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History of Astronomy: a Very Short Introduction - Michael Hoskin (Paperback)
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- R 213
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Description
An introduction to the history of Western astronomy from prehistoric times to the origins of astrophysics in the mid nineteenth century. Emphasis is given to such topics as the merging of Babylonian and Greek astronomy in later Antiquity, Kepler's conversion of astronomy into a branch of dynamics, and the first explorations of the universe of stars.
Product Details
- Barcode
- 9780192803061
- Department
- Books
- Released
- 8 May 2003
- Supply Source
- UK
Book
- Author
- Michael Hoskin
- Subtitle
- A Very Short Introduction
- Binding
- Paperback
- Publisher
- Oxford Univ Pr
- Series
- Very Short Introductions
- Language
- English
- Number of Pages
- 123
- Dimensions
- 171 x 108 x 6mm (136g)
Summary
-
This is a fascinating introduction to the history of Western
astronomy, from prehistoric times to the origins of astrophysics in
the mid-nineteenth century. Historical records are first found in
Babylon and Egypt, and after two millennia the arithmetical
astronomy of the Babylonians merged
with the Greek geometrical approach to culminate in the Almagest of Ptolemy. This legacy was transmitted to the Latin West via Islam, and led to Copernicus's claim that the Earth is in motion. In justifying this Kepler converted astronomy into a branch of dynamics, leading to Newton's universal law
of gravity. The book concludes with eighteenth- and nineteenth-century applications of Newton's law, and the first explorations of the universe of stars.
-
This lively and comprehensive book charts the developments in the
history of western astronomy from prehistoric times, when farmers
used the stars to predict the start of the seasons, through the
merging of Babylonian and Greek astronomy, and on to the
eighteenth- and nineteenth-century applications of Newton's
law.
Ending his history in the middle of the nineteenth century with the rise of astrophysics, Michael Hoskin looks at the achievements of Ptolemy, Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler, Halley, and Newton, whilst touching upon the first exciting post-war explorations of the universe of stars.
Non-Fiction
- General Subject
- Science/Math
- BISAC Subject 1
- Science / Astronomy
- BISAC Subject 2
- Science / History
- BISAC Subject 3
- Science / History
- BIC Classification 1
- Popular astronomy & space
- BIC Classification 2
- History of science
- BIC Classification 3
- Astronomy, space & time
- BIC Classification 4
- Popular science
- BIC Classification 5
- History of science
- Library Subject 1
- Astronomy; History.
- Library Subject 2
- History
- Library Subject 3
- Astronomy
- Academic Subject 1
- History Of Astronomy
- Dewey Classification
- 520.9
Author Bio
Michael Hoskin taught History of Astronomy at Cambridge University
for thirty years and was head of the Department of History and
Philosophy of Science. He is a Fellow of Churchill College and
Emeritus Fellow of St Edmund's College, Cambridge. In 1970 he
founded the Journal for the History of Astronomy, which he has
edited ever since. He is a former President of the History of
Astronomy Commission of the International Astronomical Union, and
the only
historian to have given an Invited Discourse to the Union. In 2002 the Union named Minor Planet 12223 'Hoskin' in his honour.
historian to have given an Invited Discourse to the Union. In 2002 the Union named Minor Planet 12223 'Hoskin' in his honour.
Review Quotes
Packed with information as it is, Hoskin's short introduction makes
an astonishingly good read. * Curtis Wilson, JHA *
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