Heaven on Earth : how Copernicus, Brahe, Kepler, and Galileo discovered the modern world

First Title Value for Searching:

Personal Author:

Fauber, L. S.

Edition:

First Pegasus Books cloth edition.

Physical Description:

xii, 332 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm.

Contents:

Introducing the stars -- Nicolaus Copernicus. Nicolaus in the old world ; The fall of the House of Watzenrode ; In opposition ; The first Copernican ; The first account ; The first dissent ; The second account ; Postmortem -- Tycho Brahe. New stars ; A burdensome privilege ; Hven ; Urania through the years ; Treasures on the broken road ; The parvenu ; Goodbye to all that ; The outside world ; A letter received -- Johannes Kepler. Fathers, sons, ghosts ; The theological turn ; Judgment ; A letter sent ; The need for harmony ; The eyes of the bear ; Two families ; Lunacy ; Reversals of fortune ; The war on astronomy ; Ascension -- Galileo Galilei. Descent ; Upon leaving the top of the arc ; Pupils ; Horky's odyssey ; THeir rekindled friendship ; The naming of things ; The new man ; Their dying friendship ; The renaming of things ; The new man ; Their dying friendship ; The renaming of things ; First signs of night ; The animals ; Wine and women ; Two winters and a spring ; The other side of the door ; A bad memory ; A dove ; A tongue of fire ; Death and the garden ; The changing tides ; Words of his golden years ; A family man ; The dialogue ; The teacher ; Lacunae ; Life inside a box ; The four last things in cruel disorder -- Appendix: seven vignettes from the New Astronomy.

Subject Term:

Astronomers -- Biography.

Astronomy -- History -- 16th century.

Publication Info:

New York : Pegasus Books, 2019.

Subject:

Astronomers -- Biography.

Astronomy -- History -- 16th century.

Copernicus, Nicolaus, 1473-1543

Brahe, Tycho, 1546-1601

Kepler, Johannes, 1571-1630

Galilei, Galileo, 1564-1642

Ko-pai-ni, Ni-ku-la, 1473-1543

Kopernik, Mikołaj, 1473-1543

Kopernik, Nikolaĭ, 1473-1543

Kopernikus, Nikolaus, 1473-1543

Coppernicus, Nicolaus, 1473-1543

Copérnico, Nicolás, 1473-1543

Koppernigk, Niklas, 1473-1543

Copernicus, Nicholas, 1473-1543

Copernic, Nicolas, 1473-1543

Copernico, Niccolò, 1473-1543

קופרניקוס, ניקולאוס, 1473-1543

קופרניקוס, ניקולי, 1473־1543

Brahe, Tyge, 1546-1601

De Brahe, Tycho, 1546-1601

Brahae, Tico, 1546-1601

Brahe, Ticho, 1546-1601

Brahe, Jyge, 1546-1601

Brage, Tikho, 1546-1601

Thycho, 1546-1601

Tycho, 1546-1601

בראהע, טיקא, 1546־1601

Keppler, Johann, 1571-1630

Kepler, Jan, 1571-1630

Kepler, Johann, 1571-1630

Kepler, I. (Iogann), 1571-1630

Kepler, Iogann, 1571-1630

Kepler, John, 1571-1630

Kepler, J. (Johannes), 1571-1630

קפלר

Chia-li-lai, Chʻieh-li-lüeh, 1564-1642

Chʻieh-li-lüeh, 1564-1642

Galilée, 1564-1642

Galilei, G. (Galileo), 1564-1642

Galileo, 1564-1642

Jialilüe, 1564-1642

גלילי, גלילאו, 1564-1642

גליליי, ג., 1564־1642

גליליי, גלילאו, 1564-1642

伽利略, 1564-1642

SAILS ISBN:

9781643132044

Available:

Library	Shelf Number	Shelf Location	Status
Searching... Mansfield Public Library	520.92 F	NONFICTION	Searching... Unknown

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On Order

Summary

A vivid narrative that connects the lives of four great astronomers as they discovered, refined, and popularized the first major scientific discovery of the modern era: that the Earth moves around the Sun.

Today we take for granted that a telescope allows us to see galaxies millions of light years away. But before its invention, people used nothing more than their naked eye to fathom what took place in the visible sky. So how did four men in the 1500's--of different nationality, age, religion, and class--collaborate to discover that the Earth revolved around the Sun? With this radical discovery that went against the Church, they created our contemporary world--and with it, the uneasy conditions of modern life.

Heaven on Earth is an intimate examination of this scientific family--that of Nicolaus Copernicus, Tycho Brahe, Johannes Kepler, and Galileo Galilei. Fauber juxtaposes their scientific work with insight into their personal lives and political considerations, which shaped their pursuit of knowledge. Uniquely, he shows how their intergenerational collaboration was actually what made the scientific revolution possible.

Ranging from the birth of astronomy and the methods of early scientific research, Fauber reveals the human story that underlies this civilization altering discovery. And, contrary to the competitive nature of research today, collaboration was key to early scientific discovery. Before the rise of university research institutions, deep thinkers only had each other. They created a kind of family, related to each other via intellectual pursuit rather than blood.

These men called each other "brothers," "fathers," and "sons," and laid the foundations of modern science through familial co-work. And though the sixteenth century was far from the an open society for women, There were female pioneers in this "family" as well, including Brahe's sister Sophie, Kepler's mother, and Galileo's daughter.

