Epitome of Copernican Astronomy
by Johannes Kepler · Epitome Astronomiae Copernicanae
Assigned by 3 of the 9 reading lists, catalogue entry only
- Written
- 1618-1621
- Language
- Latin
- Length
- Medium · 250 pp120 to 300 pages
- Difficulty
- Formidable5 of 5 for a first-year reader
We recommendEpitome of Copernican Astronomy and Harmonies of the World, translated by Charles Glenn WallisPrometheus Books, 1995The Great Books translation of Books IV and V of the Epitome with Book V of the Harmonies, reprinted in paperback.
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Kepler's textbook of the new astronomy, published in seven books in the form of questions and answers. It presents the Copernican system as reworked by his own discoveries, that the planets move in ellipses with the sun at one focus, that a line from the sun sweeps equal areas in equal times, and that the squares of the periods are proportional to the cubes of the distances. Books IV and V, the ones usually read, give the physical causes of planetary motion, with the sun's rotating force driving the planets, and the theory of the moon.
No reading guide yet
The catalogue entry above is complete: the dates, the form, the themes and every program that assigns Epitome of Copernican Astronomy are verified against each program's published list.
What is missing is the part that takes real work: the summary, the key passages, and a recommended translation. The edition named below is the one most programs assign, so the buy links are useful already.
