Abstract
In January 1610, Galileo turned his telescope toward Jupiter and soon afterwards announced that he had discovered four moons circling it. Although a considerable controversy ensued, by the summer of 1611 a consensus had emerged among the knowledgeable that the telescope was reliable (at least in this case) in the super-lunar realm and that the Jovian system was real. This is a remarkably fast closure of serious debate about a complex scientific issue, considering the slowness of early 17th century communication, the problematic nature of the new instrument and the importance of the astronomical discovery.
I appreciate the help of Keith Hutchison, Ross Phillips, the La Trobe Philosophy Department, Alan Franklin, Deb Dowling, Rosemary Smith and Michael Ellis. I am particularly grateful for my editor’s patience.
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Thomason, N. (1996). Elk Theories — A Galilean Strategy for Validating a New Scientific Discovery. In: Riggs, P.J. (eds) Natural Kinds, Laws of Nature and Scientific Methodology. Australasian Studies in History and Philosophy of Science, vol 12. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-8607-8_8
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