Description
Book SynopsisMichael Maestlin (1550–1631), professor of mathematics at the University of Tübingen, was a leading protagonist of the astronomical and cosmological revolution that began with Copernicus. Famous for first introducing Copernicanism to Kepler, Maestlin also wrote important treatises on the supernova of 1572 and the comet of 1577 that mark significant steps in the elimination of celestial immutability and the reinforcement of the Copernican worldview. This first critical edition of Maestlin’s German manuscript treatise on the comet of 1618 is accompanied by an English translation and a thorough commentary. An extensive introduction situates Maestlin’s treatise in the broader context of the contemporary politico-religious conflict and cosmological discussion newly expanded to the debate on sunspots discovered with the telescope.
Table of ContentsPreface List of Figures Symbols of Planets and Zodiacal Signs: Criteria of This Edition Introduction Miguel Á. Granada 1 The impact of the Comet of 1618 in Europe and Württemberg 2 Maestlin’s Treatise on the Comet of 1618 3 The Comets of 1618–1619 and Maestlin’s Observations 4 The Treatises of 1578 and 1580: A Mathematical and Astronomical Approach 5 From 1578 to 1618 6 Bartholomaeus Keckermann and His Assault on Celestial Comets 7 Maestlin’s Reply to Keckermann and the Partial Preservation of Aristotle 8 Sunspots and the Telescope Appear on the Scene 9 Maestlin, Schickard and Habrecht on Faulhaber and the Rosicrucians Michael Maestlin, Astronomischer Discurs von dem Cometen, so in Anno 1618, im Nouembri zu erscheinen angefangen und bis inn Februar dis 1619 Jars am Himmel noch gesehen wirt Critical edition by Miguel Á. Granada Michael Maestlin, Astronomical Discourse on the Comet that First Appeared in November 1618 and Can Still Be Seen in the Sky in February of this Year 1619 Translation by Patrick J. Boner, notes by Miguel Á. Granada and Patrick J. Boner Chapter 1. More Than One Comet Appeared in the Previous Year 1618 Chapter 2. On the First Emergence and Appearance of This Comet Chapter 3. On the Course of This Comet, and the Signs and Constellations through Which It Passed Chapter 4. That the Philosophers Are Divided in Opinion over Whether Comets Are Elementary or Ethereal, That Is, Whether They Are Generated and Brought into Being Here Below in the Air or High above in the Heavens Chapter 5. Whether and How We May Find a Solution for the Two Opposing Opinions Chapter 6. Whether Our Present Comet Possessed Any Sensible Parallax or Not, and How Far Away It May Have Been from the Earth Chapter 7. That before This Time Many Other Comets Appeared and Were Observed Not in the Air, but in the Upper Heaven Chapter 8. What Aristotle and Other Philosophers Might Have Been Missing That Led Them to Think About Comets the Wrong Way Chapter 9. Several Questions Concerning Comets in General, and What Follows from Them Appendix 1. Can Comets Be Predicted? Appendix 2. Draft of a Letter to Duke Johann Friedrich to Apologize for the Delay in Presenting the Requested Report Bibliography Index of Biblical Passages Index of Names
