You may have to Search all our reviewed books and magazines, click the sign up button below to create a free account.
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 promin...
Each issue contains brief historical sketches of the Societies above mentioned, and lists of members.
Einstein's Jury is the dramatic story of how astronomers in Germany, England, and America competed to test Einstein's developing theory of relativity. Weaving a rich narrative based on extensive archival research, Jeffrey Crelinsten shows how these early scientific debates shaped cultural attitudes we hold today. The book examines Einstein's theory of general relativity through the eyes of astronomers, many of whom were not convinced of the legitimacy of Einstein's startling breakthrough. These were individuals with international reputations to uphold and benefactors and shareholders to please, yet few of them understood the new theory coming from the pen of Germany's up-and-coming theoretic...
A systematic survey and comparison of the work of 19th-century American and British women in scientific research, this book covers the two countries in which women of the period were most active in scientific work and examines all the fields in which they were engaged. The field-by-field examination brings out patterns and concentrations in women's research (in both countries) and allows a systematic comparison of the two national groups. Through this comparison, new insights are provided into how the national patterns developed and what they meant, in terms of both the process of women's entry into research and the contributions they made there. Ladies in the Laboratory? features a speciali...
This fascinating portrait of an amateur astronomy movement tells the story of how Charles Olivier recruited a hard-working cadre of citizen scientists to rehabilitate the study of meteors. By 1936, Olivier and members of his American Meteor Society had succeeded in disproving an erroneous idea about meteor showers. Using careful observations, they restored the public’s trust in predictions about periodic showers and renewed respect for meteor astronomy among professional astronomers in the United States. Charles Olivier and his society of observers who were passionate about watching for meteors in the night sky left a major impact on the field. In addition to describing Olivier’s career ...