Kepler’s New Star (1604)

Patrick J. Boner, Ph.D. in History and Philosophy of Science (2007), is a Visiting Scholar at the Catholic University of America. He is the author of several studies, including Kepler’s Cosmological Synthesis: Astrology, Mechanism and the Soul (Brill, 2013).

• List of FiguresList of AbbreviationsNotes on ContributorsIntroduction1 Straight Paths and Evanescent Bodies: The Physics and Dynamics of Celestial Novelties in Kepler’s De stella novaDario Tessicini2 Of Mites and Men (and Stars): Kepler on the Question of Star Sizes in De Stella NovaChristopher M. Graney3 The Measure of the Universe in De stella novaJavier Luna4 Celestial Novelty and the Science of the Stars: Kepler vs. Krabbe on Accuracy and Authority in Early Modern GermanyPatrick J. Boner5 Stars, Crystals and Courts: Johannes Kepler and Anselmus Boëtius de BoodtJonathan Regier6 Kepler’s Astrological PlayAviva Rothman7 The Nova of 1600 in Cygnus and the Christianization of the ConstellationsMiguel Á. Granada8 Epicurean Astronomy? Atomistic and Corpuscular Stars in Kepler’s CenturyPietro Daniel Omodeo9 The Correspondence of Clavius, Dal Monte, Magini and Other Italian Astronomers on The Nova of 1604Matteo Cosci10 The Scientific Legacy of Kepler’s ‘Stella Nova’William P. BlairBibliographyIndex

"[...] this rich collection is an important contribution to understanding the undercurrents that shaped early modern pre-telescopic astronomy. Bringing together questions relating to astronomical measurements, theories of astrological influences, metaphysical speculations, and the broader social and cultural contexts of early modern science will undoubtedly open new venues for historiographical research." - Raz Chen-Morris, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, in: Journal for the History of Astronomy 2023, Vol. 54(3) 360–62"Ten contributing authors (including Boner) explore topics such as the astrological implications of Kepler's discovery, the nature of stars (e.g., scintillation caused by crystalline structure), correspondence among Italian scientists indicating how ideas about new celestial discoveries were exchanged and debated, and in the concluding chapter the scientific legacy of Kepler's supernova. With its extensive footnotes, 25-page bibliography, and indexes of persons and places, this volume is for experts and mature astronomy enthusiasts." - M.-K. Hemenway, (formerly) University of Texas at Austin, in: CHOICE, April 2022, Vol. 59, No. 8