Christoph Rothmann's Discourse on the Comet of 1585

Christoph Rothmann wrote a treatise on the comet of 1585 shortly after it disappeared. Though it was not printed until 1619, Rothman sent a copy of his treatise in 1586 to Tycho Brahe, decisively influencing the latter's rejection of solid celestial spheres two years later. In his treatise, Rothmann joined the elimination of the solid celestial spheres to his concept of air as the substance filling the cosmos. He based his argument on the absence of refraction and the celestial location of the comet. The treatise also contained clear statements reflecting Rothmann’s adoption of Copernicanism. This first critical edition of the treatise is accompanied by an English translation and a thorough commentary. Some appendices with archival documents illustrate the genesis of Rothmann’s treatise.

Miguel A. Granada, Ph.D. (1978), University of Barcelona, is Professor of History of Renaissance Philosophy at the same university. He has published many monographs, translations and articles on Giordano Bruno and the astronomical and cosmological revolution in the early modern period.

Adam Mosley, Ph.D. (2000), University of Cambridge, is an Associate Professor in History and Classics at Swansea University. His publications include Bearing the Heavens: Tycho Brahe and the Astronomical Community of the Late Sixteenth Century (Cambridge University Press, 2007).

Nicholas Jardine, is Emeritus Professor of History and Philosophy of the Sciences, University of Cambridge. He is author, with Alain Segonds, of La guerre des astronomes, 2 vols (Les Belles Lettres, Paris, 2008).

"Da alle drei Autoren seit Jahren zu den besten Kennern der behandelten Materie gehören, wundert es nicht, dass auch alle Essays höchst lesenswert sind. [..] Der ungewöhnlich Große wissenschaftliche Mehrwert, den das Buch liefert, deutet sich bereits in Miguel Granadas Einleitung an. [...] sowohl durch die sorgfältige zweisprachige Edition als auch aufgrund der hochwertigen wissenschaftlichen Beiträge für alle, die sich mit frühneuzeitlicher Wissenschaftsgeschichte beschäftigen, höchst lesenswert ist."
[English translation by Google Translate: "Since all three authors have been among the best connoisseurs of the subject matter for years, it is not surprising that all essays are highly readable. [...] The unusually large scientific added value provided by the book already is evident from Miguel Granada's introduction. [...] both through the careful bilingual edition as well as due to the high-quality scientific contributions for all, who deal with early modern history of science, highly worth reading." -karsten Gaulke, Berichte Wissenschafttsgeschichte, 41 (2018), 194-196.

"Ultimately, this book by recognized specialists fills an important gap in the history of Renaissance astronomy and cosmology by providing a masterful study of first-hand documents that hitherto had remained unpublished in English." - Jean Seidengart (Université Paris Ouest Nanterre), Journal for the History of Astronomy, 2017, 48(2):251-252.

"Readers with an interest in the history of astronomy, scientific method, and cometary studies will profit from reading this book."
"The authors are well-known historians of astronomy. [...] The book is thoughtful, well documented, well written, and persuasive. The bibliographies of primary and secondary sources are thorough, as are the indexes of persons, places, and subjects."
"This is a model of splendid scholarship on an important aspect of early modern science."
- J.R. Christianson in: Isis Volume 106, Number 4 (December 2015): 916-917.