdam) Antonella Romano (Florence) Robert L. Bireley SJ. (Chicago) Flavio Rurale (Udine) Louis Boisset SJ. (Rome) Lydia Salviucci Insolera (Rome) Francesco Cesareo (Worcester, Ma.) Klaus Schatz SJ. (Frankfurt/M) Rita Haub (Munich) Nicolas Standaert SJ. (Leuven) Jeffrey Klaiber SJ. (Lima) Antoni J. Oçerler SJ. (Oxford) Mark A Lewis SJ. (New Orleans) Agustin Udias SJ. (Madrid) Barbara Mahlmann-Bauer (Bern) TABLE OF CONTENTS Sif?yl!e Appuhn-Radtke, Ordensapologetik als Movens positivistischer Erkenntnis. Joseph Braun SJ. und die Barockforschung 299 Matthieu Bernhardt, Construction et enjeux du savoir ethnographique sur la Chine dans l'oeuvre de Matteo Ricci SJ. 321 Heinz Sprof~ Die Begriindung historischer Bildung aus dem Geist des Christlichen Humanismus der Societas Iesu 345 Cristiana Bigari, Andrea Pozzo S.J. e la sua eredità artistica. Antonio Colli da discepolo a collaboratore 381 Lydia Safviucci, Richard Biise~ Mostra su Andrea Pozzo SJ., pittore e architetto 407 Elisabetta Corsi, ''Ai crinali della storia". Matteo Ricci S.J. fra Roma e Pechino 414 Emanuele Colombo, Jesuits, Jews and Moslems 419 Pau/ Beghryn SJ., Bibliography 427 Book Reviews 549 Jesuit Historiographical Notes 591 Scientific activity of the members of IHSI 603 Index 606 BIBLIOGRAPHY ON THE HISTORY OF THE SOCIETY OF JESUS 2010 Paul Begheyn, S.J. I am grateful to the
    [Show full text]
  • The Great Apostasy   
    The Great Apostasy R. J. M. I. By The Precious Blood of Jesus Christ; The Grace of the God of the Holy Catholic Church; The Mediation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Good Counsel and Crusher of Heretics; The Protection of Saint Joseph, Patriarch of the Holy Family and Patron of the Holy Catholic Church; The Guidance of the Good Saint Anne, Mother of Mary and Grandmother of God; The Intercession of the Archangels Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael; The Intercession of All the Other Angels and Saints; and the Cooperation of Richard Joseph Michael Ibranyi To Jesus through Mary Júdica me, Deus, et discérne causam meam de gente non sancta: ab hómine iníquo, et dolóso érue me Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam 2 “I saw under the sun in the place of judgment wickedness, and in the place of justice iniquity.” (Ecclesiastes 3:16) “Woe to you, apostate children, saith the Lord, that you would take counsel, and not of me: and would begin a web, and not by my spirit, that you might add sin upon sin… Cry, cease not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their wicked doings and the house of Jacob their sins… How is the faithful city, that was full of judgment, become a harlot?” (Isaias 30:1; 58:1; 1:21) “Therefore thus saith the Lord: Ask among the nations: Who hath heard such horrible things, as the virgin of Israel hath done to excess? My people have forgotten me, sacrificing in vain and stumbling in their way in ancient paths.” (Jeremias 18:13, 15) “And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, say to her: Thou art a land that is unclean, and not rained upon in the day of wrath.
