Cosmos
An Illustrated History of Astronomy and Cosmology
9780226594415
Cosmos
An Illustrated History of Astronomy and Cosmology
For millennia humans have studied the skies to help them grow crops, navigate the seas, and earn favor from their gods. We still look to the stars today for answers to fundamental questions: How did the universe begin? Will it end, and if so, how? What is our place within it? John North has been examining such questions for decades. In Cosmos, he offers a sweeping historical survey of the two sciences that help define our place in the universe: astronomy and cosmology.
Organizing his history chronologically, North begins by examining Paleolithic cave drawings that clearly chart the phases of the moon. He then investigates scientific practices in the early civilizations of Egypt, Greece, China, and the Americas (among others), whose inhabitants developed sophisticated methods to record the movements of the planets and stars. Trade routes and religious movements, North notes, brought these ancient styles of scientific thinking to the attention of later astronomers, whose own theories—such as Copernicus’ planetary theory—led to the Scientific Revolution.
The work of master astronomers, including Ptolemy, Galileo, Kepler, and Newton, is described in detail, as are modern-day developments in astrophysics, such as the advent of radio astronomy, the brilliant innovations of Einstein, and the many recent discoveries brought about with the help of the Hubble telescope. This new edition brings North’s seminal book right up to the present day, as North takes a closer look at last year’s reclassification of Pluto as a “dwarf” planet and gives a thorough overview of current research.
With more than two hundred illustrations and a comprehensive bibliography, Cosmos is the definitive history of astronomy and cosmology. It is sure to find an eager audience among historians of science and astronomers alike.
Organizing his history chronologically, North begins by examining Paleolithic cave drawings that clearly chart the phases of the moon. He then investigates scientific practices in the early civilizations of Egypt, Greece, China, and the Americas (among others), whose inhabitants developed sophisticated methods to record the movements of the planets and stars. Trade routes and religious movements, North notes, brought these ancient styles of scientific thinking to the attention of later astronomers, whose own theories—such as Copernicus’ planetary theory—led to the Scientific Revolution.
The work of master astronomers, including Ptolemy, Galileo, Kepler, and Newton, is described in detail, as are modern-day developments in astrophysics, such as the advent of radio astronomy, the brilliant innovations of Einstein, and the many recent discoveries brought about with the help of the Hubble telescope. This new edition brings North’s seminal book right up to the present day, as North takes a closer look at last year’s reclassification of Pluto as a “dwarf” planet and gives a thorough overview of current research.
With more than two hundred illustrations and a comprehensive bibliography, Cosmos is the definitive history of astronomy and cosmology. It is sure to find an eager audience among historians of science and astronomers alike.
736 pages | 21 color plates, 201 halftones, 73 line drawings | 7 x 10 | © 2008
Physical Sciences: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Reviews
Table of Contents
List of Illustrations
List of Plates
Credits
Preface to the First Edition
Preface to the Present Edition
Note on Numbers and Units
Introduction
1 PREHISTORIC ASTRONOMY
2 ANCIENT EGYPT
3 MESOPOTAMIA
4 THE GREEK AND ROMAN WORLDS
5 CHINA AND JAPAN
6 PRE-COLUMBIAN AMERICA
7 INDIAN AND PERSIAN ASTRONOMY
8 EASTERN ISLAM
9 WESTERN ISLAM AND CHRISTIAN SPAIN
10 MEDIEVAL AND EARLY RENAISSANCE EUROPE
11 COPERNICUS’ PLANETARY THEORY
12 THE NEW EMPIRICISM
13 THE RISE OF PHYSICAL ASTRONOMY
14 NEW ASTRONOMICAL PROBLEMS
15 PRECISION AND THE NEW ASTROPHYSICS
16 GALAXIES, STARS, AND ATOMS
17 THE RENEWAL OF COSMOLOGY
18 RADIO ASTRONOMY
19 OBSERVATORIES IN SPACE
20 MACROCOSM AND MICROCOSM
Bibliographical Survey
Index
List of Plates
Credits
Preface to the First Edition
Preface to the Present Edition
Note on Numbers and Units
Introduction
1 PREHISTORIC ASTRONOMY
2 ANCIENT EGYPT
3 MESOPOTAMIA
4 THE GREEK AND ROMAN WORLDS
5 CHINA AND JAPAN
6 PRE-COLUMBIAN AMERICA
7 INDIAN AND PERSIAN ASTRONOMY
8 EASTERN ISLAM
9 WESTERN ISLAM AND CHRISTIAN SPAIN
10 MEDIEVAL AND EARLY RENAISSANCE EUROPE
11 COPERNICUS’ PLANETARY THEORY
12 THE NEW EMPIRICISM
13 THE RISE OF PHYSICAL ASTRONOMY
14 NEW ASTRONOMICAL PROBLEMS
15 PRECISION AND THE NEW ASTROPHYSICS
16 GALAXIES, STARS, AND ATOMS
17 THE RENEWAL OF COSMOLOGY
18 RADIO ASTRONOMY
19 OBSERVATORIES IN SPACE
20 MACROCOSM AND MICROCOSM
Bibliographical Survey
Index