Kepler’s Supernova from Historical Observations to Modern Astrophysics, with an English Translation of De Stella Nova

This book focuses on the most important documents concerning the observations and debates on supernovae in Central Europe, Arabia, China, and Korea in the early 17th century, and interprets them in light of modern data. A companion volume has been published with the summary of observations in Italy. Only seven supernovae seen with the naked eye in the Milky Way are documented; the last one, in 1604, had a large impact on the history of astronomy and cosmology. The appearance of a new star (today we know that it is rather a dying star) surprised astronomers and astrologers, who believed that stars were fixed and unchangeable. Scientists with different conceptions of the Universe competed and collaborated to explain its nature and origin, studying its astrological signals; among them were Galilei and Kepler, but also Arab, Chinese and Korean astronomers. In 1604, observations could only be made with the naked eye: the telescope would be invented only five years later. What remains of the explosion is still visible today, and the data recorded by our large ground-based and satellite-based observatories complement the measurements of astronomers of the beginning of the 17th century. In 1604 Kepler was the Astronomer of the Holy Roman Emperor; he had connections with the most important scientists of the time, including the seven years older Galileo Galilei. Kepler collected all data in Central Europe, and after the disappearance of the supernova, he published in 1606 a treatise entitled “De stella nova in pede serpentarii”, in which he summarized and interpreted the data. Kepler's treatise is the most complete source of information on the phenomenon, and the present book presents the first complete English translation of it.