    [Show full text]
  • Galileo in Rome Galileo in Rome
    Galileo in Rome Galileo in Rome The Rise and Fall of a Troublesome Genius William R. Shea and Mariano Artigas Oxford New York Auckland Bangkok Buenos Aires Cape Town Chennai Dar es Salaam Delhi Hong Kong Istanbul Karachi Kolkata Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Mumbai Nairobi São Paulo Shanghai Taipei Tokyo Toronto Copyright © 2003 by Oxford University Press, Inc. First published by Oxford University Press, Inc., 2003 198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016 www.oup.com Issued as an Oxford University Press paperback, 2004 ISBN 0-19-517758-4 (pbk) Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Oxford University Press. The Library of Congress has catalogued the cloth edition as follows: Artigas, Mariano. Galileo in Rome : the rise and fall of a troublesome genius / Mariano Artigas and William R. Shea. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-19-516598-5 1. Galilei, Galileo, 1564-1642—Journeys—Italy—Rome. 2. Religion and science—History—16th century. 3. Astronomers—Italy—Biography. I. Shea, William R. II. Title. QB36.G2 A69 2003 520'.92—dc21 2003004247 Book design by planettheo.com 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper CONTENTS ACKNO W L E D G E M E N T S vii I N TRO D U C TIO N ix CHA P TER O N E Job Hunting and the Path
    [Show full text]
  • Downloading the Application Form at the Following Address
    Hanno Collaborato A queSto NumeRo: IL NUOVO SAGGIATORE f. K. A. Allotey, L. Belloni, BOLLETTINO DELLA SOCIETÀ ITALIANA DI FISICA G. Benedek, A. Bettini, t. m. Brown, Nuova Serie Anno 26 • N. 5 settembre-ottobre 2010 • N. 6 novembre-dicembre 2010 f. Brunetti, G. Caglioti, R. Camuffo, A. Cammelli, e. Chiavassa, DIRETTORE RESPONSABILE ViCeDiRettoRi ComitAto scieNtifiCo L. Cifarelli, e. De Sanctis, A. Di Carlo, Luisa Cifarelli Sergio focardi G. Benedek, A. Bettini, i. Di Giovanni, R. fazio, f. ferrari, Giuseppe Grosso S. Centro, e. De Sanctis, S. focardi, R. Gatto, A. Gemma, e. iarocci, i. ortalli, L. Grodzins, G. Grosso, f. Guerra, f. Palmonari, R. Petronzio, f. iachello, W. Kininmonth, e. Longo, P. Picchi, B. Preziosi S. mancini, P. mazzoldi, A. oleandri, G. onida, V. Paticchio, f. Pedrielli, A. Reale, G. C. Righini, N. Robotti, W. Shea, i. talmi, A. tomadin, m. Zannoni, A. Zichichi Sommario 3 EDITORIALE / EDITORIAL 84 50 anni di laser. Tavola rotonda al XCVI Congresso Nazionale della SIF SCieNZA iN PRimO PIANO G. C. Righini 5 Quantum simulators and 86 Assemblea di ratifica delle elezioni quantum design delle cariche sociali della SIF per il R. fazio, A. tomadin triennio 2011-2013 10 La rivoluzione della plastica nel 87 African Physical Society settore fotovoltaico f. K. A. Allotey A. Di Carlo, A. Reale, t. m. Brown, 90 Nicola Cabibbo and his role in f. Brunetti elementary-particle theory Percorsi R. Gatto 23 The tabletop measurement of the News helicity of the neutrino 92 The Italian graduate profile survey L. Grodzins A. Cammelli 30 Giulio Racah (1909-1965): 96 Premio Fermi 2010 modern spectroscopy A.
    [Show full text]
  • Seminarvortrag 17.4.2019 Zu Sonnenflecken
    Early telescopic observations of sunspots by Simon Marius and other (1610-1620) Ralph Neuhäuser Astrophysikalisches Institut und Universitäts-Sternwarte www.astro.uni-jena.de FSU Jena 400 years telescopic sunspots. Schwabe cycle 10.4 ± 1.2 yr (since 1750) Schwabe cycle and butterfly diagram Sonnenflecken-Relativzahl (Rudolf Wolf 1816-1893): Rz = k x (10 x g + n) Anzahl der Einzelflecken n, Anzahl der Fleckengruppen g, individueller Gütefaktor des jeweiligen Beobachters k Hoyt & Schatten (1998): Sonnenfleckengruppenzahl RG = (12.08 / N) x Si (ki' x Gi) individueller Korrekturfaktor ki' des i-ten Beobachters Gruppenzahl Gi am betreffenden Tag, N ist die Anzahl der Beobachter des entsprechenden Tages. oder Fleckenfläche statt Fleckenanzahl Active day fraction f = (aktive Tage) / (aktive + inaktive Tage) In 17th century, all sources have to be checked ! Clette et al. 2015 - First telescopic observations