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: – 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?