Precisely four centuries ago Johannes Kepler published his Astronomia Nova, the pioneering book that proposed the radical idea that planets moved in elliptical orbits. But the book was even more revolutionary when it insisted on physical causes to explain motions in the heavens. His book was truly the "new astronomy." But also exactly 400 years ago the astronomical use of the telescope began, with Galileo Galilei in the forefront. His observations of the moon, Jupiter, Venus, and the sun helped credential the new heliocentric cosmology. Although Galileo couldn't prove the motion of the earth, his writings made belief in the Copernican system intellectually respectable. With a little help from his friends, Galileo fanned the flames of the Astronomical Revolution.

The Kress Lecture Series is sponsored by Dr. Kenneth Kress (VU physics 1964) to foster understanding about and interest in science as described by nationally-known scientists. The lectures are especially intended for the lay-audience and do not assume a background in science. The lectures do assume that the audience is prepared to become engaged in and excited about what is new in science and what the implications might be for our understanding about the world in which we live.