The First Astronomers

Author: Duane Hamacher
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
ISBN: 1761063804
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 335

Book Description
The First Astronomers is the first book to reveal the rich knowledge of the stars and the planets held by First Peoples around the world. Our eyes have been drawn away from the skies to our screens. We no longer look to the stars to forecast the weather, predict the seasons or plant our gardens. Most of us cannot even see the Milky Way. But First Nations Elders around the world still maintain this knowledge, and there is much we can learn from them. These Elders are expert observers of the stars. They teach that everything on the land is reflected in the sky, and everything in the sky is reflected on the land. How does this work, and how can we better understand our place in the universe? Guided by six First Nations Elders, Duane Hamacher takes us on a journey across space and time to reveal the wisdom of the first astronomers. These living systems of knowledge challenge conventional ideas about the nature of science and the longevity of oral tradition. Indigenous science is dynamic, adapting to changes in the skies and on Earth, pointing the way for a world facing the profound disruptions of climate change. 'This book marks a profound paradigm shift in our understanding of Indigenous scientific traditions, how they are transmitted, and their relevance to life today.' - Professor Marcia Langton, University of Melbourne 'A ground-breaking book of enormous scope.' - Brian Schmidt, Nobel Laureate in Physics 'A glimpse into Indigenous ways of reading landscapes reflected in the night sky through ancient processes of inquiry.' - Dr Tyson Yunkaporta, author of Sand Talk 'A wonderful combination of scholarship and poetry.' - Dr Annette S. Lee, Lakota astrophysicist 'Beautiful, engaging, and startlingly profound.' - Alan Duffy, Professor of Astrophysics

Observations and Predictions of Eclipse Times by Early Astronomers

Author: J.M. Steele
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9401595283
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 306

Book Description
Eclipses have long been seen as important celestial phenomena, whether as omens affecting the future of kingdoms, or as useful astronomical events to help in deriving essential parameters for theories of the motion of the moon and sun. This is the first book to collect together all presently known records of timed eclipse observations and predictions from antiquity to the time of the invention of the telescope. In addition to cataloguing and assessing the accuracy of the various records, which come from regions as diverse as Ancient Mesopotamia, China, and Europe, the sources in which they are found are described in detail. Related questions such as what type of clocks were used to time the observations, how the eclipse predictions were made, and how these prediction schemes were derived from the available observations are also considered. The results of this investigation have important consequences for how we understand the relationship between observation and theory in early science and the role of astronomy in early cultures, and will be of interest to historians of science, astronomers, and ancient and medieval historians.

The History and Practice of Ancient Astronomy

Author: James Evans
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 019987445X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 495

Book Description
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.

First Light

Author: Richard Preston
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 0812991850
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 305

Book Description
Seven years before Richard Preston wrote about horrifying viruses in The Hot Zone, he turned his attention to the cosmos. In First Light, he demonstrates his gift for creating an exciting and absorbing narrative around a complex scientific subject--in this case the efforts by astronomers at the Palomar Observatory in the San Gabriel Mountains of California to peer to the farthest edges of space through the Hale Telescope, attempting to solve the riddle of the creation of the universe. Richard Preston's name became a household word with The Hot Zone, which sold nearly 800,000 copies in hardcover, was on The New York Times's bestseller list for 42 weeks, and was the subject of countless magazine and newspaper articles. Preston has become a sought-after commentator on popular science subjects.

First Steps to Astronomy and Geography

Author: First steps
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Astronomy
Languages : en
Pages : 456

Book Description

Astronomy Through the Ages

Author: Sir Robert Wilson
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1351988778
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 485

Book Description
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.

Astronomers Through Time

Author: Lisa Greathouse
Publisher: Teacher Created Materials
ISBN: 1433390914
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 34

Book Description
Ancient astronomers looked at movements in the sun, moon, and stars to guide travelers and keep track of the seasons. Nicholas Copernicus was the first to challenge people's beliefs that Earth was the center of the solar system and is known as the founder of astronomy. Galileo Galilei built a telescope and spotted craters on the moon and sunspots on the sun. Isaac Newton invented the reflecting telescope and discovered the law of gravity. Astronomers continue to work every day to uncover the mysteries of the universe.

First Light

Author: Emma Chapman
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472962907
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 305

Book Description
Astronomers have successfully observed a great deal of the Universe's history, from recording the afterglow of the Big Bang to imaging thousands of galaxies, and even to visualising an actual black hole. There's a lot for astronomers to be smug about. But when it comes to understanding how the Universe began and grew up we are literally in the dark ages. In effect, we are missing the first one billion years from the timeline of the Universe. This brief but far-reaching period in the Universe's history, known to astrophysicists as the 'Epoch of Reionisation', represents the start of the cosmos as we experience it today. The time when the very first stars burst into life, when darkness gave way to light. After hundreds of millions of years of dark, uneventful expansion, one by the one these stars suddenly came into being. This was the point at which the chaos of the Big Bang first began to yield to the order of galaxies, black holes and stars, kick-starting the pathway to planets, to comets, to moons, and to life itself. Incorporating the very latest research into this branch of astrophysics, this book sheds light on this time of darkness, telling the story of these first stars, hundreds of times the size of the Sun and a million times brighter, lonely giants that lived fast and died young in powerful explosions that seeded the Universe with the heavy elements that we are made of. Emma Chapman tells us how these stars formed, why they were so unusual, and what they can teach us about the Universe today. She also offers a first-hand look at the immense telescopes about to come on line to peer into the past, searching for the echoes and footprints of these stars, to take this period in the Universe's history from the realm of theoretical physics towards the wonder of observational astronomy.

ANCIENT ASTRONOMERS

Author: AVENI A
Publisher: Smithsonian
ISBN: 9780895990372
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 176

Book Description
Includes the development of astronomy in the Islamic empire, Asia, Africa, Mesoamerica, North America, the Andes, and Oceania.

Stories of Astronomers and Their Stars

Author: David E. Falkner
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030803090
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 302

Book Description
This book recounts the stories of the astronomical pioneers who forever changed our views of the cosmos. The chapters delve into their fascinating lives over the centuries, showing how these pivotal minds built upon the work of their predecessors and unlocked the unique properties of specific stars. From ancient astronomy to modern imaging and spectroscopy, each tale at once showcases the pace of scientific discovery and the shared passions that drove these starwatchers. Accompanying the stories are a plethora of constellation and finder charts, stellar coordinates and directions, and suggestions for viewing specific stars, all of which are visible to the naked eye or through a small telescope. In addition, the histories on specific star names and designations are given, along with an overview of the most popular catalogues and online databases that readers can use for reference.