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The slow growth of humility

The Fault, Dear Brutus, lies not In the stars but in ourselves

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 November 2010

Tobias Owen
Affiliation:
University of Hawaii, Institute for Astronomy USA email: owen@ifa.hawaii.edu
Scott Bolton
Affiliation:
Space Science Division, Southwest Science Institute, San Antonio, Texas 78228 email: sbolton@swri.org
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Abstract

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Galileo's stunning discovery of the four largest satellites of Jupiter forced the over throw of the Earth-centered cosmology that had dominated astronomy for centuries. Such a fundamental transformation of the Western World's view of its importance in the cosmos could be expected to produce some humility in society. However, the deep desire for our uniqueness continues to struggle with the astronomical evidence.

Type
Contributed Papers
Copyright
Copyright © International Astronomical Union 2010

References

The Starry Messenger, Galileo, Galilei (1615), trans. Stillman Drake.Google Scholar
Cosmotheoros, Christiaan, Huygens (1695) (in 1757 trans. anon.).Google Scholar