De Cometis Or A Discourse Of The Natures And Effects Of Comets As They Are Philosophically Historically Astrologically Considered

De Cometis: Or, A Discourse of the Natures and Effects of Comets, as They are Philosophically, Historically & Astrologically Considered

Comets, Popular Culture, and the Birth of Modern Cosmology

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.

Fire in the Sky

Comets and meteors are spectacular and awe-inspiring natural phenomena, which are among nature's most compelling icons. Since the beginning of recorded time, they have mesmerized people, not least among them artists and astronomers. Britain during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries produced a larger number and greater variety of representations of comets and meteors than any other country. The development of new technologies, and the burgeoning interest of the general public in science and art, dovetailed with the inherent British interest in nature and a strong literary tradition of comet and meteor symbolism. This beautifully illustrated book examines the link between these works and the achievements of British science in the wake of Newton and Halley. This book will be stimulating to anyone interested in the art or astronomy of comets.