Explorations of the Universe
Traveler’s Tales
Comparisons to Early Sail
Voyages
• 15th century: Spain to the Azores = the travel
time now from the Earth to the Moon
• Traverse Atlantic = time it now takes to
cross the inner Solar System.
• 17th and 18th centuries: to reach China =
time to send a spacecraft to Jupiter
• In comparison to resources, it cost more to
send sailing ships around the world than to
send spacecraft to the planets.
The "Passion to explore"
• Ancient Phoenecians; the voyage around
Africa may or may not have taken place, but
they did reach Britain and colonize the
western Mediterranean.
• Renaissance Europe
• Ming Dynasty China
• Polynesia
Possible Other Examples
• Early Irish Missionaries
• Medieval Arab seafarers and land travelers
(Al-Idrisi, Ibn-Battuta)
• The Mongols of the 13th century
• The Vikings
Counter-Examples
• The Romans had a mind-numbing lack of
interest in geography. They never went into
the Baltic, or explored Ireland, or penetrated
Eastern Europe.
• Black Africans never discovered the Cape
Verde Islands or Madagascar.
More Counter-Examples
• The voyages of Ming China stand out
precisely because China, throughout most
of its history, has been strongly isolationist,
with very little interest in exploration.
• The many cultures of India produced very
few explorers.
Why Explore?
• Cultures strapped for resources or fearful of
change may migrate, but don't explore just
to see what is there.
• Cultures convinced of their own superiority
or self-sufficiency (Rome, China) feel little
need to explore.
Exploring for Prestige
• The voyages of Ming China were an
expression of its self-confidence and
superiority; they were undertaken precisely
to show other societies the greatness of
China.
• A good parallel: the round-the-world
voyage of the U.S. Navy's "Great White
Fleet" about 1900.
Exploring for Curiosity is Rare
• Europe's exploratory burst was driven in
part by a desire to cut out the middlemen in
foreign trade, but also driven in part by
sheer curiosity.
• Others:
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possibly the Vikings
some Mongol expeditions
some Arab travelers
possibly some Polynesians
Why is This Important?
• A common criticism of education is it
“stifles curiosity”
• Are people really curious?
• Would we have gone into space without
military pressures?
• If Vietnam hadn’t provided a motive, would
we have dismantled Apollo anyway just to
buy more consumer goods?
The 17th Century Dutch Republic
• A single human lifetime encompasses the
events of Episode 3, Harmony of the Worlds
and the Holland portrayed in this episode
• What a difference in outlook!
• Sagan uses the old Amsterdam Town Hall
as a symbol of the new world-view.
• Dispelled the "Gothic squint and squalor of
the Middle Ages
Does exploration equal openness?
• Holland most open society of the time
• England and France next
• Spain, Portugal, and Russia ( pushing across
Asia to the Pacific) were active exploring
powers but positively repressive.
• Spain's glory days as an exploring power
were far behind by this time.
Exploration and Openness
• Democracy, tolerance and moderation can
encourage exploration, but it's not a simple
equation.
• Exploration doesn't necessarily make a society
open and tolerant.
• Travel broadens some people but narrows
others, convincing them of their own inherent
superiority.
• Some highly democratic societies like Norway
or Switzerland did not explore at all.
The Discoveries of Christian
Huygens
• First person to see a surface feature on Mars
• First person to understand Saturn's ring
• First person to understand that Venus is
covered with clouds
• Discoverer of Titan, Saturn's largest
satellite.
• Inventor of pendulum clock.
• Builder of numerous planetarium models.
Why the Long-tube Telescopes?