Don Quixote's Influence on Astronomy & Physics

By: Faith Hooper

When you think of Don Quixote, it is usually to admire the tenacious “courage” that he held in all of his adventures. However, little people are fully aware of how much of a difference he has made in the fields of astronomy and physics. From the first book published in 1605, Cervantes was a an instant hit. Don Quixote and Sancho's adventures can be related the first flight of man in space and the theory of relativity (Gasta). Cervantes’ influence now stretches into the distant Mu Arae with its four exoplanets (naming exoplanets worlds), and can be related to the search for cosmic microwave radiation in the QUIJOTE Project. Cervantes influence with Don Quixote is important because it linked the field of literature to astronomy and physics, finding connections between art and the STEM fields is something that educators and people in the career field struggle with to this day.

Albert Einstein’s Theory of Relativity created in 1905, could have potentially been foreseen by Cervantes while he was writing Don Quixote. Einstein’s theory unifies motion, time, and space to demonstrate that they are preceded by an individual. This can be a psychological experience in which the individual experience’s the time internally, or an objective experience such as the constraints of time by a clock (Gasta, 54). Several critics, such as L.A Murillo, claim that our standard of time today should not be applied to Don Quixote since it is controversial and could be a myth of time. This would make it impossible for anyone to create a timeline of Don Quixote (Murillo, 24-25). For example, he lists three scenes in which time is questionable; the Cave of Montesinos, the Enchanted Boat, and Clavileno the Swift. In his example of the Cave of Montesinos, the passage of time is related to the individual's experience and is therefore questioned. The Enchanted Boat raises questions of the distance traveled. In the Flight of Clavileno, it is questioned on whether the flight took place or not. It was stated that Einstein's second favorite novel was Don Quixote, this could have made him realize that the psychological approach to a situation was experienced internally (Damour, 46). Although Don Quixote was clearly not the only influence that Einstein’s Theory of Relativity had, we can see how the possibility for influence could have come from Don Quixote’s instabilities in what we would refer to as historical calendar time.

The QUIJOTE Project, which is made up of multiple organizations, was brought together through Severo Ochoa Programme in an effort to strengthen the bond of literature and astronomy. The project combines two telescopes at the Teide Observatory to characterize polarization of cosmic background microwave radiation. This helps to aid in the search for remains left over from the Big Bang (“Anisotropias…”). It used two telescopes named QUIJOTE I and QUIJOTE II, tour guides for the Teide observatory often call the telescopes Quixote and Sancho (Padron). In the effort to tie the bonds of literature and astronomy together, the Institute of Astrophysics of the Canarias (IAC), the International Institutes Participating in the Canary Island Observatories, and the Museum of Science and the Cosmos have all contributed to the work on these telescopes. Their aim is to not only search for what made up the world, but to also remember someone who made it great. The fact that this project is searching for remains from the Big Bang while also commemorating the work of Cervantes is no small accomplishment.

Cervantes is a star, physically and literally. The Mu Arae star and its four planets were dedicated to Cervantes and the characters of Dulcinea, Rocinante, Quijote, and Sancho. This was done during the year of the 400th anniversary of Cervantes’ death. The Mu Arae star system is a short 50 light years away from us. The Instituto Cervantes promotes the Spanish language and culture to the world; combined with the Planetarium of Pamplona they immortalized a great postmodern spanish writer who stood ahead of his time. With help from the Spanish Astronomers Society, Pamplona Planetarium, and Cervantes Institute this great writer has been glorified with the gift of a star and four planets dedicated to him.

While many do not realize the lasting effect that a book can hold, Cervantes has been praised for his book Don Quixote for over 400 years since his death and still continues to last the test of time. Don Quixote has been classified as postmodern, although it was way before its time. Cervantes leads the readers to question things they wouldn't normally think twice about. This complex plot contains the perfect amount of yin and yang to balance the characters using spanish customs. Cervantes has also been balanced in the world between literature and astronomy, creating an everlasting connection between the two. The book can be related to Gagarin's description of the first flight in space, as well as it can relate to the Theory of Relativity. These adventure filled chapters go above their intended audience and still continue to inspire the world. Stephen King has been quoted to say “Books are a uniquely portable magic.” In the case of Don Quixote it could be difficult to disagree with the sense of magic you feel after traveling into the world of Don Quixote.

Works Cited

"Anisotropías Del Fondo Cósmico De Microondas." QUIJOTE CMB Experiment. Brief Description. Instituto De Astrofísica De Canarias, n.d. Web. 21 June 2016.

Damour, Thibault. “Einstein 1905-1955: His Approach to Physics.” Einstein, 1905- 2005: Poincaré Seminar 2005. Eds. Thibault Damour, Olivier Darrigol, Bertrand Duplantier and Vincent Rivasseu. Basel, Switzerland: Birkhäuser Vergag, 2006. 151-82.

Gusta, Chad M. "Cervantes ’s Theory of Relativity in Don Quixote." World Languages and Cultures at Digital Repository @ Iowa State University 31.1 (2011): 51-82. Http://lib.dr.iastate.edu/. The Cervantes Society of America, 11 Oct. 2013. Web. 18 June 2016.

Murillo, Luis Andrés. The Golden Dial: Temporal Configuration in Don Quijote. Oxford: Dolphin Book, 1975. Print.

Padron, Daniel. "Tiede Observatory Tour." Instituto De Astrofísica De Canarias. Santa Cruz De Tenerife. 30 May 2016. Speech.

Photos from Teide Observatory

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Teide-Observatory/132955376740073