Benjamin Apthorp Gould and the Founding of the Argentine National Observatory

1971 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 152-175 ◽  
Author(s):  
John E. Hodge
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Solar System ◽  
Major Change ◽  
History Of Astronomy ◽  
National Observatory ◽  
Great Work ◽  
History Of ◽  
Entire History ◽  
The Universe ◽  
Shape And Size

The nineteenth century witnessed the first major change in astronomy since the birth of the science in antiquity. With the exception, in the eighteenth century, of William Herschel's great work in the course of which he speculated on the origin, composition and shape of the universe itself, man's concern with the heavens had been limited to plotting and cataloguing the positions and the movements of the stars and planets. The entire history of astronomy had consisted of more and more accurate observations of the solar system and the stars within our own galaxy, although only the haziest notions of the shape and size of that “island universe” were entertained by thoughtful astronomers.

scholarly journals 'Absurd' Rationalist Cosmology: Copernicus, Kepler, Descartes and the Religious Basis for the end to Aristotelian Dogma

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 7
Author(s):  
Nicholas Smit-Keding
Keyword(s):  
Solar System ◽  
Rene Descartes ◽  
World View ◽  
Scientific Development ◽  
History Of Astronomy ◽  
Johannes Kepler ◽  
René Descartes ◽  
History Of ◽  
Nicholas Copernicus ◽  
The Universe

Current popular narratives regarding the history of astronomy espouse the narrative of scientific development arising from clashes between observed phenomena and dogmatic religious scripture. Such narratives consider the development of our understandings of the cosmos as isolated episodes in ground-breaking, world-view shifting events, led by rational, objective and secular observers. As observation of astronomical development in the early 1600s shows, however, such a narrative is false. Developments by Johannes Kepler, for instance, followed earlier efforts by Nicholas Copernicus to refine Aristotelian-based dogma with observed phenomena. Kepler's efforts specifically were not meant to challenge official Church teachings, but offer a superior system to what was than available, based around theological justifications. Popular acceptance of a heliocentric model came not from Kepler's writings, but from the philosophical teachings of Rene Descartes. Through strictly mathematical and philosophical reasoning, Descartes not only rendered the Aristotelian model baseless in society, but also provided a cosmological understanding of the universe that centred our solar system within a vast expanse of other stars. The shift than, from the Aristotelian geocentric model to the heliocentric model, came not from clashes between theology and reason, but from negotiations between theology and observed phenomena. 

From Dust to Life

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Chambers ◽  
Jacqueline Mitton
Keyword(s):  
Solar System ◽  
Extrasolar Planets ◽  
Planetary Systems ◽  
History Of Astronomy ◽  
Human Origins ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Emergence Of Life

The birth and evolution of our solar system is a tantalizing mystery that may one day provide answers to the question of human origins. This book tells the remarkable story of how the celestial objects that make up the solar system arose from common beginnings billions of years ago, and how scientists and philosophers have sought to unravel this mystery down through the centuries, piecing together the clues that enabled them to deduce the solar system's layout, its age, and the most likely way it formed. Drawing on the history of astronomy and the latest findings in astrophysics and the planetary sciences, the book offers the most up-to-date and authoritative treatment of the subject available. It examines how the evolving universe set the stage for the appearance of our Sun, and how the nebulous cloud of gas and dust that accompanied the young Sun eventually became the planets, comets, moons, and asteroids that exist today. It explores how each of the planets acquired its unique characteristics, why some are rocky and others gaseous, and why one planet in particular—our Earth—provided an almost perfect haven for the emergence of life. The book takes readers to the very frontiers of modern research, engaging with the latest controversies and debates. It reveals how ongoing discoveries of far-distant extrasolar planets and planetary systems are transforming our understanding of our own solar system's astonishing history and its possible fate.