of sun spots - Observations by Simon Marius 1611 – 1619 - More observations by Saxonius, Tarde, Malapert: Constraining the first telescopic Schwabe cycle (1620) Erste teleskopische Beobachtungen von Flecken (ab 1609): -Vorstufen als Lesestein um 1000 AD (Ibn al-Haytham) - Linsen, Monokel, Brillen im Mittelalter (China, Italien) - Teleskop 1608 (Hans Lipperdey, Holland) - Galileo Galilei: erste Himmelsbeobachtungen (1609) Jupiter-Monde, Sterne in Milchstraße, Venus-Phasen, Sonnenflecken - Kepler Fernrohr (1611) Kopernikanische Wende: Helio-Zentrismus Erste teleskopische Beobachtungen von Flecken (ab 1609): - Galileo Galilei: erste Himmelsbeobachtungen
    [Show full text]
  • A History of the Spiritan Missionaries in Acadia and North America 1732-1839 Henry J
    Duquesne University Duquesne Scholarship Collection Duquesne Studies Spiritan Series Spiritan Collection 1-1-1962 Knaves or Knights? A History of the Spiritan Missionaries in Acadia and North America 1732-1839 Henry J. Koren C.S.Sp. Follow this and additional works at: https://dsc.duq.edu/spiritan-dsss Recommended Citation Koren, H. J. (1962). Knaves or Knights? A History of the Spiritan Missionaries in Acadia and North America 1732-1839. Retrieved from https://dsc.duq.edu/spiritan-dsss/3 This Book is brought to you for free and open access by the Spiritan Collection at Duquesne Scholarship Collection. It has been accepted for inclusion in Duquesne Studies Spiritan Series by an authorized administrator of Duquesne Scholarship Collection. Spiritan Collection Duquesne University The Gumberg Library Congregation of the Holy Spirit USA Eastern Province SPtRITAN ARCHIVES U.S.A. g_ / / Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2011 with funding from LYRASIS Members and Sloan Foundation http://www.archive.org/details/duquesnestudiess04henr DUQUESNE STUDIES Spiritan Series 4 KNAVES OR KNIGHTS? : DUQUESNE STUDIES Spiritan Series Volume One— Henry J. Koren. C S.Sp., THE SPIRI- TAN S. A History of the Congregation of the Holy Ghost. XXIX and 641 pages. Illustrated. Price: paper $5.75, cloth $6.50. ,,lt is a pleasure to meet profound scholarship and interesting writing united. " The American Ecclesias- tical Review. Volume Two— Adrian L. van Kaam, C.S.Sp., A LIGHT TO THE GENTILES. The Life-Story of the Venerable Francis Lihermann. XI and 312 pages. Illustrated Price: paper $4.00, cloth $4.75. ,,A splendid example or contemporary hagiography at its best." America.
    [Show full text]
  • The Maunder Minimum and the Variable Sun-Earth Connection
    The Maunder Minimum and the Variable Sun-Earth Connection (Front illustration: the Sun without spots, July 27, 1954) By Willie Wei-Hock Soon and Steven H. Yaskell To Soon Gim-Chuan, Chua Chiew-See, Pham Than (Lien+Van’s mother) and Ulla and Anna In Memory of Miriam Fuchs (baba Gil’s mother)---W.H.S. In Memory of Andrew Hoff---S.H.Y. To interrupt His Yellow Plan The Sun does not allow Caprices of the Atmosphere – And even when the Snow Heaves Balls of Specks, like Vicious Boy Directly in His Eye – Does not so much as turn His Head Busy with Majesty – ‘Tis His to stimulate the Earth And magnetize the Sea - And bind Astronomy, in place, Yet Any passing by Would deem Ourselves – the busier As the Minutest Bee That rides – emits a Thunder – A Bomb – to justify Emily Dickinson (poem 224. c. 1862) Since people are by nature poorly equipped to register any but short-term changes, it is not surprising that we fail to notice slower changes in either climate or the sun. John A. Eddy, The New Solar Physics (1977-78) Foreword By E. N. Parker In this time of global warming we are impelled by both the anticipated dire consequences and by scientific curiosity to investigate the factors that drive the climate. Climate has fluctuated strongly and abruptly in the past, with ice ages and interglacial warming as the long term extremes. Historical research in the last decades has shown short term climatic transients to be a frequent occurrence, often imposing disastrous hardship on the afflicted human populations.
