Babylon to Voyager and Beyond: A History of Planetary Astronomy
Cambridge University Press
Edition: Illustrated, 5/29/2003
EAN 9780521808408, ISBN10: 0521808405
Hardcover, 570 pages, 24.4 x 17 x 3.3 cm
Language: English
Originally published in English
Babylon to Voyager and Beyond covers planetary research from the time of the Babylonians and Ancient Greeks through those of Kepler, Galileo and Newton to the modern era of space exploration. It outlines the key observational discoveries and theoretical developments in their historical context, covering not only the numerous successes but also the main failures. Planetary astronomy has come a long way since the Babylonians used their extensive numerical skills to predict the positions of the moon and planets. That progress is the story of this book, ending, as it does, with the considerable discoveries of the space age, and the discoveries of planets around other stars. This account will appeal to both amateur and professional astronomers, as well as those with an interest in the history of science.
Preface
Introduction
1. The ancients
2. Copernicus and the new cosmology
3. Kepler and Galileo - the fall of epicycles and the start of telescopic astronomy
4. The mid and late seventeenth century
5. Consolidation
6. The solar system expands
7. The inner solar system in the nineteenth century
8. The outer solar system in the nineteenth century
9. Quiet interlude - the twentieth century prior to the space age
10. The space age - terrestrial planets
11. The space age - the outer planets
Glossary
Bibliography
Units
Name index
Subject index.
'… this book represents a step forward in advancing hydrologic theory. In combing through many hydrologic representations and inferential approaches to contrast their performances in several contextual frames, the authors have provided a coherent and solid platform from which to explore hydrologic processes.' Charles Luce, Eos, Transactions, American Geophysical Union