Download or read book Applications of Early Astronomical Records written by Francis Richard Stephenson and published by . This book was released on 1978 with total page 136 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Applications of Early Astronomical Records written by Francis Richard Stephenson and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 1978 with total page 136 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Discusses the principal ways in which pre-telescopic observatios can be used in present-day astronomy.
Download or read book The Decade of Discovery in Astronomy and Astrophysics written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 1991-02-01 with total page 221 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Astronomers and astrophysicists are making revolutionary advances in our understanding of planets, stars, galaxies, and even the structure of the universe itself. The Decade of Discovery presents a survey of this exciting field of science and offers a prioritized agenda for space- and ground-based research into the twenty-first century. The book presents specific recommendations, programs, and expenditure levels to meet the needs of the astronomy and astrophysics communities. Accessible to the interested lay reader, the book explores: The technological investments needed for instruments that will be built in the next century. The importance of the computer revolution to all aspects of astronomical research. The potential usefulness of the moon as an observatory site. Policy issues relevant to the funding of astronomy and the execution of astronomical projects. The Decade of Discovery will prove valuable to science policymakers, research administrators, scientists, and students in the physical sciences, and interested lay readers.
Download or read book Ancient Astronomical Observations and the Study of the Moon s Motion 1691 1757 written by John M. Steele and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-02-17 with total page 169 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The discovery of a gradual acceleration in the moon’s mean motion by Edmond Halley in the last decade of the seventeenth century led to a revival of interest in reports of astronomical observations from antiquity. These observations provided the only means to study the moon’s ‘secular acceleration’, as this newly-discovered acceleration became known. This book contains the first detailed study of the use of ancient and medieval astronomical observations in order to investigate the moon’s secular acceleration from its discovery by Halley to the establishment of the magnitude of the acceleration by Richard Dunthorne, Tobias Mayer and Jérôme Lalande in the 1740s and 1750s. Making extensive use of previously unstudied manuscripts, this work shows how different astronomers used the same small body of preserved ancient observations in different ways in their work on the secular acceleration. In addition, this work looks at the wider context of the study of the moon’s secular acceleration, including its use in debates of biblical chronology, whether the heavens were made up of æther, and the use of astronomy in determining geographical longitude. It also discusses wider issues of the perceptions and knowledge of ancient and medieval astronomy in the early-modern period. This book will be of interest to historians of astronomy, astronomers and historians of the ancient world.
Download or read book Astronomy and Astrophysics in the New Millennium written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2002-02-07 with total page 401 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In preparing the report, Astronomy and Astrophysics in the New Millenium , the AASC made use of a series of panel reports that address various aspects of ground- and space-based astronomy and astrophysics. These reports provide in-depth technical detail. Astronomy and Astrophysics in the New Millenium: An Overview summarizes the science goals and recommended initiatives in a short, richly illustrated, non-technical booklet.
Download or read book Historical Eclipses and Earth s Rotation written by F. Richard Stephenson and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2008-03-24 with total page 576 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The culmination of many years of research, this book discusses ancient and medieval eclipse observations and their importance in studying Earth's past rotation. This is the first major book on this subject in twenty years. The author has specialized for many years in the interpretation of early astronomical records and their application to problems in modern astronomy. The book contains an in-depth discussion of numerous eclipse records from Babylon, China, Europe and the Arab lands. The author provides translations of almost every record studied. He shows that although tides play a dominant long-term role in producing variations in Earth's rate of rotation--causing a gradual increase in the length of the day--there are significant and variable nontidal changes in opposition to the main trend. This book is intended for geophysicists, astronomers (especially those with an interest in history), historians and orientalists.
Download or read book A Question and Answer Guide to Astronomy written by Pierre-Yves Bely and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2017-03-23 with total page 361 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Contains 250 questions and answers about astronomy, particular for the amateur astronomer.
Download or read book On the Heavens written by Aristotle and published by Aeterna Press. This book was released on 1969 with total page 124 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On the Heavens (Greek: Περὶ οὐρανοῦ, Latin: De Caelo or De Caelo et Mundo) is Aristotle’s chief cosmological treatise: written in 350 BC it contains his astronomical theory and his ideas on the concrete workings of the terrestrial world. It should not be confused with the spurious work On the Universe (De mundo, also known as On the Cosmos).
