S E T T I N G A S I D E A L L A U T H O R I T Y

Graney-00FM_Layout 1 2/25/15 11:20 AM Page i

© UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME

Graney-00FM_Layout 1 2/25/15 11:20 AM Page ii

© UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME

Setting Aside All AuthorityGiovanni Battista Riccioli and the Science against Copernicus in the Age of Galileo

INCLUDING THE FIRST ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF

M O N S I G N O R F R A N C E S C O I N G O L I ’ S

essay to Galileo disputing the

Copernican system, and the first English translation of

R I C C I O L I ’ S R E P O RT S

regarding his experiments with falling bodies and with the

effect of air resistance on falling bodies.

C H R I S T O P H E R M . G R A N E Y

University of Notre Dame Press

Notre Dame, Indiana

Graney-00FM_Layout 1 2/25/15 11:20 AM Page iii

© UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME

Copyright © 2015 by the University of Notre Dame

Notre Dame, Indiana 46556

www.undpress.nd.edu

All Rights Reserved

Manufactured in the United States of America

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Graney, Christopher M., 1966–

Setting aside all authority : Giovanni Battista Riccioli and the science

against Copernicus in the age of Galileo / Christopher M. Graney.

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-268-02988-3 (paperback : alkaline paper)—

ISBN 0-268-02988-1 (paperback : alkaline paper)

1. Riccioli, Giovanni Battista, 1598–1671. 2. Astronomers—Italy—

Biography. 3. Jesuit scientists—Italy—Biography. 4. Copernicus,

Nicolaus, 1473–1543. 5. Astronomy—Italy—History—17th century.

6. Science—Italy—History—17th century. I. Title.

QB36.R386G73 2015

523.2—dc23

2014047949

∞ The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines

for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources.

Graney-00FM_Layout 1 2/25/15 11:20 AM Page iv

© UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME

To my sister,

Laura Kathleen Graney (1971–2013),

who had a great affection for the night sky,

and who took great pride in her brother’s work.

Graney-00FM_Layout 1 2/25/15 11:20 AM Page v

© UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME

Graney-00FM_Layout 1 2/25/15 11:20 AM Page vi

© UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME

Contents

List of Illustrations and Tables ix

Acknowledgments xiii

1 Giovanni Battista Riccioli and the New Almagest 1

2 The Universe that Riccioli Saw 9

3 The Anti-Copernican Astronomer 25

4 Stars and Adventitious Rays 45

5 Science against Copernicus, God’s Starry Armies for Copernicus 63

6 Jesuits on the Tower 87

7 126 Arguments 103

8 An Angel and a Cannon 115

9 The Telescope against Copernicus 129

10 It Can No Longer Be Called “False and Absurd” 141

Appendix A: Francesco Ingoli’s 1616 Essay to Galileo 163

Appendix B: Giovanni Battista Riccioli’s Reports Regarding His Experiments with Falling Bodies 197

Notes 233

Works Cited 257

Index 265

Graney-00FM_Layout 1 2/25/15 11:20 AM Page vii

© UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME

Graney-00FM_Layout 1 2/25/15 11:20 AM Page viii

© UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME

Illustrations and Tables

Figure 1.1. Frontispiece of Giovanni Battista Riccioli’s 1651 New Almagest.Image courtesy History of Science Collections, University of OklahomaLibraries. 3

Figure 1.2. Details from the New Almagest frontispiece, showing Jupiter, Mer-cury, and Venus. Images courtesy History of Science Collections, Uni-versity of Oklahoma Libraries. 4

Figure 1.3. Detail from the New Almagest frontispiece, showing the worldsystems. Image courtesy History of Science Collections, University ofOklahoma Libraries. 4

Figure 2.1. The stars of the constellation Scorpius 11

Figure 2.2. The Moon partially eclipsed. Photo credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls. 21

Figure 2.3. Comparison of Earth’s size to the distance to the stars 21

Figure 2.4. Diurnal parallax 22

Figure 3.1. Tycho Brahe’s observatories. Images credit: ETH-Bibliothek Zürich,Alte und Seltene Drucke. 27

Figure 3.2. One of Tycho Brahe’s nontelescopic instruments. Image credit:ETH-Bibliothek Zürich, Alte und Seltene Drucke. 28

Figure 3.3. Astronomers Johannes and Elisabeth Hevelius using a nontele-scopic measuring instrument. Image credit: ETH-Bibliothek Zürich, Alteund Seltene Drucke. 29

Figure 3.4. A vernier caliper. Image credit: M. Colcher. 29

ix

Graney-00FM_Layout 1 2/25/15 11:20 AM Page ix

© UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME

Figure 3.5. The hybrid geocentric hypothesis of Tycho Brahe. Image credit:ETH-Bibliothek Zürich, Alte und Seltene Drucke. 31

Figure 3.6. Annual parallax 33

Table 3.1. Tycho Brahe’s apparent sizes of and average distances to celestialbodies 34

Figure 3.7. The relative sizes of celestial bodies calculated by Tycho Brahe 35

Figure 3.8. The relationship between the apparent size, the physical or truesize, and the distance of a celestial body 36

Table 3.2. Tycho Brahe’s apparent sizes of and average distances to the fixedstars 37

Figure 3.9. Brahe’s calculated relative size for a mid-size star in the Coperni-can universe 38

