The sun in the church. Cathedrals as solar observatories
type: Item
instance of: scholarly article
zbMATH Open document ID: 0983.00015
author: John L. Heilbron
publication date: 2001-05-29T00:00:00Z
Mathematics Subject Classification ID: 00A69
Mathematics Subject Classification ID: 00-02
Mathematics Subject Classification ID: 85A99
Mathematics Subject Classification ID: 85-03
Mathematics Subject Classification ID: 01A99
zbMATH DE Number: 1600555
zbMATH Keywords: astronomy
zbMATH Keywords: catholic church
zbMATH Keywords: cathedral
zbMATH Keywords: movement of the sun
zbMATH Keywords: astronomical measurement
describes a project that uses: SUNDIALS
MaRDI profile type: Publication
title: The sun in the church. Cathedrals as solar observatories
review text: In this learned, elegant and finely phrased book, illustrated with beautiful copper plates, John Heilbron shows that in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, several of the major Catholic cathedrals served as precision instruments for studying the motion of the sun. Built with the aim to determine the exact time between equinoxes in order to forecast the dates for Easter, these churches were used as giant sundials for astronomical measurement. In this context, astronomy was a science of central importance in Italy, and contrary to common views about the Church's relationship to science after Galileo's trial, we learn that Rome strongly supported astronomical studies, even accepting the Copernican hypothesis as a fiction that was useful for calculation.
reviewed by: Andreas Kleinert
description: scientific article; zbMATH DE number 1600555