Filled with rich characters and sweeping historical scope, Heaven on Earth reveals how the strong connections between these pillars of intellectual history moved science forward--and how, without them, we might have waited a long time for a heliocentric model of the universe.

Reviews (2)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Fauber, a UC-Riverside PhD student in computer science, seamlessly merges biography, history, and science in this amazing look at the four 16th-century astronomers whose work revealed the heliocentric solar system. Fauber opens with Nicolaus Copernicus, whose love for astronomy diverted him from a planned church career and led him to question whether Earth was at the center of the universe. Fauber then moves to Tycho Brahe, who built on Copernicus's work while using his royal patron's resources to build a lavish observatory. A fan letter introduced Brahe to Johannes Kepler, an eager young astronomer who would use Brahe's observational data to invent astrophysics and show that the planets traveled in elliptical orbits around the sun. Armed with Kepler's findings and his hand-built telescope, Galileo saw the moon's terrain, and the moons of Jupiter. In addition to these four figures, Fauber brings 16th-century Europe--when plagues scoured the populace, religious controversies could get one burned at the stake, and a wealthy patron made the difference between success and anonymity--to life. Rich with detail, this is an extraordinary saga of stubborn scientific curiosity, and of the first inklings of this planet's true place in the universe. Agent: Luba Ostashevsky, Ayesha Pande Literary. (Dec.)

Kirkus Review

Four scientists collaborate in the quest to understand the heavens.In the 1500s, there was scant cooperation among scholars of different countries: Books and papers were slow to travel, and great discoveries sometimes remained unrecognized for decades. Computer scientist Fauber focuses on four founding fathers of modern astronomy who sought each other out and advanced some central ideas in what was then an act of heresy. Copernicus was the forerunner in a time when "there was no place named America,' no light bulbs, no vaccines, no nationalism, no cheap steel, no secular state, no accurate clocksand almost no books." Working with such tools as he had, he advanced a thesis that boldly stated that Earth is not the center of the universe and that "all the spheres revolve around the Sun," a heliocentric notion that put him at odds with the Catholic Church in a time of schism. Figuring in the story in roughly equal measure are three other scientists who pushed the "Copernican heresy" further: Johannes Kepler, Tycho Brahe, and Galileo Galilei. The story of their discoveries, aided by primitive telescopes, mathematical intuitions, and long letters back and forth, is well known; what Fauber does well is humanize these four residents of the pantheon of science. An overweening letter from Brahe to Kepler, for instance, opened the door to a personal visit, although Kepler scrawled in the margin, "Everyone loves themself!" Brahe was a strange man, though, as Fauber shows, not without reason: He had been kidnapped as a baby and raised "in splendid isolation by a boorish uncle and his coy wife"; Galileo's mother "stole from him, spied on him, and fought with Marina, mother of his children." The writing is sometimes a touch too casualGalileo, writes the author, was born "too early to see the lax republican model of Venetian government spread over Europe like jam on toast"but the story is seldom less than fascinating.A readable, enjoyable contribution to the history of science. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Introducing the Stars	p. xi
Nicolaus Copernicus	p. 1
Nicolaus in the Old World	p. 3
The Fall of the House of Watzenrode	p. 13
In Opposition	p. 16
The First Copernican	p. 22
The First Account	p. 25
The First Dissent	p. 26
The Second Account	p. 29
Postmortem	p. 34
Tycho Brahe	p. 37
New Stars	p. 39
A Burdensome Privilege	p. 42
Hven	p. 49
Urania Through the Years	p. 50
Treasures on the Broken Road	p. 59
The Parvenu	p. 64
Goodbye to All That	p. 67
The Outside World	p. 68
A Letter Received	p. 72
Johannes Kepler	p. 75
Fathers, Sons, Ghosts	p. 77
The Theological Turn	p. 82
Judgment	p. 88
A Letter Sent	p. 90
The Need for Harmony	p. 92
The Eyes of the Bear	p. 95
Two Families	p. 96
Lunacy	p. 103
Reversals of Fortune	p. 106
The War on Astronomy	p. 109
Ascension	p. 114
Galileo Galilei	p. 119
Descent	p. 121
Upon Leaving the Top of the Arc	p. 123
Pupils	p. 126
Horky's Odyssey	p. 131
Their Rekindled Friendship	p. 138
The Naming of Things	p. 139
The New Man	p. 142
Their Dying Friendship	p. 147
The Renaming of Things	p. 150
First Signs of Night	p. 154
The Animals	p. 158
Wine and Women	p. 162
Two Winters and a Spring	p. 172
The Other Side of the Door	p. 179
A Bad Memory	p. 186
A Dove	p. 187
A Tongue of Fire	p. 189
Death and the Garden	p. 192
The Changing Tides	p. 195
Works of His Golden Years	p. 198
A Family Man	p. 212
The Dialogue	p. 214
The Teacher	p. 219
Lacunae	p. 226
Life Inside a Box	p. 227
The Four Last Things in Cruel Disorder	p. 231
Appendix: Seven Vignettes From the New Astronomy	p. 239
Reader's Bibliography	p. 257
Notes	p. 265
Index	p. 327

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Summary

Summary

Reviews (2)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Kirkus Review

Table of Contents