Download or read book Master of Galactic Astronomy A Biography of Jan Hendrik Oort written by Pieter C. van der Kruit and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-12-28 with total page 370 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This accessible and entertaining biography chronicles the life and triumphs of astronomer Jan Hendrik Oort, who helped lay the foundations of modern astronomy in the 20th century. The book puts into context some of Oort's most significant achievements, including his discovery that the Milky Way rotates, as well as his famous hypothesis that our Solar System is surrounded by a reservoir of comets — now simply known as the Oort Cloud. Written by Oort’s former student, this fascinating story also delves into Oort’s pivotal role in the foundation of major astronomical facilities, including radio telescopes in the Netherlands and the European Southern Observatory (ESO), which now operates the most successful astronomical observatories in the world. The book draws extensively on new archival research through the Oort Archives, along with personal reminiscences by Oort’s son and astronomer-grandson, to paint a more detailed picture of Oort’s life not just as an astronomer, but also as a husband, father, and citizen. The strong public interest in comets triggered by the Rosetta mission to comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko and the recently discovered interstellar comet in the Solar System make this book particularly timely.
Download or read book Jan Hendrik Oort written by Pieter C. van der Kruit and published by Springer. This book was released on 2019-07-16 with total page 726 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is the first thorough and overdue biography of one of the giants of science in the twentieth century, Jan Hendrik Oort. His fundamental contributions had a lasting effect on the development of our insight and a profound influence on the international organization and cooperation in his area of science and on the efforts and contribution of his native country. This book aims at describing Oort's life and works in the context of the development of his branch of science and as a tribute to a great scientist in a broader sense. The astronomer Jan Hendrik Oort from the Netherlands was founder of studies of the structure and dynamics of the Milky Way Galaxy, initiator of radioastronomy and the European Southern Observatory, and an important contributor to many areas of astronomy, from the study of comets to the universe on the largest scales.
Download or read book Pioneer and Master of Galactic Astronomy Biographies of Jacobus C Kapteyn and Jan Hendrik Oort Set written by Pieter C. van der Kruit and published by Springer. This book was released on 2021-02-11 with total page 537 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a set offering the Springer books “Pioneer of Galactic Astronomy: A Biography of Jacobus C. Kapteyn” (ISBN 978-3-030-55422-4) and “Master of Galactic Astronomy: A Biography of Jan Hendrik Oort” (ISBN 978-3-030-55547-4). These accessible and entertaining biographies written by Piet van der Kruit chronicle lives and achievements of two pioneering astronomers of their time. KAPTEYN-BIOGRAPHY: This non-technical biography of Jacobus Cornelius Kapteyn (1851-1922) presents to the general reader the scientific life of the astronomer who pioneered the studies of the structure of the Milky Way Galaxy. In telling Kapteyn’s story the author weaves in astronomy basics and uses modern astronomical images to show the developments of astronomical research from Kapteyn’s times to the present. In particular the study of the distribution of stars in space has now culminated with spectacular new insights coming from the astrometric satellite GAIA, which is receiving much public attention today. The biography shows how Kapteyn’s ideas influenced prominent astronomers worldwide. He is prominent as designer of the Kapteyn Universe, the alternative to the large system found by Harlow Shapley. He is the discoverer of Kapteyn’s Star, still the second fastest moving star in the sky, which is now one of the nearest stars with a planet in the habitable zone. This fascinating hybrid of astronomy history and popular astronomy tells the story of the astronomy professor without an observatory who founded the first astronomical laboratory specializing in measuring photographic plates exposed elsewhere. Kapteyn took astronomy out of cataloguing stars to measuring distances and velocities in order to study their spatial distribution, systematic motions (Kapteyn’s Star Streams) and the equilibrium between their gravity and motions. His legacy includes, in addition to the first application of Galactic structure and dynamics, Jan Hendrik Oort, the famous astronomer from Leiden, who as a student was so impressed by Kapteyn’s lectures that he decided to become an astronomer. OORT-BIOGRAPHY: This accessible and entertaining biography chronicles the life and triumphs of astronomer Jan Hendrik Oort, who helped lay the foundations of modern astronomy in the 20th century. The book puts into context some of Oort's most significant achievements, including his discovery that the Milky Way rotates, as well as his famous hypothesis that our Solar System is surrounded by a reservoir of comets — now simply known as the Oort Cloud. Written by Oort’s former student, this fascinating story also delves into Oort’s pivotal role in the foundation of major astronomical facilities, including radio telescopes in the Netherlands and the European Southern Observatory (ESO), which now operates the most successful astronomical observatories in the world. The book draws extensively on new archival research through the Oort Archives, along with personal reminiscences by Oort’s son and astronomer-grandson, to paint a more detailed picture of Oort’s life not just as an astronomer, but also as a husband, father, and citizen. The strong public interest in comets triggered by the Rosetta mission to comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko and the recently discovered interstellar comet in the Solar System make this book particularly timely.
