--From Astro-theology--
Forget about the Earth revolving around the sun. The big realization was that stars were like the sun and perhaps even had planets of their own, which is why this diagram shows the distant stars as having planets orbiting around them.
In our solar system the planets were all thought to likely be habitable and the consensus was that the Moon was covered in oceans. But even though there was a consensus, people who claimed the Moon had observable liquid water were still willing to listen to dissenters. Before telling his personal account of seeing lunar oceans, the author of this book quotes Huygens:
In the Moon I find no likeness of Seas although Kepler and most others are of a different opinion. For those vast plane regions, which are much darker than the Mountainous parts, and are commonly taken for Seas, and bear the names of Oceans; in those very places viewed with a long Telescope, I find little round Cavities, with shadows falling within them; which cannot agree with the Surface of the Sea...If your theories are strong, they can withstand the criticism of others.
1 comment:
But even though there was a consensus, people who claimed the Moon had observable liquid water were still willing to listen to dissenters
Scientists back then, having more experience with dogma, were more open-minded.
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