Title page of 'The Discovery of a World in the Moone' (1638) by English natural philosopher and Anglican clergyman John Wilkins (1614-1672). Wilkins c

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Title page of 'The Discovery of a World in the Moone' (1638) by English natural philosopher and Anglican clergyman John Wilkins (1614-1672). Wilkins compared the Earth and the Moon and proposed that the Moon was inhabited by beings he called Selenites. This diagram shows the Sun and the orbits of Mercury, Venus, the Earth and Moon, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. The Earth-Moon orbit text references a Greek myth, referring to the longing of those living on Ceres (the Earth) to reach Proserpina (the Moon or Heaven). Wilkins was one of the founders of the Royal Society in 1660, and Bishop of Chester from 1668. Second title page: C028/9455.

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Size: 2524px × 4169px
Photo credit: © LIBRARY OF CONGRESS/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

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