Johannes Kepler: Discovering the Laws of Planetary Motion (Great Minds of Science)

Gow, Mary

ISBN 10: 0766020983 ISBN 13: 9780766020986

Publisher: Enslow Pub Inc, 2003

Synopsis

Presents a biography of Johannes Kepler, the renaissance astronomer and mathematician who formulated the three laws of planetary motion.

About this title

From School Library Journal:

Grade 5-8-Gow traces the life and work of the 16th-century mathematician and astronomer and sets him in the context of the German reformation and the politics of the Holy Roman Empire. Kepler's preparation for what he saw as his life's work as a Lutheran clergyman was interrupted by the unexpected offer of a teaching position he felt constrained to accept. Soon after, he was deeply immersed in the research that would occupy him for the rest of his life and that ultimately led to his discovery of the laws of planetary motion. The author also describes the family problems and tragedies that surrounded Kepler, including his mother's arrest on a charge of witchcraft. The text is footnoted, with references included in the back matter. However, the text erroneously states that "-he knew that planets more distant from the sun moved faster than those close to it." The truth is just the opposite, as Gow's examples and subsequent discussion of the third law clearly demonstrate. The definition of an ellipse in the discussion of the first law of planetary motion is poorly stated, but the diagram that precedes it includes an accurate definition. James Voelkel's Johannes Kepler & the New Astronomy (Oxford, 1999) is more technical and includes more of the math, making it more appropriate for an older audience.
Elaine Fort Weischedel, Millbury Public Library, MA
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Enslow Pub Inc
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0766020983
• ISBN 13: 9780766020986
• Binding: Library Binding
• Number of pages: 128