Discovery of the Universe: An Outline of the History of Astronomy from the Origins to 1956

Physics Today ◽  
1957 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 38-40
Author(s):  
Gérard de Vaucouleurs ◽  
C. C. Kiess
Keyword(s):  
History Of Astronomy ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Universe

scholarly journals Narrating Sovereignty: The Covenant Chain in Intercultural Diplomacy

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 118-144
Author(s):  
Heather Hatton
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Historical Narratives ◽  
Metaphorical Language ◽  
History Of ◽  
Entire History

This article considers Haudenosaunee recitals of the history of the Covenant Chain as a powerful communicative mechanism to define and assert sovereign identity and rights in the context of intercultural diplomacy. It reflects initially on the metaphorical language used to structure these historical narratives and how it enabled the Haudenosaunee to articulate self-understandings of their sovereignty. Contending that the narrative’s main power stemmed from its application in specific diplomatic contexts, the article then examines three instances when the Haudenosaunee recounted the entire history of the Chain during mid-eighteenth century treaty councils with the British. It explores the reasons underpinning the narrative’s use on these occasions and its overall implications. Finally, the article discusses the adoption of the narrative by one British diplomat, Sir William Johnson, considering his motivations for using the Covenant Chain and its intended effects.

scholarly journals Studies of the Milky Way 1850–1930: some highlights

1985 ◽  
Vol 106 ◽  
pp. 43-58
Author(s):  
Robert W. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Milky Way ◽  
History Of Astronomy ◽  
Galactic System ◽  
Widespread Acceptance ◽  
The Galaxy ◽  
History Of ◽  
Entire History ◽  
Short Time ◽  
Time Form ◽  
Size And Structure

“The Copernicus of the sidereal system is not to be expected for many generations”. So wrote R.A. Proctor1 in his Essays in Astronomy in 1872. Indeed things did look bleak at this time for those who hoped for a good understanding of the size and structure of the Galaxy. Why was this so, and why was there to be such an astonishing transformation of this situation between 1918 and 1930? Certainly these twelve years saw the widespread acceptance of no less than six fundamentally new ways of viewing the Galactic System. These profound shifts, occurring in such a short time, form, I would suggest, one of the most exciting chapters in the entire history of astronomy. And in this paper I shall attempt to describe and analyze what these changes were, what led up to them, as well as to examine the events surrounding them.

scholarly journals First monk seal from the Southern Hemisphere rewrites the evolutionary history of true seals

2020 ◽  
Vol 287 (1938) ◽  
pp. 20202318
Author(s):  
James P. Rule ◽  
Justin W. Adams ◽  
Felix G. Marx ◽  
Alistair R. Evans ◽  
Alan J. D. Tennyson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Southern Hemisphere ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Marine Mammals ◽  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Major Change ◽  
The North ◽  
History Of ◽  
Entire History ◽  
The North Atlantic ◽  
Monk Seals

Living true seals (phocids) are the most widely dispersed semi-aquatic marine mammals, and comprise geographically separate northern (phocine) and southern (monachine) groups. Both are thought to have evolved in the North Atlantic, with only two monachine lineages—elephant seals and lobodontins—subsequently crossing the equator. The third and most basal monachine tribe, the monk seals, have hitherto been interpreted as exclusively northern and (sub)tropical throughout their entire history. Here, we describe a new species of extinct monk seal from the Pliocene of New Zealand, the first of its kind from the Southern Hemisphere, based on one of the best-preserved and richest samples of seal fossils worldwide. This unanticipated discovery reveals that all three monachine tribes once coexisted south of the equator, and forces a profound revision of their evolutionary history: rather than primarily diversifying in the North Atlantic, monachines largely evolved in the Southern Hemisphere, and from this southern cradle later reinvaded the north. Our results suggest that true seals crossed the equator over eight times in their history. Overall, they more than double the age of the north–south dichotomy characterizing living true seals and confirms a surprisingly recent major change in southern phocid diversity.

Discovering the Universe. A History of Astronomy. Colin A. Ronan

Isis ◽  
1972 ◽  
Vol 63 (1) ◽  
pp. 110-110
Author(s):  
Victor E. Thoren
Keyword(s):  
History Of Astronomy ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Universe

scholarly journals The universe is here

2009 ◽  
Vol 5 (S260) ◽  
Author(s):  
Erika L. Antiche Garzón
Keyword(s):  
Science And Technology ◽  
History Of Astronomy ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Universe

AbstractAstronomy is a science devoted to the study of what existed, exists and will exist, from the most elemental particle to the most massive and powerful galaxy one observes. The study of the universe is not only meant to be to achieve an important understanding about it, but also in other fields of science and technology. The most important contribution from astronomy is perhaps social: it fascinates millions of people along the globe. The history of astronomy carries along the very history of humankind.

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