Sigüenza's Philosophical Manifesto against Comets and Libra astronómica
Manifiesto filosófico contra los cometas y Libra astronómica (Sigüenza)
- Date
- 1680-1690 · confidence medium
- Place
- Mexico City, Mexico
- Credited to
- Carlos de Sigüenza y Góngora
- Field
- Cosmos & Earth
What was discovered
Works in which Sigüenza, drawing on his observations of the comet of 1680, argues against the belief that comets presage disaster and defends their natural character and regular motion. It is a landmark of Creole scientific thought.
The Manifiesto filosófico was published in 1681; the Libra astronómica, a reply to the Jesuit Eusebio Kino's Exposición astronómica, was written in 1681 and published in 1690.
What it led to
- Public debate on astrology and the new science in New Spain
- A model for the Enlightenment tradition of New Spain
- Reception of Copernicus and Tycho in the Americas