M A I NC H R O N O T H I N KL E S S O N SI N T E R A C T I V E A B O U T U S

Kepler Finishes Somnium (The Dream)

Date: 1609 A.D.
Author: Johannes Kepler, German Astronomer and Mathematician

Dear Journal,
     I have completed in the tradition of Lucian, a fantastic tale of a journey to the moon. It is about a young Icelander named Duracotus who dreams that a demon lectures to him about the moon. The demon flies to the moon during eclipses and describes its details, which include seas, mountains, harsh weather, and tough-skinned inhabitants who live in a kingdom called Levania. Somnium uses a massive amount of astronomical data including notes that support heliocentricism. I will send a copy to Galileo right away.