scholarly journals Hestia: The Indo-European Goddess of the Cosmic Central Fire

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-19
Author(s):  
Marcello De Martino
Keyword(s):  
The Moon ◽  
European Language ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Unique Model ◽  
Celestial Bodies ◽  
Astronomical Theory ◽  
Ancient Times ◽  
To Come ◽  
Atmospheric Phenomena ◽  
The Universe

The Pythagorean Philolaus of Croton (470-390 BCE) created a unique model of the Universe and he placed at its centre a ‘fire’, around which the spheres of the Earth, the Counter-Earth, the five planets, the Sun, the Moon and the outermost sphere of fixed stars, also viewed as fire but of an ‘aethereal’ kind, were revolving. This system has been considered as a step towards the heliocentric model of Aristarchus of Samos (310-230 BCE), the astronomical theory opposed to the geocentric system, which already was the communis opinio at that time and would be so for many centuries to come: but is that really so? In fact, comparing the Greek data with those of other ancient peoples of Indo-European language, it can be assumed that the ‘pyrocentric’ system is the last embodiment of a theological tradition going back to ancient times: Hestia, the central fire, was the descendant of an Indo-European goddess of Hearth placed at the centre of the religious and mythological view of a deified Cosmos where the gods were essentially personifications of atmospheric phenomena and of celestial bodies.

scholarly journals III. On the nature and construction of the sun and fixed stars

1795 ◽  
Vol 85 ◽  
pp. 46-72 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Central Body ◽  
Planetary System ◽  
Considerable Progress ◽  
The Sun ◽  
Great Satisfaction ◽  
The Earth ◽  
The World ◽  
Celestial Bodies ◽  
The Universe ◽  
Made In

Among the celestial bodies the sun is certainly the first which should attract our notice. It is a fountain of light that illuminates the world! it is the cause of that heat which main­tains the productive power of nature, and makes the earth a fit habitation for man! it is the central body of the planetary system; and what renders a knowledge of its nature still more interesting to us is, that the numberless stars which compose the universe, appear, by the strictest analogy, to be similar bodies. Their innate light is so intense, that it reaches the eye of the observer from the remotest regions of space, and forcibly claims his notice. Now, if we are convinced that an inquiry into the nature and properties of the sun is highly worthy of our notice, we may also with great satisfaction reflect on the considerable progress that has already been made in our knowledge of this eminent body. It would require a long detail to enumerate all the various discoveries which have been made on this subject; I shall, therefore, content myself with giving only the most capital of them.

scholarly journals „Perspektywy gwiazdarskie”. Lunety w literaturze i piśmiennictwie naukowym polskiego baroku

2018 ◽  
pp. 213-251
Author(s):  
Grzegorz Raubo
Keyword(s):  
Crucial Role ◽  
Scientific Revolution ◽  
Life Forms ◽  
The Moon ◽  
Popularization Of Science ◽  
Literary Sources ◽  
The World ◽  
Celestial Bodies ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Universe

The telescope played a crucial role in the modern scientific revolution and occupied a significant place in Baroque culture. Interest in the telescope has been confirmed by Polish literary sources and writings, including scientific treatises and compendia of knowledge. Telescopes are the subject of works on the popularization of science written in the scientia curiosa convention. Reflections on the telescope appear in the context of deliberations on the world system, on the possibility of the existence of life forms on the Moon and other celestial bodies, and in the context of polemic against Aristotelian cosmology. The telescope is an element of religious deliberations concerning eschatology and those focused on astronomy, whose aspiration to get to know the universe is motivated by secular curiosity. The matter of conducting observations of the sky with the use of the telescope has turned into a comedy show, in a satirical way relating to the practice of astrology.

scholarly journals Introduzione

2021 ◽  
pp. 11-21
Author(s):  
Michela Graziani ◽  
Lapo Casetti ◽  
Salomé Vuelta García
Keyword(s):  
Magellanic Clouds ◽  
The Moon ◽  
The Earth ◽  
The Universe

This miscellaneous volume aims to commemorate the Iberian and European celebrations about Magellan that started in 2019. Specifically, the volume commemorates: the person and the image of Magellan on earth (celebrating the 500 years of his circumnavigation of the Earth) and in the universe (remembering the two Magellanic clouds); the Eddington’s journey and the Apollo XI flight to the moon, through many essays that investigate the concept of travel in its several attitudes (explorative, scientific, philosophical, introspective, literary) in Sciences and Humanities, from ancient to contemporary ages, in an intercultural perspective, following a thematic scheme and a cronological one as well, if it is possible.

scholarly journals PROPORTIONS IN ARCHITECTURE

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 126-133
Author(s):  
Minakshi Rajput Singh
Keyword(s):  
Complex Geometry ◽  
Golden Section ◽  
Golden Ratio ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Life Forms ◽  
Big Bang ◽  
Celestial Bodies ◽  
To Come ◽  
The Big Bang ◽  
The Universe

The uniqueness of His creation is reflected in different fields of life by the great masters throughout the ages that have born with the formation of the universe, from the big bang, till times still to come. Special ratio that can be used to describe the proportions of everything from nature’s smallest building blocks, such as atoms, to the most advanced patterns in the universe, such as unimaginably large celestial bodies. One of the key evidences presented for creation is the recurring appearance of the Divine proportion, or golden section, throughout the design of the human body and other life forms. An attempt has been made to relate Sri yantra and golden ratio and the various forms that seem to exemplify in the plan and elevation of the Indian temple. The yantra which is a complex geometry has been perfected to be used for the development of temple forms of different eras. The following paper will be a tool for the researchers to use the yantra in deriving the spaces of Indian temples.

scholarly journals Είμαστε μόνοι στο συμπάν; Οι μετεωρίτες δίνουν απαντήσεις;

2016 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 32
Author(s):  
Ι. Μπαζιώτης ◽  
L. A. Taylor
Keyword(s):  
High Pressures ◽  
Geochemical Data ◽  
The Moon ◽  
Martian Surface ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Past Life ◽  
Celestial Bodies ◽  
Meteorite Fall ◽  
Event Based ◽  
Moon Landing

The humankind, despite the recent technological achievements, does not yet have the ability to carry out routine trips to nearby celestial bodies. However, space science is a reality. The “Apollo” missions, that took place during the period 1969-1972, included the moon landing, the walk of astronauts and collection of valuable samples. Since then, no similar space journey has been carried out. The possibility for future missions such as the return to the Moon or Mars, or to an asteroid (e.g., Vesta), seems small enough to be implemented in the next decades. Nevertheless, nature has the mechanism and procedures to resolve this problem by sending extra-terrestrial rocks in earth in the form of meteorites. Meteorite fall on Earth is a major event, as it reveals important information about the primordial stages of formation of our solar system, or the creation processes of other planets. However, the big question still remains; whether these rocks host or have traces of past life in turn employs researchers in the last twenty years. McKay et al. (1996) studied the meteorite ALH 84001 originating from Mars, claimed for important discoveries such as structures corresponding to nanobacteria. In the current paper, we focus on the origin of Martian meteorites, presenting their complete geological history; from the genesis of their protoliths till their falling to the earth. We attempt to shade light in the understanding of meteorite formation using mineralogical-petrological-geochemical data, and the assignment of timing for each event based upon contemporary geochronological data. Recently, studies of the Martian meteorite Tissint, allegedly discovered structures rich in carbon and oxygen. Furthermore, recent field observations from Curiosity rover, indicates the existence of surface water that flowed once in the past at the Martian surface. We conclude that the planet Mars might not be a "dead" planet. But it turns out that many of the meteorites that reach the Earth, have undergone a complex history which is associated with the development of very high pressures and temperatures on the surface of the planet (e.g., Mars) from which they originate, able to destroy any trace of life before them. After all, we should be very sceptic and evaluate all the possibilities before the acceptance for the existence of life out there. 

scholarly journals Purnama-Tilem: Konsep Rwa Bhinneda Pada Wariga Di Bali

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 34
Author(s):  
Wasudewa Bhattacarya
Keyword(s):  
Full Moon ◽  
The Moon ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Dark Light ◽  
The Earth ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The Universe

<p><em>The spread of Hinduism from India to Indonesia is the result of acculturation of culture which then brought the concepts of Astronomy-Astrology in </em><em>Jyotiṣa </em><em>to Indonesia and Bali. Arriving in Bali, the concept of Astronomy-Astrology is known as Wariga. Wariga’s existence gave rise to holy days in the implementation of Yajña. One of them is the holy day of Purnama-Tilem. The determination of this holy day is based on the appearance of the moon from the earth as a repetitive cycle. If the moon appears perfectly round from the earth, it is called Purnama (Full Moon), whereas if the moon is not visible from the earth it is called Tilem (Dark Moon). This shows that there are two very basic differences in  determining Purnama  and  Tilem.  Dualistic this difference in Hinduism is called Rwa Bhinneda. Rwa Binneda is a polarization of life that speaks of all forms of dualism such as, top down, right left, dark light, and so on. Based on manuscipts in Bali, the existence of Purnama and Tilem shows a dualism in Hindu Theology called Sanghyang Rwa Bhinneda there  are Sanghyang Wulan and Sanghyang Surya at the level of </em><em>Saguṇa </em><em>Brahman. The dualism of the difference between Purnama and Tilem also influences Bhuwana Agung and Bhuwana Alit. The difference in the meaning of Purnama and Tilem is not something bad, but through this difference will bring about a balance between God, humans and the universe so that all beings will be able to reach the Moksartham Jagadhita ya ca iti Dharma.</em><em></em></p><p><strong><em><br /></em></strong><em></em><em></em></p>

scholarly journals VLBI from the Moon

1998 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 985-987
Author(s):  
L. I. Gurvits
Keyword(s):  
Radio Astronomy ◽  
Very Long Baseline Interferometry ◽  
Angular Resolution ◽  
High Angular Resolution ◽  
The Moon ◽  
Next Generation ◽  
Space Observatory ◽  
Long Baseline ◽  
The Earth ◽  
The Universe

Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) technique occupies a special place among tools for studying the Universe due to its record high angular resolution. The latter is in the inverse proportion to the length of interferometer baseline at any given wavelength. Until recently, the available angular resolution in radio domain of about 1 milliarcsecond at centimeter wavelengths was limited by the diameter of the Earth. However, many astrophysical problems require a higher angular resolution. The only way to achieve this at a given wavelength is to create an interferometer with the baseline larger than the Earth’s diameter by placing at least one telescope in space. In February 1997, the first dedicated Space VLBI mission, VLBI Space Observatory Program (VSOP), led by the Institute of Space and Astronautical Sciences (Japan) has been launched (Hirabayashi 1997). The VSOP mission opens a new dimension in the development of radio astronomy of extremely high angular resolution and will be followed by other Space VLBI missions. A review of scientific drives and technological challenges of the next generation Space VLBI mission have been discussed, for example, by Gurvits et al. (1996) and Ulvestad et al. (1997).

scholarly journals How to Measure Gravitational Aberration?

2006 ◽  
Vol 2 (S240) ◽  
pp. 670-677
Author(s):  
Michal Křížek ◽  
Alena Šolcová
Keyword(s):  
A Priori ◽  
Hubble Constant ◽  
The Moon ◽  
Speed Of Light ◽  
Henri Poincaré ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Expansion Of The Universe ◽  
The Universe ◽  
Equations With Delay ◽  
Two Bodies

AbstractIn 1905, Henri Poincaré predicted the existence of gravitational waves and assumed their speed equal to the speed of light. If additionally the gravitational aberration would have the same magnitude as the aberration of light, we would observe several paradoxical phenomena. For instance, the orbit of two bodies would be unstable, since two attractive forces arise that are not in line and hence form a couple. This will be modelled by a nonautonomous system of ordinary differential equations with delay. In fact, any positive value of the gravitational aberration increases the angular momentum of such a system and this may contribute to the expansion of the universe. We found a remarkable coincidence between the Hubble constant and the increasing distance of the Moon from the Earth.In 2000, Carlip showed that in general relativity gravitational aberration is almost cancelled out by velocity–dependent interactions. We show how the actual value of the gravitational aberration can be obtained by measurement of a single angle at a suitable time t* corresponding to the perihelion of an elliptic orbit. We also derive an a priori error estimate that expresses how accurately t* has to be determined to obtain the gravitational aberration to a prescribed tolerance.

