Between 1650 and 1750, four Catholic churches were the best solar observatories in the world. Built to fix an unquestionable date for Easter, they also housed instruments that threw light on the disputed geometry of the solar system, and so within sight of the alter, subverted church doctrine about the order of the universe. A tale of politically canny astronomers and cardinals with a taste for mathematics, this text tells how these observatories came to be, how they worked, and what they accomplished. It describes Galileo ...
Read More
Between 1650 and 1750, four Catholic churches were the best solar observatories in the world. Built to fix an unquestionable date for Easter, they also housed instruments that threw light on the disputed geometry of the solar system, and so within sight of the alter, subverted church doctrine about the order of the universe. A tale of politically canny astronomers and cardinals with a taste for mathematics, this text tells how these observatories came to be, how they worked, and what they accomplished. It describes Galileo's political overreaching, his subsequent trial for heresy, and his slow and steady rehabilitation in the eyes of the Catholic Church. And it offers an enlightening perspective on astronomy, church history, and religious architecture, as well as an analysis of measurements testing the limits of attainable accuracy, undertaken with rudimentary means and extraordinary zeal. Above all, the book illuminates the niches protected and financed by the Catholic Church in which science and mathematics thrived.
Read Less
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Very Good in Very Good jacket. Between 1650 and 1750, four Catholic churches were the best solar observatories in the world. Built to fix an unquestionable date for Easter, they also housed instruments that threw light on the disputed geometry of the solar system, and so, within sight of the altar, subverted Church doctrine about the order of the universe. A tale of politically canny astronomers and cardinals with a taste for mathematics, 'The Sun in the Church' tells how these observatories came to be, how they worked, and what they accomplished. It describes Galileo's political overreaching, his subsequent trial for heresy, and his slow and steady rehabilitation in the eyes of the Catholic Church. And it offers an enlightening perspective on astronomy, Church history, and religious architecture, as well as an analysis of measurements testing the limits of attainable accuracy, undertaken with rudimentary means and extraordinary zeal. Above all, the book illuminates the niches protected and financed by the Catholic Church in which science and mathematics thrived. Superbly written, 'The Sun in the Church' provides a magnificent corrective to long-standing oversimplified accounts of the hostility between science and religion. 'A fascinating history of astronomy that shows, as no other work has done so well, what happened to Italian science after Galileo's trial. An astonishing display of erudition and linguistic control, with a wealth of fine details, this is a major history that carves out a unique territory. '--Owen Gingerich, Harvard University. 8 color illustrations. 42 halftones.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Fine Condition in Fine jacket. Dust Jacket is in fine condition without tears or chips or other damage. Quantity Available: 1. Category: Science & Technology; Astronomy; Religion. ISBN: 0674854330. ISBN/EAN: 9780674854338. Pictures of this item not already displayed here available upon request. Inventory No: 24268.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Very Good in Very Good jacket. Book Ex lib. (ix) 366 pages, b/w illustrations in text, color plates, appendices, abbreviations, works cited, notes, credits, index; 8vo, original white boards/red cloth. Library label title page, pocket, withdrawn stamp, very good; contents fine; dust jacket very good+, no marks.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
VERY GOOD jacket. Hardcover. Minor wear to the dust jacket. No cover wear. Clean unmarked text. Tight binding ** WE SHIP DAILY (Mon-Fri) ** Free Tracking Information.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
New in New dust jacket. 0674854330. This specific hardback book is in new condition with a hard board cover that has sharp edges and corners and has a tight binding. The pages are clean, crisp, unmarked and uncreased. The dust jacket is in new condition. We package all books in custom cardboard book boxes for shipment and ship daily with tracking numbers.; "A tale of politically canny astronomers and cardinals with a taste for mathematics, The Sun in the Church tells how these observatories came to be, how they worked, and what they accomplished. It describes Galileo's political overreaching, his subsequent trial for heresy, and his slow and steady rehabilitation in the eyes of the Catholic Church. And it offers an enlightening perspective on astronomy, Church history, and religious architecture, as well as an analysis of measurements testing the limits of attainable accuracy, undertaken with rudimentary means and extraordinary zeal. Above all, the book illuminates the niches protected and financed by the Catholic Church in which science and mathematics thrived."; 9.8 X 7.3 X 1.4 inches; 366 pages.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
As New in As New jacket. Book. 8vo-over 7æ-9æ" tall. Hardcover, royal octavo in publisher's non price-clipped dust-jacket. 366 pages. Bibliographical References, Index. Illustrated with drawings, engravings, diagrams tables and eight color plates. Presumed first edition with no additional printing listed on copyright page. The story of science and mathematics, aided and abetted by the Catholic Church, all in the shadow of Galileo's trial for heresy and the incremental undermining of the foundations of the faith. No previous ownership marks. A pristine, clean and like new copy. As new in an as new dust-jacket.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Fine in Fine Dust Jacket. 4to. 366 pp. We specialize in fine books in collectible condition. Orders are professionaly packaged and shipped promptly. M40.
