By
Maggie Burnett
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Books by Galileo, Ptolemy, others will be displayed Friday
Close to 50 preserved astronomical documents published in Europe during the Renaissance period will soon be on display in the UA library's Special Collections wing.
Starting Friday, the exhibit, "Heavenly Manuscripts: The Renaissance of Astronomy," will feature early astronomy manuscripts and texts authored by such giants in the field as Ptolemy, Copernicus, Sir Isaac Newton and Galileo.
The books in the exhibit were purchased by the UA Foundation in the early '70s by former University of Arizona president John Schaefer.
"I have had a strong interest in libraries for a long, long time," Schaefer said. "One of the things I waned to do as president was build up the holding the library had."
The exhibit, to be presented in collaboration with the Steward Observatory Public Evening lecture series, will mostly display work published before 1800.
"This is an opportunity for students to be able to see first hand some of the original copies," said Tom Fleming, Steward Observatory lecture coordinator and UA astronomy professor. "The UA, being one of the leading institutions in astronomy, we get a lot of press for our scientific research. It's nice to get some human interest too."
He added that the university also owns Copernicus' 1543 "De revoultionibus orbium coelestium, Libri VI," - or " On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Orbs, Vol. Six" - one of only 50 still in circulation in the world.
In an effort to share historical information with one of his classes, Fleming headed over to the Special Collections vault in hopes of finding some original star catalogues to show to his students.
As a result, the rare book collection resurfaced practically by accident.
"It just sort of happened as I was poking around for my astronomy class. It was sort of like, 'Gee, look at all these old books we've got here,'" he said.
Fleming added that the books, purchased from book dealers located all over the world, were published during a time in scientific history when researchers started to seriously question the truth of how the universe worked.
"The whole idea of the scientific method got its birth in the 16th and 17th centuries," he said.
He added that the exhibit would likely enhance the reputation of the university more than it would the astronomy department, because the department relies more on scientific research for its support.
"Besides being a discoverer of new knowledge, it is a keeper for old knowledge," Fleming said about the UA. "This reinforces that besides looking ahead, it preserves treasures of the past."
Because the books are so delicate, they are stored in a climate-controlled vault in the Special Collections room of the library - an area not directly attached to the Main Library. The books can also only be handled using white gloves.
"Heavenly Manuscripts" will be on display in the Special Collections lobby from Oct. 6 to Nov. 17. An opening reception is scheduled for Oct. 9 at 7:30 p.m. and is open to the public.
