Johannes Kepler

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Johannes Kepler

• Astrologer, Mathematician, Mystic

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Delving into Kepler

• As you will know from Arthur Koestlers book,
  Johannes Kepler was an extraordinary character,
  driven by obsessions and motivations that enabled
  him (or compelled him) to spend most of his life
  doing arcane calculations to uncover what he
  viewed as the secrets of the universe.
• And also to keep out of trouble and to earn a
  living as an astrologer and a computer (a person
  who can do calculations till the cows come home).

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Video clips about Kepler

• Last weeks PowerPoint presentation hit the
  highlights of Keplers memorable theoretical
  writings. Tonight we will discuss Keplers life
  and personality.
• To provide some context for discussion, I have
  two videos to show in class.

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A dramatized lecture on Keplers Laws

• This video is taken from a class on the history
  of astronomy at the California Institute of
  Technology. It discussed Keplers three laws in
  an interesting way and is put in the context of
  Keplers life with scenes from Carl Sagans
  series Cosmos.
• This video is available on the internet through
  YouTube at the site below. We will watch it in
  class directly from this site. You may also
  review this at home be entering this URL into
  your internet browser.
• http//video.google.com/videoplay?docid7839087922
  490151264docid2003674873092336626
• http//www.flipbooth.com/video/b47aafa00d59281/Tri
  umph-Of-Modern-Science-Over-Medieval-Superstition
  Carl Sagan Triumph Of Modern Science Over
  Medieval Superstition

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An astronomy video

• The other video for tonight is entitled The
  Origins of Modern Astronomy. It is from the
  collection in the Scott Library and may be viewed
  there in the Sount and Moving Image Library. This
  briefly reviews cosmological theories from
  ancient times up to the Scientific Revolution.

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More videos about Kepler

• For further information and review, below are the
  URLs for several videos available on the
  internet, which you may wish to view at your
  leisure
• Carl Sagan The Harmony of the Worlds. This is
  Episode 3 of Sagans expansive series Cosmos.
  This episode is ostensibly about astrology and
  why it had its hold on humanity for so long. Then
  it turns to a biographical analysis and
  dramatization of the life of the person Sagan
  calls the last great astrologer, none other than
  Johannes Kepler. This program is 58 minutes in
  running time. It is the source for much of the
  dramatized bits in the Cal Tech class shown in
  class. I debated showing this in class because it
  is quite interesting about Keplers life, but it
  does go pretty far afield and gets a little corny
  in places. But I recommend it to you for viewing
  at home if you can spare an hour. The URL is
• http//www.snagfilms.com/films/title/the_cosmos_ep
  isode_3_the_harmony_of_the_worlds/
• Beware this URL. What shows as spaces in the
  address above are underscores _. You have to
  enter it exactly as above, with the underscores
  inserted between words.
• Carl Sagan The Triumph Of Modern Science Over
  Medieval Superstition. This is a very abbreviated
  version of the episode above, running about ten
  minutes. If you go to this site, you have to
  navigate through some advertising clips to get to
  this excerpt.
• http//www.flipbooth.com/video/b47aafa00d59281/Tri
  umph-Of-Modern-Science-Over-Medieval-Superstition