Figure 3.10. Paths of projectiles. Image credit: ETH-Bibliothek Zürich, Alteund Seltene Drucke. 39

Figure 4.1. The appearance of Venus changing over time, as seen by Galileo.Image courtesy History of Science Collections, University of OklahomaLibraries. 55

Figure 4.2. Representations of Jupiter’s cloud bands, from the New Almagest.Image credit: ETH-Bibliothek Zürich, Alte und Seltene Drucke. 58

Figure 4.3. A star as seen through a small aperture telescope. Image credit:ETH-Bibliothek Zürich, Alte und Seltene Drucke. 60

Figure 5.1. Illustrations of the Moon and Sun from Locher’s 1614 Disquisitions.Images credit: ETH-Bibliothek Zürich, Alte und Seltene Drucke. 65

Figure 5.2. Diagram of phases of Venus from Locher’s 1614 Disquisitions.Image credit: ETH-Bibliothek Zürich, Alte und Seltene Drucke. 66

Figure 5.3. The Jovian system as illustrated in Locher’s 1614 Disquisitions.Image credit: ETH-Bibliothek Zürich, Alte und Seltene Drucke. 67

Figure 5.4. Thomas Digges’s sketch of the Copernican system. Image courtesyHistory of Science Collections, University of Oklahoma Libraries. 78

Figure 6.1. Pendulum diagram from the New Almagest. Image credit: ETH-Bibliothek Zürich, Alte und Seltene Drucke. 89

Figure 6.2. Riccioli’s diagram of the Asinelli tower in Bologna. Image credit:ETH-Bibliothek Zürich, Alte und Seltene Drucke. 94

x Illustrations and Tables

Graney-00FM_Layout 1 2/25/15 11:20 AM Page x

© UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME

Figure 6.3. Map of the Moon from the New Almagest. Image courtesy Historyof Science Collections, University of Oklahoma Libraries. 99

Figure 6.4. Detail from the New Almagest map of the Moon. Image courtesyHistory of Science Collections, University of Oklahoma Libraries. 100

Figure 7.1. Detail from Digges’s sketch of the Copernican system. Imagecourtesy History of Science Collections, University of Oklahoma Li-braries. 109

Figure 7.2. Diagram from the New Almagest, showing Galileo’s hypothesisregarding the motion of a heavy ball falling from a high tower. Imagecredit: ETH-Bibliothek Zürich, Alte und Seltene Drucke. 110

Figure 7.3. Diagrams from the New Almagest, showing the motions of fallingbodies on a rotating, Sun-orbiting Earth. Image credit: ETH-BibliothekZürich, Alte und Seltene Drucke. 111

Figure 8.1. Diagram representing cannon shots on a rotating Earth 117

Figure 8.2. Figure from the New Almagest, showing the trajectories of acannon fired to the north versus fired to the east. Images credit: ETH-Bibliothek Zürich, Alte und Seltene Drucke. 119

Figure 8.3. Diagram based on a sketch by Newton, showing an objectdropped from a high tower on a rotating Earth 123

Figure 9.1. Riccioli’s Jupiter and Saturn figures with comparison of the sizesof Sirius and Alcor. Image credit: ETH-Bibliothek Zürich, Alte und Sel-tene Drucke. 131

Figure 9.2. Riccioli’s table of the telescopic sizes of stars, from the NewAlmagest. Image credit: ETH-Bibliothek Zürich, Alte und SelteneDrucke. 131

Figure 9.3. Riccioli’s tables showing the calculated physical sizes of Sirius andAlcor from the New Almagest. Images credit: ETH-Bibliothek Zürich,Alte und Seltene Drucke. 134–135

Figure 9.4. The effect, or lack thereof, of the telescope on the star size ques-tion. 136

Figure 10.1. The Foucault pendulum at the Kentucky Science Center in Louis -ville 149

Figure 10.2. Diffraction pattern formed by light passing through a circularaperture. Image credit: Wikimedia Commons. 155

Illustrations and Tables xi

Graney-00FM_Layout 1 2/25/15 11:20 AM Page xi

© UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME

Figure A.1. A mechanical orrery. Images courtesy of Todd Timberlake, BerryCollege. 192

Figure B.1. Riccioli’s diagram of the Asinelli tower in Bologna, with details.Image credit: ETH-Bibliothek Zürich, Alte und Seltene Drucke. 202

Table B.1. New Almagest data table showing times and distances for eight-ounce clay balls dropped from varying heights 206

Table B.2. New Almagest data tables for pairs of balls dropped from the sameheight 210

Figure B.2. New Almagest data table showing times and distances for eight-ounce clay balls dropped from varying heights. Image credit: ETH-Bibliothek Zürich, Alte und Seltene Drucke. 221

Figure B.3. New Almagest data tables for pairs of balls dropped from thesame height. Images credit: ETH-Bibliothek Zürich, Alte und SelteneDrucke. 224

Figure B.4. Plot of Riccioli’s data from table B.1 228

Figure B.5. Plot of Riccioli’s four fully independent measurements fromtable B.1 229

Figure B.6. Plots of distance travelled vs. time for two different balls fallingthrough air 231

xii Illustrations and Tables

Graney-00FM_Layout 1 2/25/15 11:20 AM Page xii

© UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME