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Astronomy through the Ages
The Story of the Human Attempt to Understand the Universe
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When astronomers today look up at the night sky they picture a spectacular and infinite universe--full of pulsars, quasars, and black holes and ruled by arcane laws of space and time. Once, ancient astronomers looked up and saw only points of light tracing calm movements across the heavens. But they too were moved to wonder about the meaning of what they saw. In Astronomy through the Ages, Sir Robert Wilson tells the story of how our understanding of the universe has evolved through history--of how the sedate and stable star field of ancient times has been replaced by the vast and explosive un...
When astronomers today look up at the night sky they picture a spectacular and infinite universe--full of pulsars, quasars, and black holes and ruled by arcane laws of space and time. Once, ancient astronomers looked up and saw only points of light tracing calm movements across the heavens. But they too were moved to wonder about the meaning of what they saw. In Astronomy through the Ages, Sir Robert Wilson tells the story of how our understanding of the universe has evolved through history--of how the sedate and stable star field of ancient times has been replaced by the vast and explosive universe we know today.
Wilson, one of the most distinguished astronomers of the twentieth century, begins by tracing the astronomical studies of the ancient Babylonians, Egyptians, and Greeks and reviews important early contributions from India, China, and the Islamic world. He explains the development of the sun-centered model of the universe in Renaissance Europe. He then tells how the development of the telescope, photography, and spectroscopy pushed back the limits of the observable universe and eventually brought astronomy into the twentieth century. Finally, he describes the rapid advances in radio and space astronomy and other methods over the past fifty years that have ushered in a new "golden age" of astronomy. These advances have not only allowed observation of deep space but also enabled scientists to unlock the secrets of the universe itself from its origin to its possible fate. Wilson himself has played an important role in these discoveries as the developer of one of the most successful astronomical satellites ever launched, the International Ultraviolet Explorer.
While focusing on the human side of astronomical discovery, Wilson also provides readers with a basic understanding of difficult concepts, explaining relativity and quantum mechanics without using technical language or mathematics. Remarkable in its scope and clarity,Astronomy through the Ages provides an accessible view of historical discoveries and modern advances and shows why excitement about astronomy is even greater today than when Galileo first gazed in wonder at the rings of Saturn.
Review:
... Any reasonably intelligent non-astronomer will find in this book a great deal to interest him, and if he has imagination he will be enthralled by it. . . . It is written with an enthusiastic dignity and it well reflects the excitement and the majesty of its subject. (Observatory)
Table of contents:
List of Illustrations
Preface
Pt. I
The Early Developments in Astronomy
1
The Beginning
3
2
Ancient Astronomy
7
3
The Greeks
23
4
The Interlude
41
5
The Renaissance
51
Pt. II
The Era of the Telescope
6
The Classical Post-Newtonian Period
93
7
The New Natural Philosophy
121
8
Astronomy in the Early Twentieth Century
157
Pt. III
Modern Astronomy
9
The New Astronomies
173
10
Probing the Solar System
183
11
The Stars - their Birth, Life and Death
205
12
The Great Post-war Astronomical Discoveries
229
13
The Nature, Origin and Evolution of the Universe
257
14
Epilogue
277
Glossary
281
Bibliography
293
Index
295
Wilson, one of the most distinguished astronomers of the twentieth century, begins by tracing the astronomical studies of the ancient Babylonians, Egyptians, and Greeks and reviews important early contributions from India, China, and the Islamic world. He explains the development of the sun-centered model of the universe in Renaissance Europe. He then tells how the development of the telescope, photography, and spectroscopy pushed back the limits of the observable universe and eventually brought astronomy into the twentieth century. Finally, he describes the rapid advances in radio and space astronomy and other methods over the past fifty years that have ushered in a new "golden age" of astronomy. These advances have not only allowed observation of deep space but also enabled scientists to unlock the secrets of the universe itself from its origin to its possible fate. Wilson himself has played an important role in these discoveries as the developer of one of the most successful astronomical satellites ever launched, the International Ultraviolet Explorer.
While focusing on the human side of astronomical discovery, Wilson also provides readers with a basic understanding of difficult concepts, explaining relativity and quantum mechanics without using technical language or mathematics. Remarkable in its scope and clarity,Astronomy through the Ages provides an accessible view of historical discoveries and modern advances and shows why excitement about astronomy is even greater today than when Galileo first gazed in wonder at the rings of Saturn.
Review:
... Any reasonably intelligent non-astronomer will find in this book a great deal to interest him, and if he has imagination he will be enthralled by it. . . . It is written with an enthusiastic dignity and it well reflects the excitement and the majesty of its subject. (Observatory)
Table of contents:
List of Illustrations
Preface
Pt. I
The Early Developments in Astronomy
1
The Beginning
2
Ancient Astronomy
3
The Greeks
4
The Interlude
5
The Renaissance
Pt. II
The Era of the Telescope
6
The Classical Post-Newtonian Period
7
The New Natural Philosophy
8
Astronomy in the Early Twentieth Century
Pt. III
Modern Astronomy
9
The New Astronomies
10
Probing the Solar System
11
The Stars - their Birth, Life and Death
12
The Great Post-war Astronomical Discoveries
13
The Nature, Origin and Evolution of the Universe
14
Epilogue
Glossary
Bibliography
Index
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