Download or read book The Letters and Papers of Jan Hendrik Oort written by Jan Hendrik Oort and published by Springer. This book was released on 1997-05-31 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An inventory of the 362 items representing the personal and professional papers of Dutch astronomer Oort (1900-92) held at the Leiden University Library. Lists and describes each document in the item, which often includes manuscripts, comments, outlines, correspondence, and miscellaneous notes. The entries are presented in sections such as research and teaching, the Leiden observatory, astronomy in the Netherlands, and world events. Also includes a biographical sketch, a primary bibliography, a few reproductions, and photographs. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
Download or read book Pioneer of Galactic Astronomy A Biography of Jacobus C Kapteyn written by Pieter C. van der Kruit and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-12-28 with total page 317 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This non-technical biography of Jacobus Cornelius Kapteyn (1851-1922) presents to the general reader the scientific life of the astronomer who pioneered the studies of the structure of the Milky Way Galaxy. In telling Kapteyn’s story the author weaves in astronomy basics and uses modern astronomical images to show the developments of astronomical research from Kapteyn’s times to the present. In particular the study of the distribution of stars in space has now culminated with spectacular new insights coming from the astrometric satellite GAIA, which is receiving much public attention today. The biography shows how Kapteyn’s ideas influenced prominent astronomers worldwide. He is prominent as designer of the Kapteyn Universe, the alternative to the large system found by Harlow Shapley. He is the discoverer of Kapteyn’s Star, still the second fastest moving star in the sky, which is now one of the nearest stars with a planet in the habitable zone. This fascinating hybrid of astronomy history and popular astronomy tells the story of the astronomy professor without an observatory who founded the first astronomical laboratory specializing in measuring photographic plates exposed elsewhere. Kapteyn took astronomy out of cataloguing stars to measuring distances and velocities in order to study their spatial distribution, systematic motions (Kapteyn’s Star Streams) and the equilibrium between their gravity and motions. His legacy includes, in addition to the first application of Galactic structure and dynamics, Jan Hendrik Oort, the famous astronomer from Leiden, who as a student was so impressed by Kapteyn’s lectures that he decided to become an astronomer.
Download or read book Oort and the Universe written by Hugo van Woerden and published by . This book was released on 1980 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Elephant in the Universe written by Govert Schilling and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2022-05-31 with total page 377 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Seminary Co-op Notable Book A BBC Sky at Night Best Book “An impressively comprehensive bird’s-eye view of a research topic that is both many decades established and yet still at the very cutting edge of astronomy and physics.” —Katie Mack, Wall Street Journal “Schilling has craftily combined his lucid and accessible descriptions of science with the personal story of those unlocking the finer details of the missing mass mystery. The result is enthralling...A captivating scientific thriller.” —BBC Sky at Night “Fascinating...A thorough and sometimes troubling account of the hunt for dark matter...You will come away with a very good understanding of how the universe works. Well, our universe, anyway.” —Michael Brooks, New Scientist When you train a telescope on outer space, you can see luminous galaxies, nebulae, stars, and planets. But if you add all that together, it constitutes only 15 percent of the matter in the universe. Despite decades of research, the nature of the remaining 85 percent is unknown. We call it dark matter. Physicists have devised huge, sensitive instruments to search for dark matter, which may be unlike anything else in the cosmos—some unknown elementary particle. Yet so far dark matter has escaped every experiment. It is so elusive that some scientists are beginning to suspect there might be something wrong with our theories about gravity or with the current paradigms of cosmology. Govert Schilling interviews believers and heretics and paints a colorful picture of the history and current status of dark matter research. The Elephant in the Universe is a vivid tale of scientists puzzling their way toward the true nature of the universe.
Download or read book The Letters and Papers of Jan Hendrik Oort written by Jan Hendrik Oort and published by . This book was released on 1997 with total page 197 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Manuscripts and Correspondence of Jan Hendrik Oort written by J. K. Katgert-Merkelijn and published by . This book was released on 1992 with total page 157 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Legacy of J C Kapteyn written by Piet C. van der Kruit and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 401 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Jacobus Cornelius Kapteyn (1851-1922) of the University of Groningen was one of the foremost astronomers of his time, resulting in a leading role internationally of Dutch astronomy throughout the twentieth century. This volume, which is the proceedings of a special `legacy' symposium at the celebration of the 385th anniversary of the University of Groningen, addresses Kapteyn's influence on the development of modern astronomy through studies of his pioneering work on statistical astronomy and the Structure of the Sidereal System, and his leadership in establishing international collaborations, in particular the Plan of Selected Areas. In addition to historical studies related to Kapteyn's person, work, international collaborations and organisational efforts, the volume discusses the influence of Kapteyn on the internationalisation of astronomy and on contemporary astronomy. It also provides an inventory of Kapteyn's correspondence.
