Download or read book Astronomy in the Ancient World written by Alexus McLeod and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-06-17 with total page 234 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Alexus McLeod explores every aspect of the lesser-known history of astronomy in the Americas (Mesoamerica and North America), China and India, each through the frame of a particular astronomical phenomena. Part One considers the development of astronomy in the Americas as a response, in part, to the Supernova of 1054, which may have led to a cultural renaissance in astronomy. He then goes on to explore the contemporary understanding of supernovae, contrasting it with that of the ancient Americas. Part Two is framed through the appearances of great comets, which had major divinatory significance in early China. The author discusses the advancement of observational astronomy in China, its influence on politics and its role in the survival or failure of empires. Furthermore, the contemporary understanding of comets is also discussed for comparison. Part Three, on India, considers the magnificent observatories of the Rajput king Jai Singh II, and the question of their purpose. The origins of Indian astronomy are examined in Vedic thought and its development is followed through the period of Jai Singh, including the role played by solar eclipses. The author also includes a modern explanation of our understanding of eclipses to date. In the final section of the book, McLeod discusses how ancient traditions might help modern civilization better understand Earth’s place in the cosmos.
Download or read book The Circulation of Astronomical Knowledge in the Ancient World written by and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2016-04-18 with total page 595 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Circulation of Astronomical Knowledge in the Ancient World explores the ways in which astronomical knowledge circulated between different communities of scholars over time and space, and what was done with that knowledge when it was received.
Download or read book Astronomy Weather and Calendars in the Ancient World written by Daryn Lehoux and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2012-07-19 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The focus of this book is the interplay between ancient astronomy, meteorology, physics and calendrics. It looks at a set of popular instruments and texts (parapegmata) used in antiquity for astronomical weather prediction and the regulation of day-to-day life. Farmers, doctors, sailors and others needed to know when the heavens were conducive to various activities, and they developed a set of fairly sophisticated tools and texts for tracking temporal, astronomical and weather cycles. Sources are presented in full, with an accompanying translation. A comprehensive analysis explores questions such as: What methodologies were used in developing the science of astrometeorology? What kinds of instruments were employed and how did these change over time? How was the material collected and passed on? How did practices and theories differ in the different cultural contexts of Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece and Rome?
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 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 Ancient Astronomy and Celestial Divination written by Noel M. Swerdlow and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 1999 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume presents recent work on Babylonian celestialdivination and on the Greek inheritors of the Babyloniantradition.In the ancient world, the collection and study of celestial phenomena and the intepretation of their prophetic significance, especially as applied to kings and nations, were closely related sciences carried out by the same scholars. Both ancient sources and modern research agree that astronomy and celestial divination arose in Babylon. Only in the late nineteenth century, however, did scholars begin to identify and decipher the original Babylonian sources, and the process of understanding those sources has been long and difficult. This volume presents recent work on Babylonian celestial divination and on the Greek inheritors of the Babylonian tradition. Both philological and mathematical work are included. The essays shed new light on all of the known textual sources, including the omen series Enuma Anu Enlil, which contains omens from as far back as the early second or even third millennium, and the earliest personal horoscopes, from about 400 B.C., as well as the Astronomical Diaries, ephemerides, and other observational and mathematical texts. One essay concerns astronomical papyri that confirm the extensive transmission of Babylonian methods into Greek; a study of Ptolemy's lunar theory suggests that Ptolemy relied more on his own observations than previously thought; and an analysis of Theon's commentary on Ptolemy's Handy Tables shows that Theon explicated their meaning both conscientiously and competently.ContributorsAsger Aaboe, Alan C. Bowen, Lis Brack-Bernsen, John P. Britton, Bernard R. Goldstein, Gerd Graßhoff, Hermann Hunger, Alexander Jones, Erica Reiner, F. Rochberg, N. M. Swerdlow, Anne Tihon, C. B. F. Walker
Download or read book A History of Astronomy written by Anton Pannekoek and published by Courier Corporation. This book was released on 1989-01-01 with total page 562 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Well-balanced, carefully reasoned study covers such topics as Ptolemaic theory, work of Copernicus, Kepler, Newton, Eddington's work on stars, much more. Illustrated. References.
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 with total page 495 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Birth of astronomy -- Celestial sphere -- Some applications of spherics -- Calendars and time reckoning -- Solar theory -- Fixed stars -- Planetary theory -- Frequently used tables -- Appendix : patterns for models.
Download or read book Science in the Ancient World written by Jay Wile and published by . This book was released on 2015-02-10 with total page 316 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Echoes of the Ancient Skies written by E. C. Krupp and published by Courier Corporation. This book was released on 2012-03-15 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Popular, authoritative look at the world of archaeoastronomy, the study of ancient peoples' observation of the skies and its role in their cultural evolution. 208 illustrations.
