Astronomy compels the soul to look upwards…

TITLE
Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica
AUTHOR
Isaac Newton
PLACE OF PUBLICATION
[s.n.]
PUBLISHER
[s.n.]
YEAR OF PUBLICATION
1760
OBJECT ID
P001144118

This work is considered to be one of the most important in the history of science. Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation is explained in Volume I. Volume III: De Mundi Systemate lists the many consequences of universal gravitation for astronomy.

Newton was an important figure in the Scientific Revolution of the early modern period (1500 – 1800). At this time, developments in mathematics, physics, astronomy, biology and chemistry transformed the commonly held views of nature.

Copernicus’s heliocentric (sun-centred) astronomical model, published in 1534, is considered the period’s starting point, and Newton’s Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica its completion.

2        

TITLE
A New and Most Accurate Theory of the Moon’s Motion; Whereby All Her Irregularities May be Solved,
 and Her Place Truly Calculated to Two Minutes 
AUTHOR
Isaac Newton   
PLACE OF PUBLICATION
London
PUBLISHER
[s.n.]
YEAR OF PUBLICATION 
1702
OBJECT ID
P001209864

In 1694 Isaac Newton visited the King’s Astronomer, Flamsteed, at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich. One of Flamsteed’s main duties was to obtain star positions and to develop a lunar theory (an account of the motions of the Moon) which would be accurate enough for navigators to determine longitudes at sea.

Newton, who saw that Flamsteed’s theory was not accurate enough, tried to develop a more precise theory. The elements of Newton’s A New and Most Accurate Theory of the Moon’s Motion are presented without explanation to support his discovery. Although Newton’s theory is not as accurate as he claimed it to be, it was far more accurate than any other at the time.

3

TITLE
M. Manili Astronomicum Libri Quinque. Iosephus Scaliger Iul. Caes. F. Recensuit, Ac Pristino Ordini Suo Restituit. 
Eiusdem Ios. Scaligeri Commentarius In Eosdem Libros, Castigationum Explicationes Lutetiae, Apud Mamertum 
Patissionum Typographum Regium, In Officina Roberri Stephani, 1579
PLACE OF PUBLICATION
Paris
YEAR OF PUBLICATION
1579 
OBJECT ID
P001102849 

Astrology is the study of the movements and relative positions of celestial bodies (stars, planets and satellites), believing them to have an influence on human society and the natural world.

The Astronomicon, is a poem for instruction about celestial events, the zodiac and astrology. It is the earliest comprehensive work on astrology.

5

TITLE
The Calculation of Solar Eclipses without Parallaxes. : With a specimen of the same in the total eclipse of the sun,
 May 11. 1724. [...]
AUTHOR
William Whiston
PLACE OF PUBLICATION
London
PUBLISHER
[s.n.]
YEAR OF PUBLICATION
1724
OBJECT ID
P001553514 

In 1724, the mathematician and theologian, William Whiston, published a broadsheet, The Calculation of Solar Eclipses Without Parallexes, on the occasion of the solar eclipse of that year.

The solar eclipses of 1724 and 1737 offered him many opportunities to make a living from lecturing, writing, teaching, and selling glasses and instruments.

6

TITLE
 A judgement of the Comet : Which became first generally visible to us in Dublin December XIII. About 15 minutes
 before 5 in the evening anno Dom. 1680.
AUTHOR
By a Person of Quality
 PLACE OF PUBLICATION 
Dublin
PUBLISHER
William Winter
YEAR OF PUBLICATION 
1682
OBJECT ID
P00118960x

Between late 1680 and early 1681, a very large and bright comet was seen in the sky throughout much of the Northern Hemisphere. Discovered by German astronomer, Gottfried Kirch, it was the first comet to be observed through a telescope. It was apparently so bright that it was visible even during daytime! Aptly called the Great Comet of 1680, it was also known as Kirch’s comet.

Many thought the comet was a sign of impending divine punishment. In his text Edward Wettenhall, Bishop of Cork and Ross, and a member of the Dublin Philosophical Society, tried to reassure readers that the comet was nothing supernatural and that its presence was to

‘beget in us a deeper belief and admiration of the great God of Heaven and Earth’