A talk entitled 'Discarded Worlds: Astronomical ideas that were almost correct ...' will be delivered by Bro. Guy J. Consolmagno, S.J., on Wednesday 16 May at 09:00 in Room 327 Chemistry Building (CHB327).
Bro. Guy J. Consolmagno, S.J. is Director of the Vatican Observatory and President of the Vatican Observatory Foundation.
Bro. Guy J. Consolmagno, S.J. is Director of the Vatican Observatory and President of the Vatican Observatory Foundation.
Abstract
Astronomy is more than just observing; it's making sense of those observations. A good theorist needs to blend a knowledge of what鈥檚 been observed, with a good imagination ... and no fear of being wrong. Ptolemy in ancient Rome, the medieval bishops Oresme and Cusa, the 19th century astronomers Schiaparelli and Pickering, all rose to the challenge; and they were all almost correct. Which is to say, they were wrong ... sometimes hilariously, sometimes heartbreakingly so.
What lessons can 21st century astronomers take from these discarded images of the universe?
