A non representationalist view of model explanation

In this paper, I examine two idealized models in astrophysics, with the aim of showing that the idealizations in these models play an important explanatory role. I argue, against many representationalists, that it is because of the idealizations in these models, rather than in spite of them, that the models turn out to have explanatory power. In many cases, this claim can be extended to the use of idealized models in the sciences more generally, and thus it gives important insight into the nature of model explanation.