IAU Commission C3: History of Astronomy

Johannes Kepler Working Group


Rationale

The Johannes Kepler Working Group (JKWG) was first proposed by participants at Special Session 9 of the XXVII General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union (11-14 August 2009, Rio de Janeiro).

The principal aim of the JKWG is to further Kepler studies through:

  1. Representations at international level with other organizations and institutions, specifically the International Council for Science (ICSU) and its member organizations (e.g. the International Union of History and Philosophy of Science);
  2. Establishing an IAU Working Group website dedicated to Johannes Kepler and his works;
  3. Encouraging research and publication, including translations of Kepler's works into modern languages;
  4. Formulating and carrying out a programme of digitization of first and early editions of Kepler's works and associated material;
  5. Investigating the possibility of digitizing Kepler's collected works (Johannes Kepler: Gesammelte Werke, 1937- ), now nearing completion under the editorship of the Kepler Commission of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences (the full digitized version of the Gesammelte Werke is now available free to the public); and
  6. Considering the feasibility of digitizing the manuscript material owned by the Russian Academy of Sciences.