Corey Powell, and editor at Discover Magazine, and Steven Sotor, co-writer of the new Cosmos series, have been having a back and forth about Giordano Bruno, who was highlighted in the first Cosmos episode.
Your suggestion that Giordano Bruno was not the first to realize that the stars are suns is mistaken. You cited his predecessor Nicolas of Cusa, who referred in one passage to “the earth, the sun, or another star.” But Cusa did not mean that the sun is another star as we understand the term. Throughout his book, he used the word “star” indifferently to refer to the earth, the moon, the sun and the planets, as was common in his time. He also distinguished them from the “fixed stars” on the surface of the eighth celestial sphere. His pre-Copernican conception of the solar system was antithetical to any notion of the stars as other suns.
more at Battle of the “Cosmos,” Round 3 – Out There | Discovermagazine.com.
I wonder if there will be any controversial historical figures in tonight’s episode.
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