Comets, Popular Culture, and the Birth of Modern Cosmology
eBook - PDF

Comets, Popular Culture, and the Birth of Modern Cosmology

  1. 386 pages
  2. English
  3. PDF
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - PDF

Comets, Popular Culture, and the Birth of Modern Cosmology

About this book

In a lively investigation into the boundaries between popular culture and early-modern science, Sara Schechner presents a case study that challenges the view that rationalism was at odds with popular belief in the development of scientific theories. Schechner Genuth delineates the evolution of people's understanding of comets, showing that until the seventeenth century, all members of society dreaded comets as heaven-sent portents of plague, flood, civil disorder, and other calamities. Although these beliefs became spurned as "vulgar superstitions" by the elite before the end of the century, she shows that they were nonetheless absorbed into the science of Newton and Halley, contributing to their theories in subtle yet profound ways.


Schechner weaves together many strands of thought: views of comets as signs and causes of social and physical changes; vigilance toward monsters and prodigies as indicators of God's will; Christian eschatology; scientific interpretations of Scripture; astrological prognostication and political propaganda; and celestial mechanics and astrophysics. This exploration of the interplay between high and low beliefs about nature leads to the conclusion that popular and long-held views of comets as divine signs were not overturned by astronomical discoveries. Indeed, they became part of the foundation on which modern cosmology was built.

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Information

Publisher
Princeton University Press
Year
2021
Print ISBN
9780691009254
9780691011509
eBook ISBN
9780691227672
Topic
Physical Sciences
Subtopic
Astronomy & Astrophysics

Table of contents

  1. Cover Page
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright Page
  4. Dedication
  5. Contents
  6. List of Illustrations
  7. Acknowledgments
  8. Introduction: Shared Culture, Separate Spaces
  9. Part One: Signs of the Times
  10. Part Two: Natural Causes
  11. Part Three: World Reformation
  12. Part Four: Comet Lore and Cosmogony
  13. Appendix: Recent Resurgence of Cometary Catastrophism
  14. Notes
  15. Bibliography
  16. Index

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Yes, you can access Comets, Popular Culture, and the Birth of Modern Cosmology by Sara Schechner,Sara Schechner Genuth in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Physical Sciences & Astronomy & Astrophysics. We have over 1.5 million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.