Re: VMs: Kepler & the VMS

["Jeff" <jeff@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Nick Pelling" <incoming@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <vms-list@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: 24 April 2004 17:41
Subject: Re: VMs: Kepler & the VMS


> Hi Rene,
>
> At 06:02 24/04/2004 -0700, Rene Zandbergen wrote:
> > > A good article by the excellent J.V.Field:-
> >
> >Thank you!
> >Unless I am fully mistaken, she is the Kepler
> >expert Gabriel met and who could not confirm
> >any mention of the VMs in Kepler's writings.
>
> It is indeed her: a few minutes talking with her would convince you that
> she is as ferociously well-briefed on esoteric minutiae as on bigger
> picture historical stuff - so, if there was even a flicker of a hint in
> Kepler's writings that he had seen something resembling the VMs, I'm quite
> sure that she would have been delighted to flag it.
>
> AIUI, his main focus in his work and writing was on the observation (and
> observation errors) of the actual paths of the planets, rather than the
> paths predicted by Ptolemy etc: so I'm not sure what he would have had to
> say about the VMs' diagrams - "probably not a lot" is my best guess. :-o
>
> Cheers, .....Nick Pelling.....
>

Kepler actually predicted a transit of Venus that would occur in 1631. This
was observed by Gassendi after Kepler's death. Rather than being bothered
about anyone else's predictions he was making his own.

BTW Kepler first rationalised the orbits as circular within platonic solids.
So how would that relate to the VMS diagrams?

Jeff


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