Abstract
The case of Venus’ phantom satellite has traditionally been considered a mere curiosity in the annals of astronomy. A curiosity it may have been, but it was much more than that. As the present study demonstrates, the hypothesis — and it never was more than that — played a considerable role in the eighteenth century, primarily among astronomers but also in a wider context. As illustrated by figures such as Bonnet, Voltaire, d’Alembert, Kant, Herder, Martin and Frederick II of Prussia, the cultural world was acquainted with the phenomenon and found it to be of interest. At least on two occasions, enlightenment scientists (A. G. Kästner and L. A. Jungnitz) even wrote poems dedicated to the controversial satellite. From the beginning of the story, with Fontana’s observations in 1645, to the late nineteenth century, there was a rich literature on this non-existing object, and it was much richer than has traditionally been thought. Admittedly, much of this literature was repetitious, but it nonetheless indicates an interest in, and to some extent a fascination with, the satellite of Venus.
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References
For a couple of examples from about the turn of the century, see Plassmann 1898, p. 355, Krisch 1901, p. 532 and Vogel 1905, pp. 345–346.
Nye 1980; Ashmore 1993.
On Lowell and his disputed observations of Venus and Mars, see Sheehan 1988.
See Austin 1967 and Schaffer 1981.
For this case, see Baum 1973, pp. 126–146 and Smith and Baum 1984. Neptune does have a system of very thin rings, but this was only discovered by the Voyager spacecraft in 1989. Neither Lassell (1799–1880) nor other Earth-bound observers could possibly have seen it. Hetherington 1988 and Sheehan 1988 offer several other examples of “believing is seeing” in the history of astronomy. On the general problem of objectivity versus visual perception and representation, see Daston and Galison 2007 and the many sources cited therein.
Cited in Baum 1973, p. 141.
Sheehan 1995, p. 215. European observers were also unable to see Mars’ inner satellite, discovered in August 1877; it took about half a year until they succeeded in verifying Hall’s observation (Hall 1878, p. 208).
Senebier 1802 (second edition), p. 136.
In his Narratio Prima of 1540, the first published work on the Copernican world system, Georg Joachim Rheticus (1514–1574) reasoned: “What is more agreeable to God’s handiwork than that this first and most perfect work should be summed up in this first and most perfect number?” Rosen 1959, p. 147. Kepler adopted Rheticus’ reasoning (Koyr’e 1961, p. 139). On Huygens’ use of a similar argument, see section 2.1.
As mentioned, Herschel discovered Uranus in 1781 but at first thought it was a comet (Austin 1967 and Schaffer 1981). On his discovery of the satellites of Uranus, see Lubbock 1933, pp. 161–168.
Popper 1972, pp. 195–197.
On Herschel’s work on the satellites of Uranus, see Herschel 1912, vol. 2, pp. 1–21 and 542–574. See also Schorr 1875, pp. 52–60 and Alexander 1965, pp. 58–76.
Dionis du Séjour 1789, p. 531, who referred to the planet as “Herschel,” a name proposed by Lalande. E. G. Fischer (1754–1831) suggested on a speculative basis — the longer away, the more satellites do the planets have — that Uranus was endowed with six moons (Fischer 1787).
Voiron 1810, pp. 22–25. Also Johann Friedrich Wurm (1760–1833), a professor of astronomy at Stuttgart, referred uncritically to Herschel’s six moons, apparently accepting them (Wurm 1802). Wurm had earlier speculated that the known satellites of Jupiter and Saturn were represented by numerical expressions of the same kind as the Titius-Bode law (see Nieto 1972, pp. 24–25).
Bode 1816, p. 343.
Herschel 1912, vol. 2, p. 9 and p. 4.
Schröter 1798. Strangely, John Herschel (1792–1871) seems to have been unaware of Schröter’s confirmation. In 1834 he wrote about the satellites of Uranus that, “they have never been observed, or even seen (as far as the author is aware), except in the telescope in which they were originally discovered.” Herschel 1833–36, p. 35.
Herschel 1833–36.
Lamont 1838.
Smyth 1844, vol. 1, p. 207. According to Schorr, “Several astronomers seriously doubted the existence of the four satellites that had been claimed in the treatise of 1790,” but he gave neither names nor references (Schorr 1875, p. 54).
Lassell 1852, letters of 13 and 29 November 1851.
Proctor 1896, p. 201. Emphasis added.
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(2008). Conclusion, and a note on the satellites of Uranus. In: The Moon that Wasn’t. Science Networks. Historical Studies, vol 37. Birkhäuser Basel. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7643-8909-3_7
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