© university of notre dameundpress/tocs/p03169-toc.pdfdiagrams from the new almagest,showing the...
TRANSCRIPT
S E T T I N G A S I D E A L L A U T H O R I T Y
Graney-00FM_Layout 1 2/25/15 11:20 AM Page i
© UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME
Graney-00FM_Layout 1 2/25/15 11:20 AM Page ii
© UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME
Setting Aside All AuthorityGiovanni Battista Riccioli and the Science against Copernicus in the Age of Galileo
INCLUDING THE FIRST ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF
M O N S I G N O R F R A N C E S C O I N G O L I ’ S
essay to Galileo disputing the
Copernican system, and the first English translation of
R I C C I O L I ’ S R E P O RT S
regarding his experiments with falling bodies and with the
effect of air resistance on falling bodies.
C H R I S T O P H E R M . G R A N E Y
University of Notre Dame Press
Notre Dame, Indiana
Graney-00FM_Layout 1 2/25/15 11:20 AM Page iii
© UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME
Copyright © 2015 by the University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame, Indiana 46556
www.undpress.nd.edu
All Rights Reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Graney, Christopher M., 1966–
Setting aside all authority : Giovanni Battista Riccioli and the science
against Copernicus in the age of Galileo / Christopher M. Graney.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-268-02988-3 (paperback : alkaline paper)—
ISBN 0-268-02988-1 (paperback : alkaline paper)
1. Riccioli, Giovanni Battista, 1598–1671. 2. Astronomers—Italy—
Biography. 3. Jesuit scientists—Italy—Biography. 4. Copernicus,
Nicolaus, 1473–1543. 5. Astronomy—Italy—History—17th century.
6. Science—Italy—History—17th century. I. Title.
QB36.R386G73 2015
523.2—dc23
2014047949
∞ The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines
for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources.
Graney-00FM_Layout 1 2/25/15 11:20 AM Page iv
© UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME
To my sister,
Laura Kathleen Graney (1971–2013),
who had a great affection for the night sky,
and who took great pride in her brother’s work.
Graney-00FM_Layout 1 2/25/15 11:20 AM Page v
© UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME
Graney-00FM_Layout 1 2/25/15 11:20 AM Page vi
© UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME
Contents
List of Illustrations and Tables ix
Acknowledgments xiii
1 Giovanni Battista Riccioli and the New Almagest 1
2 The Universe that Riccioli Saw 9
3 The Anti-Copernican Astronomer 25
4 Stars and Adventitious Rays 45
5 Science against Copernicus, God’s Starry Armies for Copernicus 63
6 Jesuits on the Tower 87
7 126 Arguments 103
8 An Angel and a Cannon 115
9 The Telescope against Copernicus 129
10 It Can No Longer Be Called “False and Absurd” 141
Appendix A: Francesco Ingoli’s 1616 Essay to Galileo 163
Appendix B: Giovanni Battista Riccioli’s Reports Regarding His Experiments with Falling Bodies 197
Notes 233
Works Cited 257
Index 265
Graney-00FM_Layout 1 2/25/15 11:20 AM Page vii
© UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME
Graney-00FM_Layout 1 2/25/15 11:20 AM Page viii
© UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME
Illustrations and Tables
Figure 1.1. Frontispiece of Giovanni Battista Riccioli’s 1651 New Almagest.Image courtesy History of Science Collections, University of OklahomaLibraries. 3
Figure 1.2. Details from the New Almagest frontispiece, showing Jupiter, Mer-cury, and Venus. Images courtesy History of Science Collections, Uni-versity of Oklahoma Libraries. 4
Figure 1.3. Detail from the New Almagest frontispiece, showing the worldsystems. Image courtesy History of Science Collections, University ofOklahoma Libraries. 4
Figure 2.1. The stars of the constellation Scorpius 11
Figure 2.2. The Moon partially eclipsed. Photo credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls. 21
Figure 2.3. Comparison of Earth’s size to the distance to the stars 21
Figure 2.4. Diurnal parallax 22
Figure 3.1. Tycho Brahe’s observatories. Images credit: ETH-Bibliothek Zürich,Alte und Seltene Drucke. 27
Figure 3.2. One of Tycho Brahe’s nontelescopic instruments. Image credit:ETH-Bibliothek Zürich, Alte und Seltene Drucke. 28
Figure 3.3. Astronomers Johannes and Elisabeth Hevelius using a nontele-scopic measuring instrument. Image credit: ETH-Bibliothek Zürich, Alteund Seltene Drucke. 29
Figure 3.4. A vernier caliper. Image credit: M. Colcher. 29
ix
Graney-00FM_Layout 1 2/25/15 11:20 AM Page ix
© UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME
Figure 3.5. The hybrid geocentric hypothesis of Tycho Brahe. Image credit:ETH-Bibliothek Zürich, Alte und Seltene Drucke. 31
Figure 3.6. Annual parallax 33
Table 3.1. Tycho Brahe’s apparent sizes of and average distances to celestialbodies 34
Figure 3.7. The relative sizes of celestial bodies calculated by Tycho Brahe 35
