the world’s first science fiction novel – written by a scientist – in the seventeenth century

Posted on January 2, 2022Comments Off on the world’s first science fiction novel – written by a scientist – in the seventeenth century

The Renaissance scientist and mathematician Kepler discovered how snowflakes work:

BBC Radio 4 – Science Stories, Series 8, Kepler’s Snowflakes

He also gave us the first piece of science fiction:

Since Johannes Kepler with “Somnium” (Kepler, 1634) wrote the world’s first science fiction novel (encompassing a travel to the moon), science fiction has remained a source of inspiration for scientists and the public…

Is the force awakening? – ScienceDirect 

Carl Sagan and Isaac Asimov have referred to it as one of the earliest works of science fiction.[1][2]

Somnium (novel) – Wikipedia

Moon Heaven Astronomy A Journey Of – Free photo on Pixabay

My name is Duracotus. My country is Iceland, called Thule by the ancients. The recent death of my mother Fiolxhilde has freed me to write this, as I have long wished. But while my mother lived she would not let me write. Indeed, she said, there were many evil people who hated any arts their dull minds could not grasp – so they misrepresented those arts and made laws harmful to the human race…”

The Somnium Project | Exploring Johannes Kepler’s ‘Somnium’ – the first science fiction story

All very Solarpunk.

As a recent paper shows, creativity and technology, art and can should co-exist:

Art, Energy and Technology: the Solarpunk Movement | researchgate.net

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