Andromeda and Astronomy at the Beginning of the Twentieth Century

Abstract

Astronomy traveled the distance of a galaxy in the nineteenth century. It entered the century as a study premised upon the impressionistic, snapshot observations by the human senses, while exiting it far more a science. Many forces, building from the time of Copernicus, Kepler, and Newton contributed to that transformation, including the adoption of mathematics as a predictive tool and the increased reliance upon empirical evidence and data to support cosmological claims. Moreover, the legacy from Copernicus – not necessarily to trust what your senses tell you but instead seek what makes explanatory sense – also drove the field of astronomy into the nineteenth century.