Figure 3.8. The relationship between the apparent size, the physical or truesize, and the distance of a celestial body 36
Table 3.2. Tycho Brahe’s apparent sizes of and average distances to the fixedstars 37
Figure 3.9. Brahe’s calculated relative size for a mid-size star in the Coperni-can universe 38
Figure 3.10. Paths of projectiles. Image credit: ETH-Bibliothek Zürich, Alteund Seltene Drucke. 39
Figure 4.1. The appearance of Venus changing over time, as seen by Galileo.Image courtesy History of Science Collections, University of OklahomaLibraries. 55
Figure 4.2. Representations of Jupiter’s cloud bands, from the New Almagest.Image credit: ETH-Bibliothek Zürich, Alte und Seltene Drucke. 58
Figure 4.3. A star as seen through a small aperture telescope. Image credit:ETH-Bibliothek Zürich, Alte und Seltene Drucke. 60
Figure 5.1. Illustrations of the Moon and Sun from Locher’s 1614 Disquisitions.Images credit: ETH-Bibliothek Zürich, Alte und Seltene Drucke. 65
Figure 5.2. Diagram of phases of Venus from Locher’s 1614 Disquisitions.Image credit: ETH-Bibliothek Zürich, Alte und Seltene Drucke. 66
Figure 5.3. The Jovian system as illustrated in Locher’s 1614 Disquisitions.Image credit: ETH-Bibliothek Zürich, Alte und Seltene Drucke. 67
Figure 5.4. Thomas Digges’s sketch of the Copernican system. Image courtesyHistory of Science Collections, University of Oklahoma Libraries. 78
Figure 6.1. Pendulum diagram from the New Almagest. Image credit: ETH-Bibliothek Zürich, Alte und Seltene Drucke. 89
Figure 6.2. Riccioli’s diagram of the Asinelli tower in Bologna. Image credit:ETH-Bibliothek Zürich, Alte und Seltene Drucke. 94
x Illustrations and Tables
Graney-00FM_Layout 1 2/25/15 11:20 AM Page x
© UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME
Figure 6.3. Map of the Moon from the New Almagest. Image courtesy Historyof Science Collections, University of Oklahoma Libraries. 99
Figure 6.4. Detail from the New Almagest map of the Moon. Image courtesyHistory of Science Collections, University of Oklahoma Libraries. 100
Figure 7.1. Detail from Digges’s sketch of the Copernican system. Imagecourtesy History of Science Collections, University of Oklahoma Li-braries. 109
Figure 7.2. Diagram from the New Almagest, showing Galileo’s hypothesisregarding the motion of a heavy ball falling from a high tower. Imagecredit: ETH-Bibliothek Zürich, Alte und Seltene Drucke. 110
Figure 7.3. Diagrams from the New Almagest, showing the motions of fallingbodies on a rotating, Sun-orbiting Earth. Image credit: ETH-BibliothekZürich, Alte und Seltene Drucke. 111
Figure 8.1. Diagram representing cannon shots on a rotating Earth 117
Figure 8.2. Figure from the New Almagest, showing the trajectories of acannon fired to the north versus fired to the east. Images credit: ETH-Bibliothek Zürich, Alte und Seltene Drucke. 119
Figure 8.3. Diagram based on a sketch by Newton, showing an objectdropped from a high tower on a rotating Earth 123
Figure 9.1. Riccioli’s Jupiter and Saturn figures with comparison of the sizesof Sirius and Alcor. Image credit: ETH-Bibliothek Zürich, Alte und Sel-tene Drucke. 131
Figure 9.2. Riccioli’s table of the telescopic sizes of stars, from the NewAlmagest. Image credit: ETH-Bibliothek Zürich, Alte und SelteneDrucke. 131
Figure 9.3. Riccioli’s tables showing the calculated physical sizes of Sirius andAlcor from the New Almagest. Images credit: ETH-Bibliothek Zürich,Alte und Seltene Drucke. 134–135
Figure 9.4. The effect, or lack thereof, of the telescope on the star size ques-tion. 136
Figure 10.1. The Foucault pendulum at the Kentucky Science Center in Louis -ville 149
Figure 10.2. Diffraction pattern formed by light passing through a circularaperture. Image credit: Wikimedia Commons. 155
Illustrations and Tables xi
Graney-00FM_Layout 1 2/25/15 11:20 AM Page xi
© UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME
Figure A.1. A mechanical orrery. Images courtesy of Todd Timberlake, BerryCollege. 192
Figure B.1. Riccioli’s diagram of the Asinelli tower in Bologna, with details.Image credit: ETH-Bibliothek Zürich, Alte und Seltene Drucke. 202
Table B.1. New Almagest data table showing times and distances for eight-ounce clay balls dropped from varying heights 206
Table B.2. New Almagest data tables for pairs of balls dropped from the sameheight 210
Figure B.2. New Almagest data table showing times and distances for eight-ounce clay balls dropped from varying heights. Image credit: ETH-Bibliothek Zürich, Alte und Seltene Drucke. 221
Figure B.3. New Almagest data tables for pairs of balls dropped from thesame height. Images credit: ETH-Bibliothek Zürich, Alte und SelteneDrucke. 224
Figure B.4. Plot of Riccioli’s data from table B.1 228
Figure B.5. Plot of Riccioli’s four fully independent measurements fromtable B.1 229
Figure B.6. Plots of distance travelled vs. time for two different balls fallingthrough air 231
xii Illustrations and Tables
Graney-00FM_Layout 1 2/25/15 11:20 AM Page xii
© UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME