[PDF] Astronomy Of The Ancients eBook

Author : Kenneth Brecher
Publisher : Mit Press
Page : 206 pages
File Size : 38,56 MB
Release : 1981
Category : Science
ISBN : 9780262520706

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Explores the methods, instruments, and observations of the ancient astronomers, noting their significance to modern science and the importance of such findings as Stonehenge and American Indian petroglyphs

Author : Kenneth Brecher
Publisher : MIT Press (MA)
Page : 206 pages
File Size : 37,44 MB
Release : 1979-01-01
Category : Astronomy, Ancient
ISBN : 9780262021371

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The eight articles and dozens of photographs and drawings in this book introduce the reader to the ancient astronomers -- their observatories, their instruments, and their explorations of the awesome regularities (and shocking irregularities) that appear in the sky. The authors draw upon a wide range of disciplines -- history, archaeology, technology, even mythology in discussing their subjects. This book is one endeavor toward a reconstruction of the past of the human mind, using all available evidence: text, myth, spade; yet, there is a difference. That difference is that in the world of the heavens there are real phenomena, striking or subtle, enduring or transient, which can be invoked today to challenge or to support the inferences of the archeologist, epigrapher, historian, or mythologist. The authors go back to one sole source: real human beings watching the real sky; if we do so reflectively, we can share at every glance the roots of the power of human thought, the thought which once married science and literature, art and number, wonder and insight, when thoughtful people were still rather few under this ceaseless sky.

Author : James Evans
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 495 pages
File Size : 47,2 MB
Release : 1998-10-01
Category : Science
ISBN : 019987445X

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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.

Author : James Evans
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 510 pages
File Size : 14,84 MB
Release : 1998-10
Category : History
ISBN : 9780195095395

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Birth of astronomy -- Celestial sphere -- Some applications of spherics -- Calendars and time reckoning -- Solar theory -- Fixed stars -- Planetary theory -- Frequently used tables -- Appendix : patterns for models.

Author : George Cornewall Lewis
Publisher : Forgotten Books
Page : 540 pages
File Size : 29,29 MB
Release : 2018-01-07
Category : History
ISBN : 9780428501051

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Excerpt from An Historical Survey of the Astronomy of the Ancients I) A Just character of Delambre's History of Ancient Astronomy is given by Martin, Etudes sur le Timee de Platon, tom. Ii. P. 424. M. Martin remarks that the work of Delambre must be considered rather as materials for the history of ancient astronomy, than as a history itself. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.