Download or read book Jacobus Cornelius Kapteyn written by Pieter C. van der Kruit and published by Springer. This book was released on 2014-11-18 with total page 722 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Jacobus C. Kapteyn (1851-1922) was a Dutch astronomer who contributed heavily to major catalogs of star positions, such as the Cape Photographic Durchmusterung and the Harvard-Groningen Durchmusterung, and arranged extensive international collaboration through his Plan of Selected Areas. He contributed to the establishment of statistical astronomy and structure and dynamics of the Sidereal System. All aspects of Kapteyn’s life are discussed, from his birth in Barneveld, the Netherlands, to his death in Amsterdam, and his entire resume of scientific achievements in between. Kapteyn had some conflicts with others in his field, especially after the world became divided on how to handle scientific contributions from Germany post-World War I. Both Kapteyn's struggles and achievements are written against the backdrop of both the historical context of the world at that time as well as the scientific one.
Download or read book The Rise of Radio Astronomy in the Netherlands written by Astrid Elbers and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-11-23 with total page 251 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Radio astronomy was born during the Second World War, but as this book explains, the history of early Dutch radio astronomy is in several respects rather anomalous in comparison to the development of radio astronomy in other countries. The author describes how these very differences led the Netherlands to become one of the world leaders in radio astronomy. Dominated by the Leiden astronomer Jan Hendrik Oort, the field embarked on an era of success, and to this day, the country still holds a leading position. To tell this story, the book focuses on three key events in the period 1940-1970, namely the construction of the radio telescopes in Kootwijk (1948), in Dwingeloo (1956), and in Westerbork (1970). These projects show that Dutch radio astronomers must not be seen as merely scientists, but also as strategic lobbyists, networkers and organizers in a specific political and economic context. It was in the process of planning, designing and constructing these instruments that the interests of the astronomers, industrial partners, politicians and lobby groups merged to create today's existing research centers for radio astronomy.
Download or read book Galaxies written by Or Graur and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2024-08-06 with total page 214 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An eminently readable overview of the history and physics of galaxies. In Galaxies, Or Graur offers a brief and fascinating overview of the history, physics, and astrophysical uses of galaxies. Starting with the history of the last two thousand years of galaxy studies, Graur discusses the types of galaxies we observe and the physics that drive them; the myths and physical structure of the Milky Way; how galaxies were used to discover and study the mysterious phenomena of dark matter and dark energy; and how scientists think galaxies formed shortly after the Big Bang and evolved to their present forms. Tracing galaxy studies back thousands of years ago to their beginnings, Graur describes their origin in Ptolemy’s book Almagest, which was written in the first century CE. Almagest catalogued hundreds of stars and a few hazy cloud-like objects, one of which was the Andromeda galaxy. The reader will also encounter in this book well-known figures such as William Herschel, who, along with his sister Caroline (the first professional female astronomer), discovered hundreds of galaxies and lay the foundations for modern galaxy studies, as well as lesser-known astronomers, including tenth-century Persian astronomer Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi, twentieth-century American astronomer Vesto Melvin Slipher, and others. Galaxies concludes by showing readers how they can get involved in galaxy studies themselves and do their part to fight the light pollution that today obscures the Milky Way and all but the brightest of stars. Providing a brief but broad overview of galaxies for the nonspecialist, Galaxies shows just how modern science is done and what the future holds for this specific field of astronomy.
Download or read book The Cambridge History of Science Volume 8 Modern Science in National Transnational and Global Context written by Hugh Richard Slotten and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2020-04-09 with total page 1046 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume in the highly respected Cambridge History of Science series is devoted to exploring the history of modern science using national, transnational, and global frames of reference. Organized by topic and culture, its essays by distinguished scholars offer the most comprehensive and up-to-date nondisciplinary history of modern science currently available. Essays are grouped together in separate sections that represent larger regions: Europe, Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, East and Southeast Asia, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Oceania, and Latin America. Each of these regional groupings ends with a separate essay reflecting on the analysis in the preceding chapters. Intended to provide a balanced and inclusive treatment of the modern world, contributors analyze the history of science not only in local, national, and regional contexts but also with respect to the circulation of knowledge, tools, methods, people, and artifacts across national borders.
