Dioptrice

Johannes Kepler; Søren Larsen

doi:10.54195/LAGG8615

Dioptrice

Authors

Johannes Kepler

Søren S. Larsen

Radboud University

DOI: https://doi.org/10.54195/LAGG8615

Keywords:

Optics, Telescope, History of astronomy, History of optics, Johannes Kepler

Synopsis

Kepler's Dioptrice is a seminal work in the fields of optics and astronomy. Written in response to the ground-breaking telescopic discoveries announced by Galileo Galilei in March 1610, the Dioptrice contained the first theory of the telescope—a theory that Kepler was uniquely qualified to develop--and provided an essential foundation for modern geometrical optics.

In the preface, Kepler highlights several examples of the close links which, then as now, exist between optics and astronomy. His excitement about Galileo's new observations is palpable, especially the discoveries of the four moons orbiting Jupiter and the phases of Venus. Both discoveries lent crucial support to the Copernican system, of which Kepler had been an ardent supporter since his days as a student in Tübingen.

The Dioptrice is available here in a complete English translation for the first time, along with an introduction and numerous notes to help guide the reader through Kepler's text.

Author Biography

Søren S. Larsen, Radboud University

(translator) studied physics and astronomy at the University of Copenhagen. After obtaining his PhD, he worked in the US and Germany, and in 2012 he joined the Department of Astrophysics of Radboud University. He has authored or co-authored more than 150 peer-reviewed publications on galaxies and star clusters, using observations made with telescopes that are direct descendants of the instruments described in the Dioptrice.