Comets, Popular Culture, And The Birth Of Modern Cosmology; Author: Schechner, Sara J.; Hardback; Book

Author: Schechner, Sara J.
Hardback; Book; 53 Halftones, 2 Tables, References
380 pages
Published: September 1997
University Presses of California, Columbia and Princeton
ISBN: 0691011508

A lively investigation into the boundaries between popular culture and early-modern science. Until the 17th century, all members of society dreaded comets as heaven-sent portents of disaster. This book leads to the conclusion that long-held views of comets as divine signs were not over-turned by astronomical discoveries, but became the foundation on which modern cosmology was built. 53 photos. 384 pp.This text is looks at boundries of popular culture and early modern science. It delineates the evolution of the popular understanding of comets, examining how vulgar superstitions were incoporated into the science of Newton and Halley and became part of the foundations of modern cosmology.