Itinerarium exstaticum

'''''Itinerarium exstaticum quo mundi opificium''''' is a 1656 work by the [[Jesuit]] scholar [[Athanasius Kircher]]. It is an imaginary [[dialogue]] in which an [[Angels in Christianity|angel]] named Cosmiel takes the narrator, Theodidactus ('taught by God'), on a journey through the planets. It is the only work by Kircher devoted entirely to [[astronomy]], and one of only two pieces of imaginative fiction by him. A revised and expanded second edition, entitled '''''Iter Exstaticum''''', was published in 1660.

'''''Itinerarium exstaticum quo mundi opificium''''' is a 1656 work by the [[Jesuit]] scholar [[Athanasius Kircher]]. It is an imaginary [[dialogue]] in which an [[Angels in Christianity|angel]] named Cosmiel takes the narrator, Theodidactus ('taught by God'), on a journey through the planets. It is the only work by Kircher devoted entirely to [[astronomy]], and one of only two pieces of imaginative fiction by him. A revised and expanded second edition, entitled '''''Iter Exstaticum''''', was published in 1660.

The main theme of the work is [[space exploration]] through [[outer space]]. The novel's main character finds himself guided through the heavens by a guiding angel. Kircher depicts stars of different sizes, accompanied by planets, turning around each other and moving through space. The stars, as he described them were “fixed” but moved in circular [[orbits]] sometimes in systems of [[binary stars]] or multiple stars, with vast distances between them. As he believed they were very far away and all moved around the Earth, he believed they moved with tremendous speed.

The main theme of the work is [[space exploration]] through [[outer space]]. The novel's main character finds himself guided through the heavens by a guiding angel. Kircher depicts [[stars]] of different sizes, accompanied by [[planets]], turning around each other and moving through space. The stars, as he described them were “fixed” but moved in circular [[orbits]] sometimes in systems of [[binary stars]] or multiple stars, with vast distances between them. As he believed they were very far away and all moved around the Earth, he believed they moved with tremendous speed.

==Background==

==Background==