Download or read book New Insights From Recent Studies in Historical Astronomy Following in the Footsteps of F Richard Stephenson written by Wayne Orchiston and published by Springer. This book was released on 2014-11-24 with total page 371 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book contains papers from a conference held to celebrate the 70th birthday of one of the world’s foremost astronomical historians, Professor F. Richard Stephenson, the latest recipient of the American Astronomical Society’s highest award for research in astronomical history, the LeRoy Doggett Prize. Reflecting Professor Stephenson’s extensive research portfolio, this book brings together under one cover papers on four different areas of scholarship: applied historical astronomy (which Stephenson founded); Islamic astronomy; Oriental astronomy and amateur astronomy. These papers are penned by astronomers from Canada, China, England, France, Georgia, Iran, Japan, Lebanon, the Netherlands, Portugal, Thailand and the USA. Its diverse coverage represents a wide cross-section of the history of astronomy community. Under discussion are ways in which recent research using historical data has provided new insights into auroral and solar activity, supernovae and changes in the rotation rate of the Earth. It also presents readers with results of recent research on leading historical figures in Islamic and Oriental astronomy, and aspects of eighteenth and nineteenth century Australian, British, German and Portuguese amateur astronomy, including the fascinating ‘amateur-turned-professional syndrome’.
Download or read book New Worlds New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2011-02-04 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Driven by discoveries, and enabled by leaps in technology and imagination, our understanding of the universe has changed dramatically during the course of the last few decades. The fields of astronomy and astrophysics are making new connections to physics, chemistry, biology, and computer science. Based on a broad and comprehensive survey of scientific opportunities, infrastructure, and organization in a national and international context, New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics outlines a plan for ground- and space- based astronomy and astrophysics for the decade of the 2010's. Realizing these scientific opportunities is contingent upon maintaining and strengthening the foundations of the research enterprise including technological development, theory, computation and data handling, laboratory experiments, and human resources. New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics proposes enhancing innovative but moderate-cost programs in space and on the ground that will enable the community to respond rapidly and flexibly to new scientific discoveries. The book recommends beginning construction on survey telescopes in space and on the ground to investigate the nature of dark energy, as well as the next generation of large ground-based giant optical telescopes and a new class of space-based gravitational observatory to observe the merging of distant black holes and precisely test theories of gravity. New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics recommends a balanced and executable program that will support research surrounding the most profound questions about the cosmos. The discoveries ahead will facilitate the search for habitable planets, shed light on dark energy and dark matter, and aid our understanding of the history of the universe and how the earliest stars and galaxies formed. The book is a useful resource for agencies supporting the field of astronomy and astrophysics, the Congressional committees with jurisdiction over those agencies, the scientific community, and the public.
Download or read book The History and Practice of Ancient Astronomy written by James Evans and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 1998-10-01 with total page 495 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The History and Practice of Ancient Astronomy combines new scholarship with hands-on science to bring readers into direct contact with the work of ancient astronomers. While tracing ideas from ancient Babylon to sixteenth-century Europe, the book places its greatest emphasis on the Greek period, when astronomers developed the geometric and philosophical ideas that have determined the subsequent character of Western astronomy. The author approaches this history through the concrete details of ancient astronomical practice. Carefully organized and generously illustrated, the book can teach readers how to do real astronomy using the methods of ancient astronomers. For example, readers will learn to predict the next retrograde motion of Jupiter using either the arithmetical methods of the Babylonians or the geometric methods of Ptolemy. They will learn how to use an astrolabe and how to design sundials using Greek and Roman techniques. The book also contains supplementary exercises and patterns for making some working astronomical instruments, including an astrolabe and an equatorium. More than a presentation of astronomical methods, the book provides a critical look at the evidence used to reconstruct ancient astronomy. It includes extensive excerpts from ancient texts, meticulous documentation, and lively discussions of the role of astronomy in the various cultures. Accessible to a wide audience, this book will appeal to anyone interested in how our understanding of our place in the universe has changed and developed, from ancient times through the Renaissance.
Download or read book Totality written by Mark Littmann and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2008-07-17 with total page 358 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A total eclipse of the Sun is the most awesome sight in the heavens. Totality: Eclipses of the Sun takes you to eclipses of the past, present, and future, and lets you see - and feel - why people travel to the ends of the Earth to observe them.Totality: Eclipses of the Sun is the best guide and reference book on solar eclipses ever written. It explains: how to observe them; how to photograph and videotape them; why they occur; their history and mythology; and future eclipses - when and where to see themTotality also tells the remarkable story of how eclipses shocked scientists, revealed the workings of the Sun, and made Einstein famous. And the book shares the experiences and advice of many veteran eclipse observers.Totality: Eclipses of the Sun is profusely illustrated with stunning photographs (many in color) and more than a hundred maps and diagrams. It can be read by lay people and astronomers with ease and enjoyment.
Download or read book Ancient Astronomy written by Clive L.N. Ruggles and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2005-10-21 with total page 549 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An authoritative introduction to the fascinating topic of archaeoastronomy—ancient peoples' understanding and use of the skies. Ancient Astronomy: An Encyclopedia of Cosmologies and Myth draws on archaeological evidence and oral traditions to reveal how prehistoric humans perceived the skies and celestial phenomena. With over 200 entries, it offers a number of ways to approach ancient astronomy, from key examples and case studies worldwide (Stonehenge; Mexican and Egyptian pyramids; Chaco Canyon, New Mexico; the Nazca lines in Peru) to general themes (cosmologies, calendars, ancient ideas of space and time, origin myths), to fundamental concepts and methods (how the sky has changed over the centuries, how to survey a site), and to the field's most frequently asked questions (How did ancient peoples navigate the ocean using the stars? How does astrology relate to ancient astronomy? Can ancient sites be dated astronomically?) By revealing the astronomical significance of some of the world's most famous ancient landmarks and enduring myths and by showing how different themes and concepts are connected, Ancient Astronomy: An Encyclopedia of Cosmologies and Myth brings a unique authoritative perspective to an area too often left to speculation and sensationalism.
Download or read book Historical Eclipses and Earth s Rotation written by F. Richard Stephenson and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1997-06-05 with total page 577 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is intended for geophysicists, astronomers (especially those with an interest in history), historians and orientalists. The culmination of many years of research, it discusses, in depth, ancient and medieval eclipse observations and their importance in studying Earth's past rotation. This was the first major book on this subject to appear in the last twenty years. The author has specialised in the interpretation of early astronomical records and their application to problems in modern astronomy for many years. The book contains an in-depth discussion of numerous eclipse records from Babylon, China, Europe and the Arab lands. Translations of almost every record studied are given. It is shown that although tides play a dominant long-term role in producing variations in Earth's rate of rotation - causing a gradual increase in the length of the day - there are significant, and variable non-tidal changes in opposition to the main trend.
Download or read book Prehistoric Astronomy in the Southwest written by J. McKim Malville and published by Big Earth Publishing. This book was released on 1993 with total page 116 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Archaeoastronomy is a discipline pioneered at Stonehenge and other megalithic sites in Britain and France. Many sites in the southwestern United States have yielded evidence of the prehistoric Anasazi's intense interest in astronomy, similar to that of the megalithic cultures of Europe. Drawing on the archaeological evidence, ethnographical parallels with historic pueblo peoples, and mythology from other cultures around the world, the authors present theories about the meaning and function of the mysterious stone alignments and architectural orientations of the prehistoric Southwest.
Download or read book Totality The Great American Eclipses of 2017 and 2024 written by Mark Littmann and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2017-04-28 with total page 402 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Totality: The Great American Eclipses is a complete guide to the most stunning of celestial sights, total eclipses of the Sun. It focuses on the eclipses of August 21, 2017 and April 8, 2024 that pass across the United States. The U.S. mainland has not experienced a total solar eclipse since 1979. This book provides information, photographs, and illustrations to help the public understand and safely enjoy all aspects of these eclipses including: § How to observe a total eclipse of the Sun § How to photograph and video record an eclipse § Why solar eclipses happen § The earliest attempts to understand and predict eclipses § The mythology and folklore of eclipses § The response of animals to total solar eclipses § The response of man to total eclipses through time § How scientists used total eclipses to understand how the Sun works § How astronomers used a total solar eclipse in 1919 to confirm Einstein's general theory of relativity § Weather prospects for the 2017 eclipse § Detailed maps of the path of totality for the 2017 eclipse and the eclipses of 2018 through 2024 § Precise local times for the eclipses of 2017 and 2024 (the next total solar eclipse to visit the U.S.) § Color and black-and-white photographs, diagrams, and charts to illustrate and explain total solar eclipses § Global maps of total solar eclipses from 2017 to 2045 and lists of total and annual solar eclipses from 1970 through 2070
Download or read book The Astronomy Revolution written by Donald G. York and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2011-11-28 with total page 452 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Some 400 years after the first known patent application for a telescope by Hans Lipperhey, The Astronomy Revolution: 400 Years of Exploring the Cosmos surveys the effects of this instrument and explores the questions that have arisen out of scientific research in astronomy and cosmology. Inspired by the international New Vision 400 conference held in Beijing in October 2008, this interdisciplinary volume brings together expanded and updated contributions from 26 esteemed conference speakers and invited others. Looking beyond questions of science to the role of moral responsibility in human civilizations, the book offers the unique vantage points of contributions from both Eastern and Western cultures. Extensively illustrated in full color, this book consists of six parts. Aimed at young scientists, the first part presents perspectives on creativity and technology in scientific discovery. In the second part, contributors examine how the telescope has impacted our knowledge of the Universe—from the formation of galaxies to the death of stars. The third part of the book outlines some of the challenges we face in understanding dark matter, dark energy, black holes, and cosmic rays, and the fourth part discusses new technologies that will be useful in attacking new and unresolved questions. The fifth part of the book examines the intellectual impact that the telescope has had on society in China and in the West. The book concludes with an investigation of "big questions": What is the origin of the laws of physics as we know them? Are these laws the same everywhere? How do these scientific laws relate to the moral laws of society? Does what we know depend on cultural ways of asking the questions? Is there life elsewhere? And what about the questions that science cannot answer? Celebrating the historical significance of the telescope, this unique book seeks to inspire all those involved or interested in the enterprise of astronomy as humankind continues the quest to unveil the heavens.
