Advanced
Error loading page.
Try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, there may be a network issue, and you can use our self test page to see what's preventing the page from loading.
Learn more about possible network issues or contact support for more help.
Title details for Kepler and the Universe by David K. Love - Available

Kepler and the Universe

How One Man Revolutionized Astronomy

by David K. Love
Richard Ellis
ebook
1 of 1 copy available
Borrow Read a sample Read a sample
1 of 1 copy available
A contemporary of Galileo and a forerunner of Isaac Newton, Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) was a pioneering German scientist and a pivotal figure in the history of astronomy. This colorful, well-researched biography brings the man and his scientific discoveries to life, showing how his contributions were every bit as important as those of Copernicus, Galileo, and Newton.It was Kepler who first advocated the completely new concept of a physical force emanating from the sun that controls the motion of the planets—today we call this gravity and take it for granted. He also established that the orbits of the planets were elliptical in shape and not circular. And his three laws of planetary motion are still used by contemporary astronomers and space scientists.The author focuses not just on these and other momentous breakthroughs but also on Kepler's arduous life, punctuated by frequent tragedy and hardships. His first wife died young, and eight of the twelve children he fathered succumbed to disease in infancy or childhood. He was frequently caught up in the religious persecutions of the day. His mother narrowly escaped death when she was accused of being a witch.Intermingling historical and personal details of Kepler's life with lucid explanations of his scientific research, this book presents a sympathetic portrait of the man and underscores the critical importance of Kepler's discoveries in the history of astronomy.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    June 26, 2019

  • Formats

    • Kindle Book

    • OverDrive Read

      • ISBN: 9781633881075
      • File size: 3955 KB

    • EPUB ebook

      • ISBN: 9781633881075
      • File size: 5978 KB

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      September 21, 2015
      Love, a member of the Royal Astronomical Society, reveals the astronomer Johannes Kepler (1571–1630) as a complex, prickly, and brilliant scientist who led a life of “genius and originality with an appalling degree of personal tragedy.” Born 28 years after Copernicus died, Kepler was a sickly but determined child of Lutheran parents in a “patchwork” Germany of squabbling Catholic and Lutheran states. Love describes how a devout young Kepler planned to become a clergyman, but found himself instead employed as a math professor because of his vocal support for Copernicus’s heliocentric model of the universe—a model condemned by Martin Luther. Kepler’s “puzzling” over several astronomical questions that followed from the work of Copernicus became his groundbreaking work, including his proposition of the existence of a mysterious force from the Sun that pulled the planets around in their orbits—decades before Newton’s work on gravity—and the three laws of planetary motion, which were worked out from meticulous data recorded by Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe, Kepler’s onetime employer. In Love’s hands, Kepler becomes a brimming and accessible font of ideas, convinced that Nature preferred simplicity to complexity and determined to find the truth, no matter how unpopular it might be. Illus.

    • Library Journal

      September 1, 2015

      The child of an accused witch, German scientist Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) transformed astronomy by being the first to discuss a theory of gravity. He encoded laws of planetary motion that improved upon Galileo's work in demonstrating how the planets orbit the sun and that continue to be used today. In material that is accompanied by drawings related to Kepler's theories and by artifacts from his life, Love, who has a degree in astronomy from University College London and lectures on the history of the science and the evolution of the universe, not only outlines his subject's contributions but paints a portrait of the hardship he withstood witnessing eight of his 12 children die.

      Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • Kindle Book
  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

subjects

Languages

  • English

Loading