As discussed in my previous post, Kepler's improvement of Copernicus's heliocentric system led to its more general acceptance, and his three laws describing the way planets move are fundamental laws of astronomy. However, this wasn't his only contribution to science. He was one of the greatest thinkers of the seventeenth century scientific revolution and in… Continue reading Kepler’s other achievements
Author: Steve Hurley
Hi I am Steve Hurley. Although I work in the IT industry. I studied for a PhD in astronomy in the 1980s. My real passion is explaining scientific concepts to a non-scientific audience. My blog (explainingscience.org) covers various scientific topics, but primarily astronomy. It is written in a style that it is easily understandable to the non scientist.
Publications and videos
For links to my books and videos please visit www.explainingscience.org
Johannes Kepler
Updated 14 December 2025 My latest post is about the work of the German astronomer Johannes Kepler (1571-1630). He is most famous for his improvement to the earlier model of Copernicus by introducing the idea that the planets move in elliptical, rather than circular, orbits and that their movements in these orbits are governed by… Continue reading Johannes Kepler
Lunar eclipse 21 January 2019
On the night of 20/21 January 2019 there will be a total eclipse of the Moon, which will be viewable from many areas of the world. This will be worth making the effort to see, especially for my readers in the western USA and Canada for whom it will occur at a sociable hour. The… Continue reading Lunar eclipse 21 January 2019
The darker mornings.
Updated 14 December 2025 As I complete this post from my home in Manchester, England, it is 4:30 pm and already dark outside. Many people think that it will continue to get dark earlier each day in the afternoon until we reach the winter solstice , which in 2025 occurs on 21 December in the… Continue reading The darker mornings.
A Christmas gift from Explaining Science 2017
Christmas is almost upon us. Once again I'm offering my e-books for free during the first five days of December! Just call me Father Christmas :-). "Is Anyone Out There?" is about the likelihood of there being extraterrestrial intelligent life. It is based on a number of posts from my blog. For readers based in the UK the… Continue reading A Christmas gift from Explaining Science 2017
Explaining Science 