Galileo’s Telescope: A European Story

361 Pages·2015·6.821 MB·English

by  Massimo Bucciantini, Michele Camerota, Franco Giudice

Galileo’s Telescope

Galileo’s Telescope
A EU RO PE AN STORY
Massimo Bucciantini
Michele Camerota
Franco Giudice
Translated by Catherine Bolton
Harvard University Press
Cambridge, Massachusetts
London, Eng land
2015
English translation © 2015 by Giulio Einaudi editore s.p.a., Torino
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
First printing
First published as Il telescopio di Galileo: Una storia europea, © 2012 by Giulio
Einaudi editore s.p.a., Torino
h e translation of this work has been funded by SEPS
Segretariato Europeo per le Pubblicazioni Scientifiche
Via Val d’Aposa 7—40123 Bologna—I taly
[email protected]— www.seps.it
Library of Congress Cataloging- in-Publication Data
Bucciantini, Massimo.
[Telescopio di Galileo. Eng lish]
Galileo’s telescope : a Eu ro pea n story / Massimo Bucciantini, Michele Camerota,
Franco Giudice ; translation by Catherine Bolton.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-674-73691-7 (alk. paper)
1. Telescopes—Europe—History—17th century.
2. Astronomical instruments—Europe—History—17th century.
3. Galilei, Galileo, 1564–1642.
4. Astronomy—History—17th century.
I. Camerota, Michele. II. Giudice, Franco. III. Title.
QB88.B8313 2015
522'.209409031— dc23
2014033443
Book designed by Dean Bornstein
To Paolo Galluzzi

Contents
!$
List of Illustrations, Plates, and Maps ix
Prologue 1
1. From the Low Countries 1 3
2. h e Venetian Archipelago 33
3. Breaking News: Glass and Envelopes 53
4. In a Flash 79
5. Peregrinations 89
6. h e Battle of Prague 103
7. A cross the Eng lish Channel:
Poets, Phi los o phers, and Astronomers 129
8. Conquering France 155
9. Milan: At the Court of “King” Federico 169
10. h e Dark Skies of Florence 181
11. h e Roman Mission 203
12. In Motion: Portugal, India, China 227
Epilogue 237
Notes 249
References 3 05
Credits 327
Ac know ledg ments 331
Index 333
QR

Illustrations, Plates, and Maps
Illustrations
1. Galileo, objective lens, late 1609 xii
2. Galileo, objective lens, late 1609 xii
3–4. Galileo’s telescopes, 1609–1610 3
5–6. Eyepiece and objective lens, 1609–1610 3
7. Brueghel the Elder, Landscape with View of the Castle of
Mariemont, 1611 12
8. Brueghel the Elder, Landscape with View of the Castle of
Mariemont, 1611, detail 14
9. Galileo’s shopping list 60
10. Galileo’s i rst repre sen ta tion of Jupiter’s satellites 70
11. Galileo’s sketch of Jupiter’s satellites 72
12. Galileo, report of observations of Jupiter’s satellites,
January 7–15, 1610 74
13. Galileo, i rst page of the autograph record of observations
of Jupiter’s satellites, 1610 76
14. Galileo, diagram of the positions of Jupiter’s satellites,
April 24 and 25, 1610 93
15. Galileo, autograph transcription of Kepler’s solution of the
anagram of Saturn 122
16. Galileo, autograph experiments with anagrams 123
17. Harriot, drawing of the Moon, July 26, 1609 137
18. Harriot, drawing of the Moon, July 17, 1610 142
19. Galileo, drawing of the Moon, 1610 142
20. Chalette, bozzetto for the title page of Astra medicea by
Nicolas Fabri de Peiresc 160
21. Brueghel the Elder, Allegory of Air, 1621 170
22. Title page with the Medici arms 191
23. Cigoli, Assumption of the Virgin, 1610–1612, detail 220
24. Galileo, drawing of the Moon, 1609 220
25. Dias, Tian Wen Lüe, 1615 233