Article ID: CBB427756897

The Past Looks Like an Onion: The Centennial “Great Debate” Through Journalists’ Testimonies (2021)

unapi

The discussion between California astronomers Harlow Shapley of Mount Wilson Observatory and Heber Doust Curtis of Lick Observatory during the 1920 NAS meeting in Washington, DC, is now a centennial vestige of early twentieth-century scientists’ efforts to map the universe. Historians have reconstructed that evening session using surviving archives (such as the formal accounts published in the Bulletin of the National Research Council in 1921), which could have contributed to a romanticized version of the event. Nevertheless, the repercussions of the event in the press have been overlooked as a source of information. On the day following the session, newspapers from all over the country covered the news on a debate on “the size of the universe” including the question of the existence of other galaxies. They used metaphors, figures, and quotes from the lecturers and the attendees, reinforcing the rivalry between the Lick and Mount Wilson observatories, with the goal of stirring the imagination of the American public, connecting the existence of other galaxies to pluralist debates. The myth of the debate may not have been based solely on the Bulletin papers; it is a complex process, which involves the media’s coverage of the event (from journalists’ testimonies in the newspapers articles to public perception).

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Authors & Contributors
Hoskin, Michael A.
McCarthy, John P.
Simpson, Emily
Lupieri, Edmondo F.
Ampollini, Ilaria
Serpico, Davide
Concepts
Communication of scientific ideas
Public understanding of science
Controversies and disputes
Astronomy
Mass media
Journalism
Time Periods
20th century, early
20th century, late
20th century
21st century
19th century
18th century
Places
United States
California (U.S.)
Great Britain
Pasadena (California)
São Paulo (Brazil)
Americas
Institutions
Genetics Society of America
Smithsonian Institution
Mount Wilson Observatory
Hubble Space Telescope
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