🔗 Why has Venus obsessed so many astronomers? | Aeon Essays

I think what’s missing is the obsession, the sense of wonder that made those expeditions feel like cultural events rather than technical exercises. The instruments around me in the gallery made this contrast sharp. The telescopes and clocks of the 18th century were made of warm brass and wood, etched with flourishes and gilded corners that served no functional purpose except to be beautiful. Today’s instruments are made of cold steel and glass, efficient and practical. Perhaps that’s progress, but perhaps it’s also part of what we’ve lost – the sense that science can be an object of beauty in itself, not just a tool for achieving results.