    [Show full text]
  • Michael Kühn Detlev Auvermann RARE BOOKS
    ANTIQUARIAT 55Michael Kühn Detlev Auvermann RARE BOOKS 1 Rolfinck’s copy ALESSANDRINI, Giulio. De medicina et medico dialogus, libris quinque distinctus. Zurich, Andreas Gessner, 1557. 4to, ff. [6], pp. AUTOLYKOS (AUTOLYCUS OF PYTANE). 356, ff. [8], with printer’s device on title and 7 woodcut initials; a few annotations in ink to the text; a very good copy in a strictly contemporary binding of blind-stamped pigskin, the upper cover stamped ‘1557’, red Autolyci De vario ortu et occasu astrorum inerrantium libri dvo nunc primum de graeca lingua in latinam edges, ties lacking; front-fly almost detached; contemporary ownership inscription of Werner Rolfinck on conuersi … de Vaticana Bibliotheca deprompti. Josepho Avria, neapolitano, interprete. Rome, Vincenzo title (see above), as well as a stamp and duplicate stamp of Breslau University library. Accolti, 1588. 4to, ff. [6], pp. 70, [2]; with large woodcut device on title, and several woodcut diagrams in the text; title a little browned, else a fine copy in 19th-century vellum-backed boards, new endpapers. EUR 3.800.- EUR 4.200.- First edition of Alessandrini’s medical dialogues, his most famous publication and a work of rare erudition. Very rare Latin edition, translated from a Greek manuscript at the Autolycus was a Greek mathematician and astronomer, who probably Giulio Alessandrini (or Julius Alexandrinus de Neustein) (1506–1590) was an Italian physician and author Vatican library, of Autolycus’ work on the rising and setting of the fixed flourished in the second half of the 4th century B.C., since he is said to of Trento who studied philosophy and medicine at the University of Padua, then mathematical science, stars.
    [Show full text]
  • First King of Rome Romulus Calendar 753 BC Martius (31 Days)
    First King of Rome Second King of Rome Julius Caesar Pope Gregory XIII God and Jesus Christ Romulus Calendar Numa Calendar Julian Calendar Gregorian Calendar New Jerusalem Calendar 753 BC 715 BC 45 BC 1582 AD (The Present) Martius (31 days) Martius (31 days) Ianuarius (31 days) January (31 days) New Year Day 0/0 Leap Day 0/1 Aprilus (30 days) Aprilus (29 days) Februarius (28/29 days) February (28/29 days) March (30 days) Maius (31 days) Martius (31 days) March (31 days) Maius (31 days) April (31 days) Iunius (29 days) Aprilus (30 days) April (30 days) Iunius (30 days) May (31 days) May (30 days) Quintilus (31 days) Maius(31 days) June (30 days) Quintilus (31 days) June (30 days) Sextilus (29 days) Iunius (30 days) July (31 days) Sextilus (30 days) July (31 days) September (29 days) Iulius (31 days) August (30 days) August (31 days) September (30 days) October (31 days) Augustus (31 days) September (30 days) September (30 days) October (31 days) November (29 days) September (30 days) October (31 days) October (31 days) November (30 days) November (30 days) December (29 days) October (31days) November (30 days) December (30 days) December (30 days) Ianuarius (29 days) November (30 days) December (31 days) January (31 days) Winter day period Februarius (28 days) December (31 days) February (30 days) Notes: Notes: Notes: Notes: Notes: At some point between Year of Confusion in Martius (March) the Although the Gregorian On the New Jerusalem first month. New Year 715 BC and 45 BC the 46 BC had 445 days.
