From Cave Art to Hubble: A History of Astronomical Record Keeping

ISBN-13: 9783030316877 / Angielski / Miękka / 2019 / 265 str.

Jonathan Powell

Recenzje

"The book is a must-read that enables readers to explore both where we have come from and the possibilities that lie ahead." (Bernie Taylor, Physics Today, June, 2020)

Spis treści

Chapter One – Introduction.- Chapter Two – Cave Paintings – Part I.- Chapter Three – Cave Paintings - Part II.- Chapter Four – The Astrolabe.- Chapter Five – Supernovae.- Chapter Six – Mercury Transitions.- Chapter Seven – Shi Shen to Charles Messier.- Chapter Eight – The 1639 Transit of Venus.- Chapter Nine – Comets.- Chapter Ten – Astronomical Observatories.- Chapter Eleven – Fossils, Tree Rings, and Ice.- Index.

O autorze

Jonathan Powell is a native of South Wales. With an interest in astronomy and related subjects since the late 1970’s, Jonathan has written for UK national astronomical magazines, and broadcast on the topic at both the regional and national level for BBC Radio, dating back to 1985. Jonathan also took part in a BBC Radio 4 documentary series on meteorites. He has been secretary of his local astronomical society for the past 20 years and is the British Astronomical Association’s "Campaign for Dark Skies" county officer. A former member of the Association for Astronomy Education – which encouraged and promoted astronomy among the young – he also headed up "SpaceQuest," an educational lecture tool, which toured schools with a two hour presentation on astronomy. His publications include three articles in Astronomy Now magazine. He has written a book about castles in South and West Wales, Fortress Wales, and articles on observational astronomy published in astronomical society newsletters. His two published books include Cosmic Debris and Rare Astronomical Sights and Sounds.

Blurb

Since ancient times, humans have engaged in a continual quest to make sense of the night sky. Cultures across the world recorded their earliest efforts in artwork made directly on the natural landscapes around them, and from there developed increasingly sophisticated techniques for observing and documenting astronomy.

 

This book brings readers on an astronomical journey through the ages, offering a history of how our species has recorded and interpreted the night sky. From cave art to parchment scribe to modern X-ray mapping of the sky,it chronicles the  development of tools that informed and at times entirely toppled our understanding of the natural world.

Our recording techniques formed the bedrock for increasingly complex forays into astronomy and celestial mechanics. In addition to these topics,the book explores how nature itself has recorded the skies in its own way, which we can unravel through geological and archaeological studies.

This tale of human discovery and ingenuity over the ages will appeal to anybody interested in astronomy and its rich cultural history.