Kepler begins the chapter by saying:
The testimony of the ages confirms that the motions of the planets are orbicular. Reason, having borrowed from experience, immediately presumes this: That their gyrations are perfect circles.
Astronomia Nova – Introduction
Kepler’s introduction to Astronomia Nova is somewhat of a lengthy ramble: 20 pages skipping from topic to topic and back again. In addition, he lays out somewhat of a preview of the structure of the book itself. But since we’ll be digesting that chapter by chapter anyway, I won’t discuss most of it and will instead sift through for the important parts. In addition, my summation won’t strictly follow the format Kepler does as I will try to group ideas on a similar topic.
The first important topic Kepler hits on is the
schools of thought among astronomers, one distinguished by its chief, Ptolemy… and the other attributed to more recent proponents [Copernicus], although it is the most ancient.
Introduction
I first joined the SCA sometime in late 1998 or 1999. At the time, my main interest was just doing the armored combat. While I was active for a few years, college ended up taking me away. GPA before SCA as they say. After trying to do Physics education as a major, then straight Physics, I realized what I most enjoyed were my Astronomy electives and my focus began to shift towards Astrophysics.
Eventually that’s what I majored in but my skills were not sufficient for me to continue past my BS, so after graduating in 2008, I headed into the real world, still with a strong love for the field, but it turns out you can’t do too much with just a BS. So my career took a very different turn. Continue reading “Introduction”