Download or read book Joe Pawsey and the Founding of Australian Radio Astronomy written by W. M. Goss and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2023-01-10 with total page 833 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This open access book is a biography of Joseph L. Pawsey. It examines not only his life but the birth and growth of the field of radio astronomy and the state of science itself in twentieth century Australia. The book explains how an isolated continent with limited resources grew to be one of the leaders in the study of radio astronomy and the design of instruments to do so. Pawsey made a name for himself in the international astronomy community within a decade after WWII and coined the term radio astronomy. His most valuable talent was his ability to recruit and support bright young scientists who became the technical and methodological innovators of the era, building new telescopes from the Mills Cross and Chris (Christiansen) Cross to the Parkes radio telescope. The development of aperture synthesis and the controversy surrounding the cosmological interpretation of the first major survey which resulted in the Sydney research group's disagreements with Nobel laureate Martin Ryle play major roles in this story. This book also shows the connections among prominent astronomers like Oort, Minkowski, Baade, Struve, famous scientists in the UK such as J.A. Ratcliffe, Edward Appleton and Henry Tizard, and the engineers and physicists in Australia who helped develop the field of radio astronomy. Pawsey was appointed the second Director of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (Green Bank, West Virginia) in October 1961; he died in Sydney at the age of 54 in late November 1962. Upper level students, scientists and historians of astronomy and technology will find the information, much of it from primary sources, relevant to any study of Joseph L. Pawsey or radio astronomy. This open access book includes a Foreword by Woodruff T. Sullivan II.
Download or read book Minding the Heavens written by Leila Belkora and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2021-05-12 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Praise for the first edition: "A terrific blend of the science and the history." Martha Haynes, Goldwin Smith Professor of Astronomy, Cornell University, New York, USA "The book is a treat... Highly recommended for public and academic libraries." Peter Hepburn, now Head Librarian, College of the Canyons, Santa Clarita, California, USA Today, we recognize that we live on a planet circling the sun, that our sun is just one of billions of stars in the galaxy we call the Milky Way, and that our galaxy is but one of billions born out of the Big Bang. Yet, as recently as the early twentieth century, the general public and even astronomers had vague and confused notions about what lay beyond the visible stars. Can we see to the edge of the universe? Do we live in a system that would look, from a distance, like a spiral nebula? This fully updated second edition of Minding the Heavens: The Story of Our Discovery of the Milky Way explores how we learned that we live in a galaxy, in a universe composed of galaxies and unseen, mysterious dark matter. The story unfolds through short biographies of seven astronomers: Thomas Wright, William Herschel, and Wilhelm Struve of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries; the transitional figure of William Huggins; and Jacobus Kapteyn, Harlow Shapley, and Edwin Hubble of the modern, big-telescope era. Each contributed key insights to our present understanding of where we live in the cosmos, and each was directly inspired by the work of his predecessors to decipher "the construction of the heavens." Along the way, the narrative weaves in the contributions of those in supportive roles, including Caroline Herschel—William’s sister, and the first woman paid to do astronomy—and Martha Shapley, a mathematician in her own right who carried out calculations for her spouse. Through this historical perspective, readers will gain a new appreciation of our magnificent Milky Way galaxy and of the beauties of the night sky, from ghostly nebulae to sparkling star clusters. Features: Fully updated throughout to reflect the latest in our understanding of the Milky Way, from our central supermassive black hole to the prospect of future mergers with other galaxies in our Local Group. Explains the significance of current research, including from the Gaia mission mapping our galaxy in unprecedented detail. Unique and broadly appealing approach. A biographical framework and ample illustrations lead the reader by easy, enjoyable steps to a well-rounded understanding of the history of astronomy. Leila Belkora (Ph.D., Astrophysics) is a science writer. She earned her doctorate from the University of Colorado-Boulder, specializing in solar radio astronomy. She has previously taught university physics, astronomy, and communication for engineers. She lives in Southern California and enjoys local astronomy outreach activities.
Download or read book Willem de Sitter written by Jan Guichelaar and published by Springer. This book was released on 2018-09-21 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a thorough, very readable and excellently illustrated biography of Willem de Sitter (1872-1934), one of the most influential astronomers of his time, and also a co-author and correspondent of Einstein. Authored by a physicist and skilled writer, the book gives a beautiful and accessible description of the physics debated by Einstein and de Sitter, as well as the latter's alternative cosmological model, later known as the De Sitter Universe. But this is just part of a fascinating and varied life story involving numerous contributions to astronomy, as well as many places and personalities of early 20th century physics. The book will appeal to all those interested in astronomy and physics and their history.