scholarly journals On the Interaction Between Tectonic Processes of the Earth and the Moon

1972 ◽  
Vol 47 ◽  
pp. 220-225
Author(s):  
N. A. Kozyrev
Keyword(s):  
Causal Relation ◽  
Direct Interaction ◽  
Tectonic Activity ◽  
Irreversible Processes ◽  
The Moon ◽  
Tidal Forces ◽  
Tectonic Processes ◽  
The Earth ◽  
History Of ◽  
Celestial Bodies

At present seismographs are operating on the Moon as well, installed there owing to the successful Apollo missions. However these data are insufficient for detailed statistic investigations. That is why in case of the Moon we are to use indirect indications of its activity, such as the data on transient light phenomena from the catalogues by Miss B. Middlehurst. Among the great number of earthquakes there were chosen only the strong earthquakes (magnitude 6.5) with focuses deeper than 70 km. According to these characteristics 630 earthquakes were selected from 1904 to 1967. In the Middlehurst catalogue during the same period about 370 transient events on the Moon are registrated. A distribution of lunar events on the days of an anomalistic month gives evidence of the influence of the Earth's tidal forces (the Middlehurst effect). It appears that the distribution of earthquakes gives a similar curve. Thus the tidal interaction of the Earth and the Moon establishes certain synchronism in tectonic activity of these planets. The further statistic analysis reveals some more causal relation between the processes of the Earth and the Moon. Strongly pronounced maximum of lunar events is observed with the interval of 2–3 days after the earthquakes and the maximum of earthquakes – with quite the same interval after the lunar events. The peaks of these maxima exceed the mean number of events by a factor 3. The Moon Earth system is the astronomical example of a direct interaction of the processes in the neighbouring celestial bodies.The corresponding experiments, made at the Pulkovo Observatory, confirm the possibility of immediate interactions of irreversible processes due to the change of physical properties of time. Thus we can form a chronology of orogenesis on the Moon judging from the data on the history of the Earth. Tectonic processes of the Earth and the Moon seem to be in such a close interaction as if the Moon were in direct contact with the Earth, i.e. in other words, were its seventh continent. These conclusions give evidence of the extreme importance of regular seismic observations on the Moon.

scholarly journals How Children Observe the Universe

2000 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 194-206 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Dunlop
Keyword(s):  
Science Curriculum ◽  
Multiple Choice ◽  
The Sun ◽  
The Moon ◽  
Teaching Session ◽  
Multiple Choice Questions ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Changing Patterns ◽  
The Universe ◽  
Children’S Thinking

AbstractChildren who visited Auckland Observatory and Stardome Planetarium in 1998 were surveyed on their ideas about the Earth, the Moon and the Sun. Widespread misconceptions similar to those found in other studies were revealed, however the single teaching session had an impact on children's ideas comparable to that of much longer interventions. Several ideas not reported previously were expressed. For example, two children drew a figure eight orbit for the Earth; circling the Sun during the day, and the Moon at night. Only one child of the 67 surveyed proposed the notion of day and night being caused by the Sun orbiting the Earth. This is in contrast to many other studies. A drawing based pre-post survey proved to be a convenient and powerful tool for revealing changing patterns in children's thinking. The literature surveyed indicated levels of misconceptions about astronomy among teachers and other adults that were nearly as great as those of the children being taught. It would seem a strategic move to provide teachers with sufficient training if they are required to teach astronomy at every level, as has happened with the New Zealand science curriculum. A comparison between different question types suggests that multiple-choice questions may underestimate the knowledge of younger children by over 300% when compared with interview responses. A drawing based question in this study generated up to 41% more correct responses than a multiple-choice question on the same topic.

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