On Sunspots

Galileo's telescopic discoveries, and especially his observation of sunspots, caused great debate in an age when the heavens were thought to be perfect and unchanging. Christoph Scheiner, a Jesuit mathematician, argued that sunspots were planets or moons crossing in front of the Sun. Galileo, on the other hand, countered that the spots were on or near the surface of the Sun itself, and he supported his position with a series of meticulous observations and mathematical demonstrations that eventually convinced even his rival. "On Sunspots" collects the correspondence that constituted the public debate, including the first English translation of Scheiner's two tracts as well as Galileo's three letters, which have previously appeared only in abridged form. In addition, Eileen Reeves and Albert Van Helden have supplemented the correspondence with lengthy introductions, extensive notes, and a bibliography. The result will become the standard work on the subject, essential for students and historians of astronomy, the telescope, and early modern Catholicism.

ISBN 0226707156   DEWEY edition DC22 ISBN13 9780226707150 (What's this?)   Pages 368 Publisher The University of Chicago Press   Weight (grammes) 703 Imprint University of Chicago Press   Published in Chicago, IL Format Hardback   Height (mm) 229 Publication date 30 Nov 2010   Width (mm) 152 Translator Eileen Reeves, Albert Van Helden   Spine width (mm) 28 DEWEY 523.74   Academic level Undergraduate, Postgraduate

		List of abbreviations
		Preface
1		Introduction		1
2		Sunspots before the telescope		9
3		Turning the telescope to the Sun: Thomas Harriot and Johannes and David Fabricius		25
4		Christoph Scheiner		37
5		Tres Epistolae		59
6		Galileo answers Apelles		75
7		Galileo's first letter		87
8		Galileo's second letter		107
9		A more accurate inquiry from Ingolstadt		171
10		Accuratior Disquisitio		183
11		Galileo responds and goes into print		233
12		Galileo's third letter		251
13		Rematch, 1630-1632		307

"[This volume] will be essential to historians interested in the development and use of the telescope and in religion of that period. Highly recommended./i>--M. K. Hemenway "Choice "

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