Download or read book Exploring Ancient Skies written by David H. Kelley and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2005-12-06 with total page 623 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Exploring Ancient Skies brings together the methods of archaeology and the insights of modern astronomy to explore the science of astronomy as it was practiced in various cultures prior to the invention of the telescope. The book reviews an enormous and growing body of literature on the cultures of the ancient Mediterranean, the Far East, and the New World (particularly Mesoamerica), putting the ancient astronomical materials into their archaeological and cultural contexts. The authors begin with an overview of the field and proceed to essential aspects of naked-eye astronomy, followed by an examination of specific cultures. The book concludes by taking into account the purposes of ancient astronomy: astrology, navigation, calendar regulation, and (not least) the understanding of our place and role in the universe. Skies are recreated to display critical events as they would have appeared to ancient observers - events such as the supernova of 1054, the 'lion horoscope' or the 'Star of Bethlehem.' Exploring Ancient Skies provides a comprehensive overview of the relationships between astronomy and other areas of human investigation. It will be useful as a reference for scholars and students in both astronomy and archaeology, and will be of compelling interest to readers who seek a broad understanding of our collective intellectual history.
Download or read book Architecture Astronomy and Sacred Landscape in Ancient Egypt written by Giulio Magli and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2013-07-22 with total page 285 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book examines the interplay between astronomy and dynastic power in the course of ancient Egyptian history, focusing on the fundamental role of astronomy in the creation of the pyramids and the monumental temple and burial complexes. Bringing to bear the analytical tools of archaeoastronomy, a set of techniques and methods that enable modern scholars to better understand the thought, religion and science of early civilizations, Giulio Magli provides in-depth analyses of the pyramid complexes at Giza, Abusir, Saqqara and Dahshur, as well as of the Early Dynastic necropolis at Abydos and the magnificent new Kingdom Theban temples. Using a variety of data retrieved from study of the sky and measurements of the buildings, he reconstructs the visual, symbolic and spiritual world of the ancient Egyptians and thereby establishes an intimate relationship among celestial cycles, topography and architecture. He also shows how they were deployed in the ideology of the pharaoh's power in the course of Egyptian history.
Download or read book Astronomy Across Cultures written by Helaine Selin and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 678 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Astronomy Across Cultures: A History of Non-Western Astronomy consists of essays dealing with the astronomical knowledge and beliefs of cultures outside the United States and Europe. In addition to articles surveying Islamic, Chinese, Native American, Aboriginal Australian, Polynesian, Egyptian and Tibetan astronomy, among others, the book includes essays on Sky Tales and Why We Tell Them and Astronomy and Prehistory, and Astronomy and Astrology. The essays address the connections between science and culture and relate astronomical practices to the cultures which produced them. Each essay is well illustrated and contains an extensive bibliography. Because the geographic range is global, the book fills a gap in both the history of science and in cultural studies. It should find a place on the bookshelves of advanced undergraduate students, graduate students, and scholars, as well as in libraries serving those groups.
Download or read book Calendars and Years written by John M. Steele and published by Oxbow Books. This book was released on 2007-10-08 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dates form the backbone of written history. But where do these dates come from? Many different calendars were used in the ancient world. Some of these calendars were based upon observations or calculations of regular astronomical phenomena, such as the first sighting of the new moon crescent that defined the beginning of the month in many calendars, while others incorporated schematic simplifications of these phenomena, such as the 360-day year used in early Mesopotamian administrative practices in order to simplify accounting procedures. Historians frequently use handbooks and tables for converting dates in ancient calendars into the familiar BC/AD calendar that we use today. But very few historians understand how these tables have come about, or what assumptions have been made in their construction. The seven papers in this volume provide an answer to the question what do we know about the operation of calendars in the ancient world, and just as importantly how do we know it? Topics covered include the ancient and modern history of the Egyptian 365-day calendar, astronomical and administrative calendars in ancient Mesopotamia, and the development of astronomical calendars in ancient Greece. This book will be of interest to ancient historians, historians of science, astronomers who use early astronomical records, and anyone with an interest in calendars and their development.
Download or read book A History of Astronomy from Thales to Kepler written by J. L. E. Dreyer and published by Courier Corporation. This book was released on 1953-01-01 with total page 466 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Masterpiece of historical insight and scientific accuracy and the definitive work on Greek astronomy and the Copernican Revolution. Includes surveys of European and Islamic cosmologies of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.
Download or read book On the Heavens written by Aristotle and published by Phoemixx Classics Ebooks. This book was released on 2021-11-14 with total page 155 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On the Heavens Aristotle - On the Heavens 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. This work is significant as one of the defining pillars of the Aristotelian worldview, a school of philosophy that dominated intellectual thinking for almost two millennia. Similarly, this work and others by Aristotle were important seminal works by which much of scholasticism was derived.
Download or read book Greek Astronomy written by Thomas L. Heath and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2014-03-20 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Published in 1932, this collection of translated excerpts on ancient astronomy was prepared by Sir Thomas Little Heath (1861-1940).
