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The captivating, all-but-forgotten story of Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein, and the search for a planet that never existed For more than fifty years, the world’s top scientists searched for the “missing” planet Vulcan, whose existence was mandated by Isaac Newton’s theories of gravity. Countless hours were spent on the hunt for the elusive orb, and some of the era’s most skilled astronomers even claimed to have found it. There was just one problem: It was never there. In The Hunt for Vulcan, Thomas Levenson follows the visionary scientists who inhabit the story of the phantom planet, starting with Isaac Newton, who in 1687 provided an explanation for all matter in motion throughout ...
The 1846 discovery of Neptune is one of the most remarkable stories in the history of science and astronomy. John Couch Adams and U.J. Le Verrier both investigated anomalies in the motion of Uranus and independently predicted the existence and location of this new planet. However, interpretations of the events surrounding this discovery have long been mired in controversy. Who first predicted the new planet? Was the discovery just a lucky fluke? The ensuing storm engaged astronomers across Europe and the United States. Written by an international group of authors, this pathbreaking volume explores in unprecedented depth the contentious history of Neptune’s discovery, drawing on newly disco...
This multidisciplinary work celebrates Wayne Orchiston's career and accomplishments in historical and cultural astronomy on the occasion of his 80th birthday. Over thirty of the world’s leading scholars in astronomy, astrophysics, astronomical history, and cultural astronomy have come together to honor Wayne across a wide range of research topics. These themes include: • Astronomy and Society • Emergence of Astrophysics • History of Radio Astronomy • Solar System • Observatories and Instrumentation • Ethnoastronomy and Archeoastronomy This exceptional collection of essays presents an overview of Wayne’s prolific contributions to the field, along with detailed accounts of the book’s diverse themes. It is a valuable and insightful volume for both researchers and others interested in the fields of historical astronomy and cultural astronomy.
Astronomy is by nature an interdisciplinary activity: it involves mathematics, physics, chemistry and biology. Astronomers use (and often develop) the latest technology, the fastest computers and the most refined software. In this book twenty-two leading scientists from nine countries talk about how astronomy interacts with these other sciences. They describe modern instruments used in astronomy and the relations between astronomy and technology, industry, politics and philosophy. They also discuss what it means to be an astronomer, the history of astronomy, and the place of astronomy in society today.
Translated from the original French by Bernard Sheehan; Edited and with an introduction by Dr. William Sheehan, a neuroscientist and amateur astronomer who is also a research fellow of the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona Le Verrier was a superb scientist. His discovery of Neptune in 1846 made him the most famous astronomer of his time. He produced a complete theory of the motions of the planets which served as a basis for planetary ephemeris for a full century. Doing this, he discovered an anomaly in the motion of Mercury which later became the first proof of General Relativity. He also founded European meteorology. However his arrogance and bad temper created many enemies, and he was even fired from his position of Director of the Paris Observatory.
This four-volume set of thematically focused and curated primary sources examines meteorology in nineteenth-century society. Knowing the history of meteorology and climatology since their inception as physical sciences in the nineteenth century is fundamental to understanding the causes and historical patterns of the severe weather and climate change that greatly preoccupy today’s society. Thematically focused collections of primary sources support the research and study needs not only of scholars, but also graduate and postgraduate students. To this end, the volumes contextualize and explain the contents of these sources. The collection brings together the most relevant themes in current scholarship: weather forecasting and nation-state building; cyclones, trade, and navigation; meteorology and religion; and weather, climate, and empire.
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The Earth is the only planet in the Solar System where liquid water is present on the surface, a condition that seems necessary for the development of life. Its sisters Venus and Mars are extremely different. Why did these three planets, born under fairly comparable conditions, evolve to the conditions we observe today? Understanding the physical or chemical factors that are at the origin of such divergent evolutions is a first step in an approach to the problem of the origin of life on Earth.