2009/06/05 by Jacques Crovisier, J. Crovisier, Crovisier, Jacques
Arts and Humanities · Physics and Astronomy · #History and Developments in Astronomy #History of Science and Natural History #Space exploration and regulation #astro-ph.EP #physics.hist-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.0906.1052
6 pages, 4 figures, proceedings of IAU Symposium 260 "The Rôle of Astronomy in Society and Culture"
arxiv created 2009/06/05 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01
Almost all the "Voyages Extraordinaires" written by Jules Verne refer to astronomy. In some of them, astronomy is even the leading theme. However, Jules Verne was basically not learned in science. His knowledge of astronomy came from contemporaneous popular publications and discussions with specialists among his friends or his family. In this article, I examine, from the text and illustrations of his novels, how astronomy was perceived and conveyed by Jules Verne, with errors and limitations on the one hand, with great respect and enthusiasm on the other hand. This informs us on how astronomy was understood by an "honnête homme" in the late 19th century.