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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>In my review of mishnayos RH (on RH) I noted the
apparent belief by the Tosfos Yom Tov of the reality of the Ptolemaic celestial
spheres in his pirush on the 8th mishna in perek 2. I found this interesting as
he was a contemporary of Kepler and Galileo (and could have heard of their
results) and just shortly preceded Newton. He lived during the final transition
from celestial spheres. I googled about on the net for the following historic
data:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Tosfos Yom Tov (1579 - 1654)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Yohannes Kepler (1571 - 1630)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Kepler publishes Astonomia Nova (<FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=3>first and second laws of planetary motion)
</FONT> - 1609</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Kepler publishes Harmonices Mundi (third <FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=3> law of planetary motion) </FONT> -
1619</FONT></DIV>
<DIV>Kepler abandoned his pet theory of a relationship between the Platonic
Solids and the planets.</DIV>
<DIV>Galileo Galilei (1564 -- 1642)</DIV>
<DIV>Galileo publishes telescopic observations, Sidereus Nuncius
(1610)</DIV>
<DIV>Galileo's problem with the church (1614 - 1633). (I presume this made his
ideas well know in his time).</DIV>
<DIV>Sir Isaac Newton (1643 - 1727)</DIV>
<DIV>Newton publishes Principia (1687)</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>GCT</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Chaim Manaster</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV></FONT></DIV></DIV></BODY></HTML>