Astronomy Through The Ages

From an historical perspective, this text presents an entirely non- mathematical introduction to astronomy from the first endeavours of the ancients to the current developments in research enabled by cutting edge technological advances. Free of mathematics and complex graphs, the book nevertheless explains deep concepts of space and time, of relativity and quantum mechanics, and of origin and nature of the universe. It conveys not only the intrinsic fascination of the subject, but also the human side and the scientific method as practised by Kepler, defined and elucidated by Galileo, and then demonstrated by Newton.

From an historical perspective, this text presents an entirely non- mathematical introduction to astronomy from the first endeavours of the ancients to the current developments in research enabled by cutting edge technological advances. Free of mathematics and complex graphs, the book nevertheless explains deep concepts of space and time, of relativity and quantum mechanics, and of origin and nature of the universe. It conveys not only the intrinsic fascination of the subject, but also the human side and the scientific method as practised by Kepler, defined and elucidated by Galileo, and then demonstrated by Newton.

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.

The author devotes his first three chapters to pre-Copernican astronomy, covering primitive views, the speculations of the Greek astronomers from Thales and Pythagoras to Hipparchus and Ptolemy, and the 900-year near-stagnation of the Middle Ages. Individual chapters covering both the lives and work of astronomy's great names -- Copernicus, Tycho Brahe, Galileo, Kepler and Newton -- follow, will full discussions of the "De revolutionibus", the major telescopic discoveries, Newton's "Principia", the reception of and religious opposition to their revolutionary theories. The next section of the book is an unusually detailed treatment of post-Newtonian achievements: Halley's catalogues, Bradley's discovery of aberration and mutation, the mathematical contributions of Euler, d'Alembert, Lagrance and Laplace toward the solution of the problem of three bodies, the nebular hypothesis, and other advances in the observational and descriptive astonomy of the solar system. The final section is in large part a fascinating record of the shift of interest from the solar system to interstellar space: Herschel's great catalogues, the discovery of double stars, instrumental advances, Bessel's tables, the discovery of Nepture, tidal theory, the discovery of the asteroids, spectrum analysis, stellar photometry, theories on the development of the solar system and the birth of the moon and many similar topics.

"Tells the story of how astronomers solved one of the most compelling mysteries in science and, along the way, introduces readers to fundamental concepts and cutting-edge advances in modern astronomy"--From publisher description.

As the twentieth century closed, Fred Adams and Greg Laughlin captured the attention of the world by identifying the five ages of time. In The Five Ages of the Universe, Adams and Laughlin demonstrate that we can now understand the complete life story of the cosmos from beginning to end. Adams and Laughlin have been hailed as the creators of the definitive long-term projection of the evolution of the universe. Their achievement is awesome in its scale and profound in its scientific breadth. But The Five Ages of the Universe is more than a handbook of the physical processes that guided our past and will shape our future; it is a truly epic story. Without leaving earth, here is a fantastic voyage to the physics of eternity. It is the only biography of the universe you will ever need.