Download or read book The Book of Astronomy in Antiquity Concise Edition written by Ptolemy and published by Flame Tree 451. This book was released on 2024-05-14 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ptolemy's work in ancient times laid the foundations for our modern understanding of the universe. Now in a digestible, pocket format for the modern reader. Ptolemy’s great astronomical work, which we know as The Almagest, brought together the ideas of Greek Antiquity, based on Aristotle some 400 years earlier, that the sun and planets revolved around the earth. This geocentric view which was inherited by Byzantine and Islamic scholars until Copernicus’ observations 1400 years later, placed the sun at the focal point of the solar system. For centuries Ptolemy’s methods were sufficient to predict solar and lunar eclipses and his work was translated into Latin in the 12th century, spreading its use across western Europe. This new, accessible edition brings the learning of the past to readers of today. The FLAME TREE Foundations series features core publications which together have shaped the cultural landscape of the modern world, with cutting-edge research distilled into pocket guides designed to be both accessible and informative.

Download or read book The Cambridge Concise History of Astronomy written by Michael Hoskin and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1999-03-18 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Astronomy is one of the oldest sciences, and one which has repeatedly led to fundamental changes in our view of the world. This book covers the history of our study of the cosmos from prehistory through to a survey of modern astronomy and astrophysics (sure to be of interest to future historians of twentieth-century astronomy). It does not attempt to cover everything, but deliberately concentrates on the important themes and topics. These include stellar astronomy in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, at the time subordinate to the study of the solar system, but the source of many important concepts in modern astronomy, and the Copernican revolution, which led to the challenge of ancient authorities in many areas, not just astronomy. This is an essential text for students of the history of science and for students of astronomy who require a historical background to their studies.

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 418 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 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 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).

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 A Brief Introduction to Astronomy in the Middle East written by John M. Steele and published by Saqi. This book was released on 2012-03-12 with total page 115 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Middle East is the birthplace of astronomy and the centre for its development during the medieval period. In this brief introduction John Steele offers an intriguing insight into Middle Eastern achievements in astronomy and their profound influence on the rest of the world. Amongst other things, the book traces the Late Babylonians' ingenious schemes for modelling planetary motion. It also reveals how medieval Islamic advances in the study of the heavens, and the design of precise astronomical instruments, led to breakthroughs by Renaissance practitioners such as Copernicus and Kepler. An invaluable introduction to one of the oldest sciences in the world.

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 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 Theories of the World from Antiquity to the Copernican Revolution written by Michael J. Crowe and published by Courier Corporation. This book was released on 2013-04-09 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Revised edition re-creates the change from an earth- to a sun-centered conception of the solar system by focusing on an examination of the evidence available in 1615.

Download or read book A Brief History of Ancient Astrology written by Roger Beck and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2008-04-15 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Brief History of Ancient Astrology explores the theory and practice of astrology from Babylon to Ancient Greece and Rome and its cultural and political impact on ancient societies. Discusses the union between early astrology and astronomy, in contrast to the modern dichotomy between science and superstition. Explains the ancient understanding of the zodiac and its twelve signs, the seven planets, and the fixed circle of 'places' against which the signs and planets revolve. Demonstrates how to construct and interpret a horoscope in the ancient manner, using original ancient horoscopes and handbooks. Considers the relevance of ancient astrology today.

Download or read book The Day We Found the Universe written by Marcia Bartusiak and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2010-03-09 with total page 370 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The riveting and mesmerizing story behind a watershed period in human history, the discovery of the startling size and true nature of our universe. On New Years Day in 1925, a young Edwin Hubble released his finding that our Universe was far bigger, eventually measured as a thousand trillion times larger than previously believed. Hubble’s proclamation sent shock waves through the scientific community. Six years later, in a series of meetings at Mount Wilson Observatory, Hubble and others convinced Albert Einstein that the Universe was not static but in fact expanding. Here Marcia Bartusiak reveals the key players, battles of will, clever insights, incredible technology, ground-breaking research, and wrong turns made by the early investigators of the heavens as they raced to uncover what many consider one of most significant discoveries in scientific history.

Download or read book Ancient Astronomy written by Clive L. N. Ruggles and published by . This book was released on with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Astronomy and Mathematics in Ancient China written by Christopher Cullen and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2007-01-18 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a study and translation of the Zhou bi suan jing, a Chinese work on astronomy and mathematics that reached its final form around the first century AD. The author provides the first easily accessible introduction to the developing mathematical and observational practices of ancient Chinese astronomers and shows how the generation and validation of knowledge about the heavens in Han dynasty China related closely to developments in statecraft and politics. This book will be fascinating reading for scholars in the history of science, Chinese history, and astronomy.

Download or read book The Dawn of Astronomy written by J. Norman Lockyer and published by Courier Dover Publications. This book was released on 2006-04-28 with total page 465 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A pioneer in the fields of astrophysics and astro-archeology, J. Norman Lockyer believed that ancient Egyptian monuments were constructed "in strict relation to the stars." In this celebrated study, he explores the relationship between astronomy and architecture in the age of the pharaohs. Lockyer addresses one of the many points already extensively investigated by Egyptologists: the chronology of the kings of Egypt. All experts are in accord regarding the identity of the first monarch, but they cannot agree upon the dates of his reign within a thousand years. The author contends that by applying a knowledge of astronomy to the actual site orientation of the region's pyramids and temples, accurate dating can be achieved. In order to accomplish this, Lockyer had to determine the level of the ancient Egyptian ideas of astronomy. Some of his inferences have been invalidated by subsequent scholarship, but many of his other conclusions stand firm and continue to provide sensational leads into contemporary understanding of archaic astronomy.

Download or read book The Mythology of the Night Sky written by David E. Falkner and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2011-08-28 with total page 249 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Mythology of the Night Sky is intended primarily for amateur astronomers who would like to know the mythology behind the names of constellations and planets. It deals with the 48 constellations identified by the ancient Greek astronomer Ptolemy, as well as all the planets of our solar system and their moons, which are named after Roman gods. To assist practical observers the book gives the location and description of each constellation, including named stars and deep-sky objects. Readers are encouraged to observe and image the constellations for themselves, and there is a lot of practical information in this book to help them along the way. In addition to providing a detailed (and mostly Greek) mythology of the constellations and the vast soap opera that was part of the Ancient Greek pantheon, this book also addresses the planets of the Solar System, which are named after the Roman - not Greek - gods.

Download or read book The Book of the Year written by Anthony F. Aveni and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2004-04-22 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Halloween, Valentine's Day, Christmas, Thanksgiving, New Year's Day - these are but a handful of modern holidays descended from the red-letter days, seasonal celebrations we have invented and reinvented over more than five millennia to meet our changing human needs. When we explore their origins, the holidays begin to reflect not only who we are but also why, through oppressed by time and thwarted by the forces of nature, we never seem to lose the will to control the future.