    [Show full text]
  • Redalyc.DISTANCE AS an INCONVENIENT FACTOR in the SCIENTIFIC COMMUNICATION BETWEEN EUROPE and the JESUITS in CHINA (17TH / 18TH
    Bulletin of Portuguese - Japanese Studies ISSN: 0874-8438 [email protected] Universidade Nova de Lisboa Portugal Golvers, Noël DISTANCE AS AN INCONVENIENT FACTOR IN THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNICATION BETWEEN EUROPE AND THE JESUITS IN CHINA (17TH / 18TH CENTURY) Bulletin of Portuguese - Japanese Studies, vol. 18-19, junio-diciembre, 2009, pp. 105-134 Universidade Nova de Lisboa Lisboa, Portugal Available in: http://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=36129851004 How to cite Complete issue Scientific Information System More information about this article Network of Scientific Journals from Latin America, the Caribbean, Spain and Portugal Journal's homepage in redalyc.org Non-profit academic project, developed under the open access initiative BPJS, 2009, 18/19, 105-134 DISTANCE AS AN INCONVENIENT FACTOR IN THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNICATION BETWEEN EUROPE AND THE JESUITS IN CHINA (17TH / 18TH CENTURY) Noël Golvers K.U. Leuven (Fac. of Arts, Dept. Sinology) – F. Verbiest Institute Abstract Distance was a key element in the existential situation of the European Jesuits in China in the 17th-18th century. In addition to the linguistic and cultural distance they had to overcome, we will reflect here especially on the geographical distance (with consequences in terms of time and money), as a contribution to the historical research on the scientific communication from Europe to China, more precisely on the basis of a selection of contemporary testimonia. Therefore, I focus on three precise questions: (1) how seriously the geographical distance did affect a
    [Show full text]
  • Download This Article (Pdf)
    Sigismondi et al., JAAVSO Volume 30, 2001 31 LONG-TERM BEHAVIOR OF MIRA CETI MAXIMA Costantino Sigismondi Department of Astronomy Yale University New Haven, CT 06520-8101 Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma Viale del Parco Mellini 84 00136 Rome, Italy and International Center for Relativistic Astrophysics Physics Department University of Rome “La Sapienza” Piazzale Aldo Moro 5 00185 Rome, Italy Dorrit Hoffleit Department of Astronomy Yale University Riccardo Coccioli Physics Department University of Rome “La Sapienza” Presented at the 90th AAVSO Spring Meeting, May 5, 2001 Abstract We gathered the maxima of Mira Ceti (1596–2000) in order to evaluate the frequency of two consecutive bright apparitions. We did an evaluation of the correlation between two following maxima in order to verify the probability of occurrence of two consecutive bright maxima. Analyzing the maxima of Mira, we found a probability of seeing it brighter than α Ceti once every 21 years. In this case, as in February 1997, Mira can be detected at the first sight as a new component near the most significant asterism in its zone, composed of α, γ, and δ Ceti. We found also a correlation between the magnitude of two consecutive maxima described by the linear fit: 32 Sigismondi et al., JAAVSO Volume 30, 2001 Mi+1 -Mi = - (1.10 ± 0.08) Mi + (3.74 ± 0.26), with R = -0.74. This study was done to test whether Mira could have been the Star of Bethlehem and fulfilled the hypothesis suggested by Kepler of a new star that appeared during the triple conjunction at 1° of Jupiter and Saturn that occurred in 7–6 B.C.E.
    [Show full text]
  • The Eclipse of 21 June 1629 in Beijing in the Context of the Reform of the Chinese Calendar
    Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage, 23(2), 327‒334 (2020). THE ECLIPSE OF 21 JUNE 1629 IN BEIJING IN THE CONTEXT OF THE REFORM OF THE CHINESE CALENDAR Sperello di Serego Alighieri INAF ‒ Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri, Largo Enrico Fermi 5, 50125 Firenze, Italy. E-mail: [email protected] and Elisabetta Corsi Sapienza Università di Roma, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Roma, Italy. E-mail: [email protected] Abstract: This paper examines the predictions made by Chinese, Muslim and Jesuit astronomers of the eclipse of 21 June 1629 in Beijing, allegedly the event that determined Emperor Chongzhen‘s resolution to reform the calendar using the Western method. In order to establish the accuracy of these predictions, as reported at the time by the Chinese scholar and convert Xu Guangqi, we have compared them with an accurate reconstruction of the eclipse made at NASA. In contrast with current opinions, we argue that the prediction made by the Jesuits was indeed the most accurate. It was in fact instrumental in dissipating Chongzhen‘s doubts about the need to entrust Jesuit missionaries serving at the Chinese court with the task of reforming the calendar, leading to the first important scientific collaboration between Europe and China. Keywords: Eclipses, Chinese calendar reform, Jesuit savants. 1 INTRODUCTION to the Empire, and making astronomical pre- dictions and calculations, may not be fully ap- Eclipses are inauspicious events in Chinese preciated unless attention is paid to the quality traditional worldview, bearers of major disast- of the Jesuit scientific and technical expertise, ers. For centuries astronomers serving at the a condition that enabled them to retain a lead- Chinese Court—from the Tang Dynasty on, ing position in the Astronomical Bureau for a there were also foreign astronomers, firstly century and a half, starting with Adam Schall Brahmans then Arabs and lately Europeans— von Bell‘s appointment in 1644, at the estab- strove to make the best eclipse forecasts, lest lishment of the Qing Dynasty.
    [Show full text]