الصفحة 1
الصفحة 1
The new astronomy : Opening the electromagnetic window and expanding our view of planet earth : A Meeting to Honor Woody Sullivan on his 60th Birthday
This unique work celebrates the 60th birthday of Professor Woodruff Sullivan III (University of Washington, Seattle). The ‘Woodfest’ conference attracted some of the world’s leading astrobiologists and historians of astronomy, so it is no surprise this book provides a collection of key papers and reviews on the history of astronomy, astrobiology and sundials. The emphasis on radio astronomy in the historical papers is a fitting reminder that Woody is widely acknowledged as the world’s leading authority in this field. But there are also papers on astrobiology, which reflect his intimate involvement in this exciting multidisciplinary field. The papers on sundials reveal another passion and his quest to make Seattle the sundial capital of North America! This book will appeal to professional and amateur astronomers, and is a tribute to one of the world’s most remarkable astronomers.
The Multinational History of Strasbourg Astronomical Observatory
Strasbourg Astronomical Observatory is quite an interesting place for historians: several changes of nationality between France and Germany, high-profile scientists having been based there, and so on. This volume offers historical facts and references on the first decades of the Observatory history.
The Moon that Wasn’t : The Saga of Venus’ Spurious Satellite
This book details the history of one of astronomy’s many spurious objects, the satellite of Venus. First spotted in 1645, the non-existing moon was observed more than a dozen times until the late eighteenth century. Although few astronomers believed in the existence of the moon after about 1770, it continued to attract attention for at least another century. However, it has largely disappeared from the history of astronomy, and the rich historical sources have never been exploited. By telling the story of the enigmatic satellite in its proper historical context it is demonstrated that it was much more than a mere curiosity in the annals of astronomy – Frederick II of Prussia was familiar with it, and so was Bonnet, Kant and Voltaire.
Publishing Sacrobosco’s De sphaera in early modern Europe : Modes of material and scientific exchange
This volume focuses on the cultural background of the pivotal transformations of scientific knowledge in the early modern period. It investigates the rich edition history of Johannes de Sacrobosco’s Tractatus de sphaera, by far the most widely disseminated textbook on geocentric cosmology, from the unique standpoint of the many printers, publishers, and booksellers who steered this text from manuscript to print culture, and in doing so transformed it into an established platform of scientific learning.
Il cielo sopra Roma : I luoghi dell’astronomia = The sky above Rome : The places of astronomy
Astronomy in Rome has always been there, but a little hidden: it was in the palaces, in the churches or, better, above the churches, speculas scattered along a path that few know by now. Intrigued and frightened, the Romans witnessed the burning of Giordano Bruno in a familiar corner of Campo de 'Fiori, but they probably didn't quite understand what guilt he was accused of. They certainly did not think that he was a philosopher and a scientist who had tried to imagine what the world was like.
A History of Physical Theories of Comets, From Aristotle to Whipple
The book describes the major physical theories of comets in the past two millennia. It demonstrates the evolution of ideas about the nature, position, motion and physical constitution of comets from Aristotle to Whipple. Unlike the available works on the history of comets, which either illustrate relatively short periods in the history of physical cometology or portray a landscape view without adequate details, the present study focuses on details of each theory. It also investigates the interaction between observational and mathematical astronomy, and the physical sciences in defining the properties of comets.
