SN1604 · The Ophiucus Supernova: Post-Aristotelian Stargazing in the European Context (1604-1654)

The Ophiucus Supernova: Post-Aristotelian Stargazing in the European Context (1604-1654)

In October 1604 a giant supernova unexpectedly exploded in the constellation of Ophiuchus and its bright light remained visible to the naked eye for eighteen months. The sudden appearance was an anomalous and stunning event for those observers that conceived the stars as “fixed” and the heavens as unalterable – the accepted position in physics and astronomy at that time. Astronomers as well as astrologers and other stargazers tried to explain the nature and significance of the novelty. The interpretation of the new star was one of the main speculative battlefields where opposing conceptions of the universe collided and its presumed origin was debated at length, from Galileo’s first astronomical studies (1604), passing through Kepler’s magnum opus on the subject (1606), to G.B. Riccioli’s exemplary synthesis fifty years later. As in the case of Tycho’s supernova in 1572 and of the great comet observed in 1577, the appearance of the supernova was deployed as a direct challenge to the physics and cosmology of Aristotle, at a time when all contemporaries either accepted Aristotle’s views or had originally been trained in them. For a growing number of scholars, the supernova of 1604 disputed Aristotle’s doctrine that the heavens and the earth were absolutely distinct, and that all sorts of change could occur only in the region below the moon. The 1604 supernova appeared from nowhere, outshining the planets before declining in brightness and finally disappearing. This should have been impossible for a star, and some interpreters preferred to view it as a meteorological event in the upper reaches of the air. But measurements established that the object was beyond the moon, hence part of the heavens, and hence impossible according to Aristotle’s cosmology. In addition to occasional observers and extemporaneous writers, the interpretation of the supernova involved the most renowned astronomers of the time, some of whom saw it as salient evidence against Aristotle’s theories and in favor of the new astronomical alternatives supported by Kepler and Galileo. Today we know that the naked-eye observation of a supernova’s outburst is an extremely rare event. As a matter of fact, the Ophiuchus supernova was the last supernova that was seen in our galaxy before the telescope was invented. Kepler, Galileo and a multitude of less celebrated observers could witness the exceptional occurrence, leaving their written notes and records behind them. Recovering, studying and enhancing those heterogeneous materials grants us the equally rare privilege of watching the “new star” through their eyes and through their exquisitely baroque mindsets too. The overall objective of SN1604 research project is to achieve a comprehensive understanding of the cultural and scientific impact that the Ophiucus supernova had on European society during and after its impressive outburst –a key moment in the history of astronomy.

Текст от CORDIS, на английски · Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз