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Levania Applet
 Image source: http://www.um.zagan.pl/kepler/kwz.htm |
Johannes Kepler's (1571-1630)
work "Somnium, sive Astronomia Lunaris" (A Dream, or
Lunar Astronomy) is a fantastic tale of a journey to
the Moon, which is called Levania by its
inhabitants. The short work was published
posthumously in 1634 by Kepler's son Ludovico. Embedded in the narrative frames Kepler describes in details how astronomical observations might appear if they were conducted on the Moon. The Moon is in synchronous rotation, keeping nearly the same face turned toward Earth at all times. One hemisphere of Levania (Moon) is always facing the Earth and one facing away, separated by the Divisor. Its inhabitants call the former hemisphere Subvolva (UnderEarth), and the latter Privolva (deprived-of-Earth). Our marvellous blue planet will never be seen from Privolva (Volva=Earth). |
| Somnium applet: View of the Earth from the Moon |
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You may use the keys d, m or h
to increase the date, month, or hour, |
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Use the keys s and g to
switch between selenocentric and
geocentric view. |
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Choose
various view options from the menu. |
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Geocentric
ecliptical position of the Moon: distance R, ecliptic longitude L, and latitude B. |
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Heliocentric
ecliptical position of the Earth, and Greenwich hour Angle GHA of the Sun. |
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The (optical) libration
of the Moon in longitude. The angle is magnified by 2 in the applet. |
Some observations in Levania: |
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| Earliest sunrise in Subvolva Latest sunset in Privolva 2007 Jan 25 at 23 UT JD 2454126.46 |
Latest sunset in Subvolva Earliest sunset in Privolva 2007 Feb 10 at 10 UT JD 2454141.92,15.46 days later subvolvian day, privolvian night |
| The next sunrise is on Feb 24 at 8 UT
(JD 2454155.83), 29.4 days after the
first. The mean synodic orbital period is 29.53
days. |
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2007
Jan 19 at 4 UT: Full Earth in Subvolva New Moon on Earth |
 Solar eclipse in Subvolva on 2007 Mar 03, 23 UT total lunar eclipse on Earth  Eclipses
of the Sun and Moon (USNO) |
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 Annular eclipse of the Earth on 2007 Mar 19 at 3 UT partial solar eclipse on Earth Eclipses
of the Sun and Moon (USNO) |
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Somnium applet:
View of the Earth from the Moon
More applets
Moon
Motion (geocentric) More details:
Moon Data
Cosmic
voyages: authors and texts
Applet:
Solar System Simulator (Keith
McClary)
watch the selenocentric motion of the Sun, the
Earth, Venus, and Mars...
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Johannes
Kepler: Somnium, seu Opus posthumum de
astronomia lunari Die
Bewegung des Mondes (PDF, U. Backhaus) Der
Mond, das unbekannte Objekt (U. Backhaus) Lukian
von Samosata: Die Wahre Geschichte
(Projekt Gutenberg) G. A.
Bürger: Freiherr von Münchhausen: R. E.
Raspe: The Surprising Adventures of Baron
Munchausen |
| Books |
| Günther, Ludwig:
Keplers Traum vom Mond, B.G. Teubner, Leipzig
1898. Johannes Kepler: Der Traum, oder: Mond-Astronomie. Somnium sive astronomia lunaris, aus dem Lateinischen von Hans Baumgarten, herausgegeben und mit einem Leitfaden für Mondreisende von Beatrix Langner. Matthes & Seitz, Berlin 2011. Edward Rosen: Kepler's Somnium: The Dream, or Posthumous Work on Lunar Astronomy, Dover Publications 2003. Jaritz, Kurt: Utopischer Mond. Mondreisen aus drei Jahrtausenden. Stiasny, Graz 1965. Brunner, W.: Von Stern zu Stern. Eine Weltschau von verschiedenen Himmelskörpern aus, Rascher & Cie., Zürich 1923. Kepler's Somnium: The Dream, or Posthumous Work on Lunar Astronomy. Dover Publications 2003 |
© 2007-2023 J. Giesen
Last update: 2023 Oct 05
