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

Project description

Studying how Kepler's Supernova challenged Renaissance science

The last time a supernova was observed within the Milky Way was in 1604 by Johannes Kepler. The constellation Ophiuchus was only appreciated by the human eye, since optical telescopes and other measurement devices had not yet been invented. Five decades after its explosion, the supernova posed a challenge to astronomers, who found themselves observing something that ran counter to conventional wisdom about the Universe. Funded under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie programme, SN1604 will study how the supernova fundamentally affected the development of Renaissance scientific thought from a historical, philosophical and cultural point of view. Project findings will be published in an internet site, a series of peer-reviewed journals, and a book.

Objective

"""The Ophiucus Supernova: Post-Aristotelian Stargazing in the European Context (1604-1654)"" is a research project proposed for a Marie Curie Fellowship by Dr. Matteo Cosci, post-doctoral researcher at the University Ca' Foscari Venice. This research will examine how the unexpected explosion of a supernova in European skies in 1604 (SN 1604 or ""Kepler's supernova"" as it was called) fundamentally affected the development of Renaissance scientific thought from a historical, philosophical and cultural point of view. In fact, for the five decades after its outburst the interpretation of the new star or stella nova was one of the main speculative battlefields where opposing conceptions of the universe collided. The study will be grounded in an extensive set of primary sources and documents assembled by Dr.Cosci and analysed in their entirety for the first time. The first outgoing phase of research will be conducted at the Department of History of Science at University of Oklahoma under the supervision of Prof. Peter Barker, also consulting Dr. Patrick Boner of the Catholic University, Washington D.C . The return phase will take place at the Department of Philosophy and Cultural Heritage at Ca' Foscari under the supervision of Prof. Marco Sgarbi. Moreover, the research will provide data to, and will be assisted by, the Terra-Astronomy research group, based at the University of Jena, Germany, under the supervision of Prof. Ralph Neuhäuser, for assessing the historical supernova's typology and rare features. Results will be presented mainly through a dedicated internet site, a series of peer-reviewed articles in academic journals, and finally a book. The project provides the opportunity to give the proponent additional training for his academic career, to establish collaborations between many research groups working on similar themes in North America and in Europe, and finally to recover and reconsider a neglected chapter of Europen cultural history."

Coordinator

UNIVERSITA CA' FOSCARI VENEZIA
Net EU contribution
€ 269 002,56
Address
DORSODURO 3246
30123 Venezia
Italy

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Region
Nord-Est Veneto Venezia
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Links
Total cost
€ 269 002,56

Partners (1)