Newton was the first to demonstrate that the same natural laws govern both earthly motion and celestial motion. He is associated with the Scientific Revolution and the advancement of heliocentrism. Newton is also credited with providing mathematical substantiation for Kepler's laws of planetary motion. He would expand these laws by arguing that orbits (such as those of comets) were not only elliptic; but could also be hyperbolic and parabolic. He is also notable for his arguments that light was composed of particles; see: wave-particle duality. He was the first to realise that the spectrum of colours observed when white light was passed through a prism was inherent in the white light, and not added by the prism as Roger Bacon had claimed 400 years earlier.
1 (from Wikipedia)
The complex character of Newton is also explored in the exhibition. He was a pious man who dabbled in chronologies of biblical history, though he apparently held unorthodox views on Christian doctrine like the Trinity. He also devoted much effort to alchemy, the practice of trying to turn base metals to gold, which makes Newton a central character in a new novel, "The System of the World," by Neal Stephenson (William Morrow). Dr. Feingold suggests that Newton's alchemy was probably the contemporary name for what today would be standard chemistry.
Several arresting displays show the actual devices or drawings of mechanical models of the solar system that were popular in the post-Newton period. Such an elaborate device, known as the orrery, illustrated the relative size and motion of heavenly bodies in accordance with Newton's laws of gravity.
2 (From the New York Times)
A number of Newton's manuscripts from the Cambridge University Library, including a first edition of his most famous work, "Principia," bearing the author's corrections and additions for the next printing, have never before been shown in the United States. Dr. Feingold has also written a companion book to the exhibition, to be published this fall by Oxford University Press.
This exhibition tells the story of the conception and diffusion of Newton’s ideas, and the tensions and often public clashes they engendered. Notwithstanding these burgeoning controversies, or perhaps because of them, for friends and foes alike Newton became an icon to be emulated or rejected, revered or excoriated – but always there to contend with. Hence, the era of Enlightenment and Revolution may be viewed as the Newtonian Moment.
3 (From the NY Public Library)