Introduction: The History and Philosophy of Astrobiology

摘要

On November 11, 1572, the Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe (1546-1602) saw a new, very bright star in the constellation Cassiopeia (Figs. 1 and 2). The sidereal heaven no longer seemed to be something unchanging and eternal, as Aristotelian cosmology had taught. On the contrary, this observation made it possible to think about change and creation not only with respect to Earth but also to the universe. Receiving in 1575 the island of Ven in the strait of Oresund in fief from the Danish king, Tycho there constructed the biggest and most advanced observatory in the world of the time, Stjarne-borg (Stellaeburgum), and turned his face toward the sky to look with his naked eyes for distant stars and other worlds (Fig. 3). Tycho's measurements and determinations of the positions of the heavenly bodies became indispensable for his disciple Johannes Kepler's formulating of the planetary laws of motion (Fig. 4).