Astronomical Images : Heliocentric solar system with an unbounded region of fixed stars

John Wilkins

Astronomical Images

<p style='text-align: justify;'>John Wilkins (1614-1672) was an Anglican clergyman and one of the founding members of the Royal Society, taking a keen interest in mathematical and experimental philosophy. In 1638 he published his first book, <i>The Discovery of a World in the Moon</i>, in which he presented a world of truths ready to be uncovered by the diligent explorer. It was this text in an expanded form that comprised the first book of his <i>A Discourse Concerning a New World and another Planet in Two Books</i>, published in 1640; the second book provided a point-by-point defence of the Copernican hypothesis. In these works, Wilkins presents a variety of ideas that challenged existing natural philosophical views - particularly his suggestion that the Moon could in fact be a world with topographical features similar to the Earth, its own atmosphere, and even its own inhabitants. This engraved image is from the frontispiece to Wilkins's 1638 <i>The Discovery of a World in the Moon</i>. The rather crude diagram depicts a heliocentric solar system with an unbounded region of fixed stars. Notice also that depiction of the Earth and Moon provides detail of the direct and indirect illumination by the Sun. The inscription accompanying the Sun states 'All things from me' [<i>A me omnes</i>]. This reflects Wilkins's approval of Kepler's idea that the rotation of the magnetic Sun controls planetary motion, but may also reflect a further Keplerian theme of the Sun as the representative of God in the cosmos. The inspiration for this image may have come from a description of celestial orbs appended by Thomas Digges to the posthumous edition of his father's <i>Prognostication Everlasting</i> (1576), though the varying size of the stars closely resembles Kepler's depiction of the infinite Universe according to Bruno, presented in his <i>Epitome astronomiae Copernicanae</i> (1618) ' a work cited by Wilkins. A refined version of this diagram was later used for the frontispiece of Wilkins's <i>Discovery Concerning a New World and another Planet</i> (1640), where it was embedded within a more elaborate and iconographically sophisticated composition.</p>